100-77 ). Among the programs authorized in the McKinney-Vento Act were four grants to provide housing and related assistance to homeless persons: the Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program, the Supportive Housing Demonstration program, the Supplemental Assistance for Facilities to Assist the Homeless (SAFAH) program, and the Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Assistance for Single Room Occupancy Dwellings (SRO) program. These four programs, administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), were created to provide temporary and permanent housing to homeless persons, along with supportive services. These were the ESG program, the Supportive Housing Program (SHP), the Shelter Plus Care (S+C) program, and the SRO program. On May 20, 2009, for the first time since 1992, the Homeless Assistance Grants were reauthorized as part of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act ( P.L. 111-22 ). 111-22 (the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act). The HEARTH Act changed the makeup of the four existing grants—the SHP, S+C, and SRO programs were combined into one grant called the "Continuum of Care" (CoC) program; the ESG program was renamed the "Emergency Solutions Grants"; and rural communities were to have the option of competing for funds under a new Rural Housing Stability Assistance Program (RHS). The way in which the funds are distributed, the purposes for which grantees may use funds, and the people who may be served have also changed. It describes
the HEARTH Act changes to the definition of homelessness in the section " The Definition of Homelessness "; the way in which ESG operated prior to HEARTH Act implementation as well as the changes made beginning in FY2011 in the section " The Emergency Solutions Grants Program (ESG) "; components of the competitive Homeless Assistance Grants prior to enactment of the HEARTH Act, and how they have been absorbed in the CoC program in the section " Transition to the Continuum of Care Program "; how funds are distributed pursuant to the CoC program in the section " Distribution of Continuum of Care Program Funds "; and the housing and services that are authorized to be provided through the RHS program and how communities are to receive funds in the section " Rural Housing Stability Assistance Program ." Other Federal Definitions

P.L. From its creation through FY2010, the funds distributed through the ESG program were provided primarily for the emergency shelter and service needs of homeless persons. 111-22 ), it not only changed its name, but the focus of the program was broadened to include an expanded role for homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing (assistance to quickly find permanent housing for individuals or families who find themselves homeless). Funding for the ESG Program

Until enactment of P.L. The CDBG program formula is meant to distribute funds based on a community's need for development; the ESG program has used the CDBG formula to target funds for homeless assistance since its inception, and the HEARTH Act did not alter this part of the law. See Table 2 . Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Construction: CoC program funds can be used to acquire and/or rehabilitate property to be used for housing or supportive services for homeless individuals. P.L. However, in July 2016, HUD released a proposal to change the CoC formula so that the CDBG formula is no longer used. There are several steps in the need-determination process. In FY2017, approximately $2 billion is available for the CoC program. Rapid Rehousing (RR) projects : new and reallocated funds can be used for rapid rehousing projects serving homeless individuals and families, including unaccompanied youth. Who May Be Served

Unlike the CoC program, communities that participate in the RHS program are able to serve persons who do not necessarily meet HUD's definition of "homeless individual." Funding for the Homeless Assistance Grants

After creating the four Homeless Assistance Grants in 1987, Congress played a decreasing role in how funds are allocated among them. In FY2016, 90% of the CoC funds allocated went to renew existing grants.
The Homeless Assistance Grants, administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), were first authorized by Congress in 1987 as part of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (P.L. 100-77). Since their creation, the grants have been composed of three or four separate programs, though for the majority of their existence, between 1992 and 2012, the grant programs were unchanged. During this time period, there were four programs authorized and funded by Congress: the Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG), the Supportive Housing Program (SHP), the Shelter Plus Care (S+C) program, and the Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation for Single Room Occupancy Dwellings (SRO) program. Funds for the ESG program were used primarily for the short-term needs of homeless persons, such as emergency shelter, while the other three programs addressed longer-term transitional and permanent housing needs.
The composition of the Homeless Assistance Grants changed when Congress enacted the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act as part of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act in the 111th Congress (P.L. 111-22). The HEARTH Act renamed the ESG program (it is now called the Emergency Solutions Grants) and expanded the way in which funds can be used to include homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing (quickly finding housing for families who find themselves homeless), and it consolidated SHP, S+C, and SRO into one program called the Continuum of Care (CoC) program. A third program carved out of the CoC program to assist rural communities―the Rural Housing Stability Assistance Program―was also created by P.L. 111-22. In addition, the HEARTH Act broadened HUD's definition of homelessness. The changes in P.L. 111-22 had repercussions for the way in which funds are distributed to grantees, the purposes for which grantees may use funds, and who may be served.
HUD began to implement the ESG program in FY2011 and the CoC program in FY2012, and it released proposed regulations for the Rural Housing Stability (RHS) grants in March 2013 (and has not yet provided RHS grants). Funds for the ESG program, in addition to being available for homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing, can be used for emergency shelter and supportive services. CoC program funds can be used to provide permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, supportive services, and rapid rehousing. If the RHS program is implemented, rural communities will have greater flexibility in who they are able to serve (those assisted may not necessarily meet HUD's definition of "homeless individual"), and may use funds for a variety of housing and services options.
HUD uses one method to distribute funds for the ESG program and another method to distribute funds for the CoC program. The ESG program distributes funds to states, counties, and metropolitan areas using the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program formula, while the CoC grants are distributed through a competitive process, though the CDBG formula plays a role in determining community need. In July 2016, HUD proposed to change the CoC formula so that it no longer relies on the CDBG formula distribution.
Funding for the Homeless Assistance Grants has increased by almost $1 billion in the last 10 years, reaching nearly $2.4 billion in FY2017 compared to $1.4 billion in FY2007 (see Table 3). Despite funding increases, the need to renew existing grants requires the majority of funding. In FY2016, 90% of the CoC program allocation was used to renew existing grants.