In March 2011, Boulder Housing Partners was selected as one of 35 agencies nationwide to participate in the Moving to Work (MtW) Demonstration Program through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 

MtW Factsheets:

Program Overview
Rent Calculation for Work-Able Families
Rent Calculation for Elderly Households and Persons with Disabilities
FAQ’s: Loss of Income for Work-Able Families
FAQs: Woodlands FSS Program Participants

2023 MTW Annual Plan Submitted to HUD

BHP is pleased to present the 2023 Moving to Work Annual Plan for review. We are not proposing any new activities for 2023. The focus is continuing the work that has been started under the program and looking ahead to new activities.

The final plan can be viewed here. The plan was released for public comment in July. BHP Board of Commissioners approved the plan on September 14, 2022. The plan has been submitted to HUD for final approval on September 15, 2022.

2022 MTW Annual Report

On March 21, 2023, BHP is pleased to have submitted our 2022 MTW Annual Report to HUD. This report details the results and progress associated with all continuing Activities since 2012. If you have any questions regarding the Report, please contact Karen Brunnemer via email at [email protected] or by calling 720-564-4631.

2022 MTW Annual Plan

As a participating agency in the Moving to Work Program, BHP is required to submit an annual plan to HUD. The Plan did not include any new activities for 2022. The focus is continuing the work that has been started under the program and looking ahead to new activities. The Plan was approved by the BHP Board of Commissioners on October 13, 2021 and by HUD on November 15, 2021. The approved Plan can be found here.

2021 MTW Annual Report

On March 30, 2022, BHP is pleased to have submitted our 2021 MTW Annual Report to HUD. This report details the results and progress associated with all continuing Activities since 2012. If you have any questions regarding the Report, please contact Karen Brunnemer via email at [email protected] or by calling 720-564-4631.

2021 MTW Annual Plan

As a participating agency in the Moving to Work Program, BHP is required to submit an annual plan to HUD. The Plan did not include any new activities for 2021. The focus is continuing the work that has been started under the program and looking ahead to new activities. The Plan was approved by the BHP Board of Commissioners on November 18, 2020 and by HUD on January 8, 2021. The approved Plan can be found here.

2020 MTW Annual Report

On March 23, 2021, BHP is pleased to have submitted our 2020 MTW Annual Report to HUD. This report details the results and progress associated with all continuing Activities since 2012. If you have any questions regarding the Report, please contact Karen Kreutzberg via email at [email protected] or by calling 720-564-4631.

2020 MTW Annual Plan

The 2020 Moving to Work Annual Plan lays out the plans for our 9th year as part of this demonstration program. One new activity is included in this plan: FSS Rent and Escrow Calculations. This Activity will only impact new families who choose to participate in the Family Self-Sufficiency Program at our Woodlands Community as of January 1, 2020, or current participating families if they choose to opt in. Highlights of this activity include:

1. Changing the method of calculation rent
2. Recertifying families every two years instead of annually
3. Allowing participants to earn escrow in two ways: based on earned income in years 3, 4 and 5 and based on goals achieved

Final approval for the Plan was received from HUD on January 8, 2020. The new activity will be implemented for new families as of February 1, 2020 and over time for current participating families.

2019 MTW Annual Report

On June 11, 2020 BHP is pleased to have submitted our 2019 MTW Annual Report to HUD. This report details the results and progress associated with all continuing Activities since 2012. If you have any questions regarding the Report, please contact Karen Kreutzberg via email at [email protected] or by calling 720-564-4631.

2019 MTW Annual Plan

As a participating agency in the Moving to Work Program, BHP is required to submit an annual plan to HUD. The Plan did not include any new activities for 2019. The focus is continuing the work that has been started under the program and looking ahead to new activities. The Plan was approved by the BHP Board of Commissioners on October 10, 2018 and by HUD on January 29,2019. The approved Plan can be found here.

2018 MTW Annual Report

On March, 21, 2019, BHP is pleased to have submitted our 2018 MTW Annual Report to HUD. This report details the results and progress associated with all continuing Activities since 2012. If you have any questions regarding the Report, please contact Karen Kreutzberg via email at [email protected] or by calling 720-564-4631.

2018 MTW Annual Plan

BHP is pleased to present the 2018 Moving to Work Annual Plan. 2018 is our 7th year as part of this demonstration program. We are proposing one new activity for 2018, which includes all the previously approved waivers that relate to project-based vouchers and adds three new elements. The new elements include allowing:

1. BHP staff to conduct Housing Quality Standards Inspections at our units
2. Participants who no longer receive housing assistance payments to remain on the voucher program
3. Participant families to continue to pay rent according to their income.

Final approval for the Plan was received from HUD on December 29, 2017. The new activity will be implemented in 2018.

2017 MTW Annual Report

On March, 21, 2018, BHP is pleased to have submitted our 2017 MTW Annual Report to HUD and HUD accepted our report on August 15, 2018. This report details the results and progress associated with all continuing Activities since 2012. If you have any questions regarding the Report, please contact Karen Kreutzberg via email at [email protected] or by calling 720-564-4631.

2017 MTW Annual Plan

As a participating agency in the Moving to Work Program, BHP is required to submit an annual plan to HUD. The Plan did not include any new activities for 2017. The focus was continuing the work that has been started under the program and looking ahead to new activities. The approved Plan can be found here.

2016 MTW Annual Report

On March, 28, 2017, BHP is pleased to have submitted our 2016 MTW Annual Report to HUD. This report details the results and progress associated with the activities we implemented in 2016, as well as progress made on all continuing Activities since 2012. If you have any questions regarding the Report, please contact Karen Kreutzberg via email at [email protected] or by calling 720-564-4631.

2016 MTW Annual Plan

As a participating agency in the Moving to Work Program, BHP is required to submit an annual plan to HUD in October. The Plan was approved by the BHP Board of Commissioner on October 12, 2015. The 2016 MTW Annual Plan is posted here. Final approval from HUD was received on January 13, 2016.

The proposed activities for 2016 include the following:

• Flat Tiered Rent for Housing Choice Work-Abled Families – this activity will change two aspects of the current flat tiered rent structure: an increase of rent within the tiers by 5% and the ineligible family member fee will be $125
• Rent Reform for Elderly Households and People with Disabilities – this activity adds in the ineligible family member fee of $125 so all rent calculations are consistent
• Landing Landlords – this activity is aimed at increasing participation from private landlords in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program
• Bringing School Home Referral Program – this activity will give preference to families with children five and younger to live at five family sites where the children and families will benefit from educational services with the goal of breaking the cycle of poverty.

2015 MTW Annual Report

On March, 23, 2016, BHP is pleased to have submitted our 2015 MTW Annual Report to HUD. This report details the results and progress associated with the activities we implemented in 2015, as well as progress made on 2012, 2013 and 2014 continuing Activities. If you have any questions regarding the Report, please contact Karen Kreutzberg via email at [email protected] or by calling 720-564-4631.

2015 MTW Annual Plan

As part of the Moving to Work Program, BHP is required to submit an annual plan to HUD in October. The Plan was approved by HUD on January 22, 2015. The 2015 MTW Annual Plan is posted here. The Plan was approved by the BHP Board of Commissioners on October 13, 2014.

The Annual Plan includes two activities:

• Activity 1:  Creation of a development and acquisition fund - This fund would allow BHP to use MTW funds on affordable housing projects that don't have a tie to public housing or Section 8.
• Activity 2:  Project-Based Voucher Applicant Processing - The goal of this activity is to shorten the time between identification of a client who needs housing and the time they are actually housed, implementing a more equitable system to obtain this much needed resource and shifting the responsibility of filling vacancies from BHP (Section 8 team) to the owner of the development.

2014 MTW Annual Report

On March, 26, 2015, BHP is pleased to have submitted our 2014 MTW Annual Report to HUD. This report details the results and progress associated with the activities we implemented in 2014, as well as progress made on 2012 and 2013 continuing Activities. If you have any questions regarding the Report, please contact Karen Kreutzberg via email at [email protected] or by calling 720-564-4631.

2014 MTW Annual Plan

In October 2013, BHP submitted the 2014 MTW Annual Plan to HUD for approval. The plan was approved on March 11, 2014. This 2014 Plan includes rent reform for Section 8 work-abled families, elimination of interim recertifications for elderly and disabled households, removal of the flat rent option for public housing households, occupancy changes for residents of the Woodlands Family Self Sufficiency Program, and rent limits and rent reasonableness for Project-Based Voucher Sites.

2013 MTW Annual Report

On March, 31, 2014, we are submitted our 2013 MTW Annual Report to HUD. This report details the results and progress associated with the activities we implemented in 2013, as well as progress made on 2012 continuing Activities. If you have any questions regarding the Report, please contact Karen Kreutzberg via email at [email protected] or by calling 720-564-4631.

2013 MTW Annual Plan

In October 2012, BHP submitted the 2013 MTW Annual Plan to HUD for approval. BHP is pleased to announce that HUD has approved the 2013 MTW Annual Plan effective March 1, 2013. A Second amendment to the Standard Agreement was also submitted. The purpose of this second agreement is to allow BHP to use funds to develop new affordable housing. The Second Amendment was approved. Included in the 2013 MTW Annual Plan is how new affordable housingwill be developed.

2012 MTW Annual Report

On March, 27, 2013, we are submitted our 2012 MTW Annual Report to HUD. This report details the results and progress associated with the activities we implemented in 2012. If you have any questions regarding the Report, please contact Karen Kreutzberg via email at [email protected] or by calling 720-564-4631.

2012 MTW Annual Plan and Standard Agreement

In November 2010, Boulder Housing Partners wrote an application to HUD to be accepted into the Moving to Work Demonstration Program. The application was written in collaboration with residents, participants, partners, and service agencies in Boulder. We are very pleased to announce that HUD accepted our application. In November, we received our fully executed MTW Agreement.

As background, Moving to Work (MTW) is a demonstration program for 33 public housing authorities (PHAs) that provides them the opportunity to design and test innovative, locally-designed strategies that use Federal dollars more efficiently, help residents find employment and become self-sufficient, and increase housing choices for low-income families. MTW gives PHAs exemptions from many existing public housing and voucher rules and more flexibility with how they use their Federal funds. MTW PHAs are expected to use the opportunities presented by MTW to inform HUD about ways to better address local community needs.

MTW Standard Agreement
MTW Annual Plan for 2012

The link to the HUD press release can be found here.
The link to BHP's application, which was submitted on November 30, 2010 can be found here.

Contents:

• Benefits to our new MtW status
• Our MtW Goals
• Our proposed first year activities
• Our anticipated impacts and outcomes

There are many, many benefits to our new MTW status, including:

• All of our funding for our core HUD programs - public housing operating subsidy, capital funds, housing choice voucher assistance payments and housing choice voucher administrative fees - will come to us in a single block grant, allowing us complete flexibility about how to use our resources. The total of these funds in 2011 is $7.3 million.
• We establish a contractual relationship with HUD which means that our baseline level of funding is no longer subject to wild swings in appropriations. Our contract will run through September 30, 2018.
• We will submit an annual work plan that outlines the regulations that need to be waived in order for us to pursue our MTW goals.
• The centerpiece of our application is to replicate the very successful model at Broadway East to the balance of the public housing inventory. In other words, convert the inventory to tax-credit funded entities with full renovation for all Public Housing units.

In addition to that goal, the equally important goals that we applied to pursue include:

• Use federal housing resources as compelling tools in creating positive change for families,
• Manage converted public housing as a real estate asset and a vital part of our community's infrastructure,
• Encourage the community, and our prospective customers, to perceive public housing as a place to Live, Learn, and Earn,
• Accelerate the shift of staff focus from paper to people,
• Complete the transformation of a public agency from bureaucratic to entrepreneurial,
• Accelerate changes in outcomes for families from tepid to catalytic,
• Enhance our role in the industry from thinkers to doers, and
• Provide a more complete continuum of housing choices.

Our proposed first year (January 1, 2012) activities include:

1. Allow BHP to commit project-based vouchers to cover 100% of the units at converted public housing developments.
2. Create a rent simplification structure specifically for elderly households and people with disabilities.
3. Create a rent simplification structure for family households.
4. Implement rent simplification measures for all households.
5. Design the rent reform study.
6. Eliminated the 40% of income cap in the voucher program.
7. Implement a flat utility allowance for the voucher program.
8. Implement a landlord self-certification system for HQS inspections for the voucher program.

Our anticipated impacts include these specific outcomes:

1. Convert all of our public housing to a Section 8 project-based financing model that replicates the tremendously successful model we used with our first public housing conversion at Broadway East.
2. Achieve 100% service enrichment at all of our public housing properties.
3. Transform both the practice and perception of public housing into an environment where residents "Live, Learn and Earn".
4. Focus substantial service support to the voucher population.
5. Amend our rent and program administration guidelines to make the programs more user-friendly, less staff-intensive and more conducive to economic self-sufficiency.
6. Address critical gaps in the housing continuum at the entry and exit points for the public housing and voucher program's participants. We can do this in two ways: by committing up to 60 new vouchers to project-based transitional programs and using the flexibility of our existing funds, along with resources generated by conversion, to create a minimum of 100 new units to be included in BHP's Boulder Affordable Rentals program.
7. Use leveraged funds from the public housing conversion initiative to bring much-needed gap funds to two projects already in development: Lee Hill Housing for chronically homeless individuals and Red Oak Park Phase II, the Valmont building, for 20 units of transitional housing.
8. Expand the successful partnership that provides college tuition to BHP children who participate in the I Have A Dream (IHAD) program. MTW flexibility will allow us to create more community space, which will allow for another classroom.
9. Incentivize movement along Boulder's housing continuum by encouraging economic self-sufficiency and moving people towards market-rate housing, thus creating more housing opportunities for those on the waiting list.