Miscellaneous

DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES
Economic Self-Sufficiency Program

SOLICITATIONS OF APPLICATIONS

FOR CHALLENGE GRANTS TO

LEAD AGENCIES FOR HOMELESS ASSISTANCE

Pursuant to Section 420.622, Florida Statutes, the Department of Children and Family Services through the State Office on Homelessness, hereby solicits applications for Challenge Grants to lead agencies for homeless assistance continuums of care designated by the State Office on Homelessness. A lead agency may be a local homeless coalition, municipal or county government, or other public agency, or a private not for profit corporation. Such grants may be up to $150,000 per lead agency.

To qualify for the grant, a lead agency must develop and implement a local homeless assistance continuum of care plan for its designated catchment area.

Preference will be given to those lead agencies that have demonstrated the ability of their continuum of care to provide quality services to homeless persons and the ability to leverage federal homeless assistance under the Stewart B. McKinney Act and private funding for the provision of services to homeless persons. Preference will also be given to lead agencies in catchment areas with the greatest need for the provision of housing and services to the homeless, relative to the population of the catchment area.

Lead agencies wishing to apply for such Challenge grants may request an application package from:

Office on Homelessness

1317 Winewood Boulevard

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0700

(850)922-4691

The deadline for submission of applications to the Office on Homelessness shall be 5:00 p.m., EDT, on July 14, 2006.