Will Modernizing E-Snaps and Increasing the CoC Planning Grant from 3% to 5% of the Total Funds Available in the Geographic Area be Included in the Approved FY 2023-24 Federal Budget?

When the federal budget process culminates this fall, we will find out if the following budgeted activities included under Homeless Assistance Grants (HAG) in the President’s proposed budget will be included in the approved FY 2023 – 2024 federal budget.

The President’s Budget states

Within the Information Technology Fund, the Budget requests $3 million to modernize the electronic Special Needs Assistance Program System (e-snaps). 

Program Pain Point 

HUD continues to use the e-snaps data system to automate the $2.5 billion Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Competition. The e-snaps system provides an online data portal for all CoC applicants to prepare and submit to HUD a detailed project application for funding. However, the system is brittle and unstable, approaching 14 years old, which is far beyond the original technical limits of the platform. Basic system changes and updates are costly and each change risks the stability of the system. HUD staff constantly employ manual interventions to overcome functional gaps in the system. The CoC Program depends completely on e-snaps performance. System failure, or a significant drop in performance, will be catastrophic, public-facing, and detrimental to local communities and homeless assistance providers.

The President’s Budget also

includes an additional $20 million in CoC planning to expand CoCs’ capacity. The additional $20 million, along with the proposed legislative changes to update the planning limit from 3 percent to the higher of 5 percent or $50,000, will allow CoCs to coordinate with public health, health care, education, employment, and other stakeholders.