Hardest Hit Fund Management

Background

A state Housing Finance Authority (HFA) was awarded funds as part of the Federal Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) program to help unemployed homeowners retain their homes while looking for work. Launching this new program quickly was critical to rapidly deploying assistance in a weak economy, and the HFA knew that a software solution would be required to efficiently process applications, accurately account for funds and easily report to the government.

The Challenge

Developing the policies, procedures and staff required to carry out the HFA’s fiduciary responsibilities for an entirely new and unique program is challenging enough, but quickly finding a reliable software solution capable of managing thousands of applications and the disbursement of millions of dollars could prove even more difficult.

The HFA needed an operational grants management system months after being awarded funds that would relieve the stress on an already overcommitted staff. In order to help the HFA successfully carry out their mandate, the selected solution had to address the following questions:

• How can homeowners submit applications quickly and easily?
• How can we track applications through their various stages?
• How can we account for disbursements to homeowners?
• How can executives get visibility into funds status?
• How do we verify that homeowners remain eligible?
• What can be done to reduce homeowner phone calls about application status?
• How can we report accurately to the Federal government?
• How can we communicate to loan servicers that payments have been made?

The Solution

Working with the HFA, ProLink created a powerful and focused grants management system, optimized for HHF and divided into separate web portals for both the HFA and homeowners. In a short timeframe, the HFA was online with critical pipeline management, disbursement management, loan tracking and reporting tools, while homeowners had access to an easy-to-use and secure online application. The complete ProLink solution is a powerful, all-encompassing tool for accountable and effective grant administration.

Key features include:

• Simple interface for 100% online application submission
• Online application status and email alerts for homeowners
• Security penetration testing by an independent third party
• Application pipeline management for efficient application processing
• Standardized reports and ad-hoc queries
• Department of Labor data integration for unemployment benefits eligibility
• Bulk payment processing to loan servicers
• Loan forgiveness schedules
• Automated data integration with loan servicers via Common Data File
• Automated generation of a quarterly report to the U.S. Department of the Treasury

The Results

The Hardest Hit Fund program for this HFA launched on time and has already processed thousands of applications and disbursed millions of dollars in funds. Executives have visibility into fund administration, and compliance reporting is only a click away. Redundant paperwork and repetitive manual processes have been eliminated, allowing HFA staff more time to effectively evaluate applications. With ProLink Solutions, this HFA rapidly brought much needed assistance to struggling homeowners.

Built on the proven ProLink Framework, our web-based housing agency solution can be uniquely tailored to satisfy each authority’s needs, allowing your focus to remain on promoting and providing affordable community housing.