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HACP Receives Federal Funding to Reunite Children in Foster Care with Their Families

November 27, 2018

Mayor William Peduto and the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh are pleased to announce that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have issued the authority a $556,000 grant to help children in foster care reunite with their families or caregivers. 

HUD last week made 77 vouchers available to the Housing Authority for families whose inadequate housing situations caused their separation from children, or made such separation imminent.

“The Family Unification Program will provide HACP and DHS with the resources to house and serve 77 families in critical need for affordable housing. We’re proud to help end the placement of children outside of their homes and to provide families with the resources they need to establish secure, stable housing and the opportunity to achieve a better quality of life,” said HACP Executive Director Caster D. Binion. 

HUD awarded a total of $1.5 million to housing authorities in Pittsburgh, Chester and Bucks County for the initiative, called the Family Unification Program (FUP). It provides rental assistance to parents being separated from their children or to those who are at risk of separation. Additionally, this funding is used to help provide stable housing for young adults (ages 18-24) who have aged-out of the foster care system. 

HACP administers the program with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, which refers eligible families to the authority.

“We appreciate the assistance that this funding provides. For those who receive the vouchers, we can now begin working towards more permanent housing solutions to help aid families at risk of losing their children or youth transitioning out of foster care,” said DHS Director Marc Cherna.

Like HUD’s Housing Choice Vouchers, these vouchers allow families to rent housing from a private landlord and generally pay 30 percent of their monthly adjusted gross income towards rent and utilities.

A fact sheet on FUP vouchers is available here. 

Contact:  For more information, contact Michelle Sandidge, Chief Community Affairs Officer, at michelle.sandidge@hacp.org or 412-456-5058. 

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