BALTIMORE, MD (Thursday, September 5, 2024) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott, in collaboration with the Mayor's Office of Homeless Services (MOHS), announced that the City of Baltimore has been approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to receive a full reimbursement of over $6 million to the City of Baltimore for payments made to Continuum of Care (CoC) Sub-recipients from CoC FY2020.

"I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, former Secretary Marcia Fudge, Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman, and their teams for their partnership in addressing this issue and allowing the City to draw down this reimbursement," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "This process has been a reflection of MOHS's ability to adapt quickly and provide our partners on the ground the support they need in less than ideal circumstances. As we move forward, we will utilize this experience to strengthen the agency and ensure that we are doing everything in our power to provide Baltimore's most vulnerable residents with the support they need."

Following a series of extensive audits and in-depth fiscal review by HUD's Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPS) and Office of Community Planning and Development (OCPD), their decision to reinstate the full amount of $6,076,718.83 to the City was supported by Mayor Scott's recent amendments to the City's corrective action approach. This amount reflects the entirety of what Baltimore has spent in support of CoC programs in CoC FY2020 and the City has now been reimbursed.

"This funding is critical in helping MOHS to continue our efforts to provide housing stability, resources, and support to our most vulnerable neighbors," said MOHS Executive Director Ernestina Simmons. "I am thankful to HUD for their partnership and support this past year as they worked alongside MOHS and our service providers to understand both our challenges as well as the steps we have made to improve our systems and processes.

Immediately upon the reimbursement issue arising, Scott Administration officials began engaging with partners at HUD to address the situation. In November 2023, MOHS was authorized to resubmit correspondence to HUD from FY 2020 CoC vouchers for expenditures paid by the City. Over the past 11 months, HUD has worked extensively with MOHS as well as conducted hybrid monitoring of both MOHS and our sub-recipients. On August 30, 2024 HUD informed MOHS we would be fully reimbursed from funds expended for CoC FY2020. On September 3, 2024, the City was reimbursed by HUD.

"The City's support in fronting these funds helped us to not just invest in the citizens of Baltimore but to invest in hope, stability and the future of Baltimore's community overall," said Tara Taylor, Chair of the Baltimore City Continuum of Care. "The approval of these reimbursements will help strengthen our work moving forward. Together we are aiding in the services provided to people experiencing homelessness in Baltimore and ensuring that every resident has a place they can call home and a fair chance to prosper."

Mayor Scott, MOHS, and the Baltimore City CoC are thankful to HUD for their collaboration in processing this request and ensuring that this funding was fully reinstated to the City of Baltimore. We are committing to continuing to work in partnership to support the needs of the clients we serve and are committed to our mission of making homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring in Baltimore.