HUD is urging resident associations to submit an application for Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) service coordinators by the February 19 deadline. An FY13 Notice of Fund Availability (NOFA) has been announced.The ROSS grant program helps to pay for service coordinators at public housing developments. In past years, 25% of the ROSS appropriation has been set aside for public housing resident associations to apply for ROSS service coordinator grants. Resident associations can include resident councils, site-based resident associations, jurisdiction-wide resident organizations, regional resident organizations, statewide resident organizations and resident management corporations.Unfortunately, not enough resident associations are applying for ROSS grants. The unused portion of the resident association set-aside then goes to the other eligible ROSS applicants, which are public housing agencies, tribes and tribal housing authorities, and non-profits organizations.Service coordinators assess resident needs and coordinate existing resources in the community to meet those needs. Service coordinators help develop local strategies to coordinate public and private supportive services and resident empowerment activities. For elderly and disabled residents, service coordinators help improve living conditions and enable residents to age in place. For other residents, services are supposed to help residents increase their earnings and make progress toward economic independence and housing self-sufficiency. ROSS grants pay for service coordinator salaries, as well as for training and administrative purposes. They have a three-year term. There is a 25% match requirement, which can be in cash or in-kind, and which may also include supportive services provided to residents participating in the ROSS program.Because Congress has not yet appropriated FY13 funds for HUD, the amount for the ROSS service coordinator program is not yet known. In FY12, $35 million was available for ROSS overall, meaning nearly $9 million (25%) might be available for the resident association set-aside. Also the deadline for applications may be postponed as final FY13 appropriations bills have not been enacted (see article elsewhere in Memo).Click here to view the FY13 NOFA.