Continuum of Care
CoC Program
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) set up the CoC program to distribute housing funds to communities across the U.S. Service providers in Austin and Travis County received about $12 million in CoC funds for FY 2023. This is one of several sources of funding providers use to help end homelessness in our community.
2024 CoC Competition
The 2024 Continuum of Care Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) has not yet been released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Competition materials will be posted here as they are made available.
Intent to Apply (Renewal Projects Only)
CoC Program
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Overview
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About our CoC
Our local CoC (designated TX-503 by HUD) encompasses Austin and Travis County. CoC partners agree to share data and follow common strategies, best practices, policies, procedures, and standards. This ensures agencies are working from the same blueprint in building a sustainable rehousing system. In addition, many agencies that are not directly funded through the CoC program also participate in the community’s data-sharing network (HMIS) and follow the same standards.
Information on our community’s most recent CoC grant awardees can be found on the HUD Exchange website.
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ECHO’s Role
ECHO does not operate housing programs or provide direct services. Our role is to help coordinate the organizations who do.
ECHO is the Lead Agency and Collaborative Applicant of Austin/Travis County CoC. HUD requires that communities pick a single agency to apply for federal grant funds through the program. The agency is responsible for collecting and evaluating project applications from partner organizations (like those listed on our partners page) and submitting a single collaborative grant application on behalf of the community. The CoC Lead Agency is also responsible for conducting the biennial Point in Time (PIT) Count of people experiencing homelessness.
ECHO is also the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Lead for the Austin/Travis County CoC. HMIS is a centralized, person-level database that providers across our community use to connect people with the services and resources they need to end their homelessness. Most providers in our community use this database. Our HMIS and Research & Evaluation Teams examine this data regularly to inform our system’s work.
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Oversight
Each CoC across the country is required to have a governing board. Our local board, Leadership Council, is comprised of people who’ve experienced homelessness, service providers, government leaders, community equity advocates, funders, and others invested in the work to end homelessness. Leadership Council receives staff support from ECHO but operates independently.
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CoC Program Scorecards
Policies, Procedures, & Written Standards
Documents & Forms
CoC Competition Archive
Additional application materials from the most recent competition, plus previous years’ finalized priority listings and collaborative applications