Setting Up FSS Participants

After a tenant completes/signs Form HUD - 52650 (contract of participation which is effective the first of the month following the contract execution), the PHA can then calculate their monthly escrow credit amount and set up the escrow account. The contract of participation lists the family's current annual income, the amount of earned income included in the annual income, and the family's total tenant payment when the family begins its FSS participation on the date of contract execution. Increases during the term of the contract, increases in earned income, and total tenant payment are compared to the amounts listed on the contract of participation in calculating escrow credits. The contract of participation must be executed no more than 120 days after the household's most recent annual or interim reexamination. If more than 120 days have passed since the last reexamination, a new reexamination must be completed.

Setting up FSS participants involves 5 main steps where you work with 2 wizards:

Note: In Public Housing, a tenant’s rent is increased as their FSS obligations are met and the difference of the new rent minus the old rent is put in an escrow account to be used by the tenant after FSS obligations are met. In Section 8, the tenant pays their landlord more rent as their FSS obligations are met, and the PHA sends a check to the bank for the difference on the tenant’s behalf.

ü Search for and select tenant.
ü Create FSS enrollment report certification: Begin Certification Wizard.
ü Enter FSS/WtW contract information.
ü Enter initial income information.
ü Finalize FSS enrollment report certification: Finalize Certification Wizard.

Access ORC

1. Access the ORC program and select the appropriate data area.
2. From the Main Menu screen, click TENANT. The Browse Tenants screen appears with all current tenants displayed in a table.

Search For and Select Tenant

3. Select how you want to order the tenant table from the ordered by drop-down list, enter the search criteria in the search for field and click GO. The first tenant to match the criteria will be highlighted in the table.
4. Click on the toolbar. The Main tab of the Tenant Detail screen opens.

Create FSS Exit or Enrollment Report Certification

Note: If the tenant has an existing, "Completed" certification with an effective date that is the same or later than the effective date of the certification you want to create, select the certification and click on the toolbar to re-open it. The certification is now “In Process” and able to be deleted. Click on the toolbar to delete the certification you just re-opened.

5. Select the Certifications tab and click . The Begin Certification Wizard is initiated.

Note: You can also add certifications by clicking CERTIFICATION on the Main Menu screen. The Browse Certifications screen appears with all your agency’s "In Process" certifications displayed in a table. Click on the toolbar, select to add an Existing Tenant Single Certification, select the tenant for whom you are creating a certification, and then enter the certification information in the Begin Certification Wizard.

6. Select “8 - FSS Exit or Enrollment Report” as the transaction type, specify the effective date (this is the date the rent changes and usually the first day of the month), and make sure the new to unit checkbox is unchecked.

Caution! The effective date will always need changed from the default date provided by the system.

7. Click START to continue to step 2 of the wizard.
8. Verify all necessary dates and click NEXT to continue.
9. Check the checkboxes of the documents you wish to print and click NEXT to access the confirmation screen.
10. Review and confirm the certification information you have set up, enter any additional tracking notes (such as “FSS participation recert”), and click FINISH to create the certification. The Main tab appears again with the screen now available for editing. (A status of “In Process” is now displayed at the top, right-hand corner of the screen).
11. Check the FSS participant checkbox and click .

Enter FSS/WtW Contract Info

12. Click . The FSS/WtW Contract Information screen appears with the FSS tab selected.
13. Click , select “FSS Enrollment Report” as the FSS report category, and specify the starting date (this is the date they officially start the program and may be the same as the effective date).
14. Enter as much of the remaining information as possible on both the FSS and Service Table tabs.
15. Click to save and apply all changes. The tenant’s current income and TTP amounts will be updated automatically.

Enter Initial Income Info

To ensure income calculations are correct, it is necessary to enter the tenant’s initial income information. This information only has to be entered at the time of enrollment.

16. Click to access the Initial Contract Information screen.
17. Click and enter the tenant’s initial wages at contract date, total income at contract date, and initial TTP (if necessary).
18. Click to save all changes.

Finalize FSS Enrollment Certification

19. Click to return to the Main tab of the Tenant Detail screen and select the Certifications tab.
20. Select the certification you just created and click on the toolbar to finalize the certification. A message will appear stating if errors were found in the eTrans record. If any errors are found, they will display on the eTrans tab where you can review and correct, as necessary. If no errors are found, the Finalize Certification Wizard is initiated.
21. Review and confirm the certification information/status and click START to continue to step 2 of the wizard.
22. Select the certification documents you want to print after finishing the wizard and click NEXT to access step 3.
23. Click NEXT to continue.
24. Review and confirm the certification’s details. You may also enter an optional reason(s) for the certification in the space provided.
25. Click FINISH to finalize the certification and return to the Certifications tab on the Tenant Detail screen. The status of the certification is now “completed.” If you selected to print any documents, a print window appears where you can set up the parameters for the print job. You have successfully set up an FSS participant!

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