Family Self Sufficiency Program

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The Housing Authority of Fulton County (HAFC) operates a Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Program.
 
The HAFC works to strengthen the families that we serve by helping them to obtain employment that will lead to economic independence and self-sufficiency. By improving our families’ status, we then change the face of our communities, thereby eliminating communities that carry a stigma.
 
A Family Self Sufficiency Coordinator guides families through the Family Self Sufficiency Program. Each participating family’s head-of-household must sign a Contract of Participation. The Head of Household and any household member on the lease, 18 years or older interested in participating in the program, develops an Individual Training and Services Plan with the coordinator’s support. The plan outlines the participant’s goals, activities, and services. Participants are referred to community resources and provided with personal counseling services to assist them in dealing with the many issues that may be obstacles to their success. Coordinated services may include, but are not limited to, childcare, transportation, education, job training & employment counseling, substance abuse/alcohol abuse treatment or counseling, household skill training, and homeownership counseling.
 
The vision of the HAFC takes the FSS Program concept to another level by heavily linking it with homeownership. The FSS program encourages FSS participants throughout their participation to strive for homeownership in addition to independence from assistance. Once a family is in an economic position to purchase a home, the family’s next step is HAFC Pathways to Home Ownership Program. Through this program, they receive counseling through the home purchasing process. 
 
Participating families may be further assisted in the home buying process by the funds that they may accumulate in an FSS escrow account. The escrow account comes from an increase in the family’s portion of their rent triggered from an increase in earned income. If the family’s rent portion exceeds what their rent portion was when they joined the program, the HAFC makes a monthly deposit into their escrow account, which equals an amount of the increase. Once the head-of-household completes all goals listed in the Individual Training and Services Plan and all of the program requirements, HAFC disburses the funds accumulated in the escrow account.