Jobs Plus Initiative | FR 6200 N 14

Opportunity Information: Apply for FR 6200 N 14

The Jobs Plus Initiative is a discretionary grant program run by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) designed to reduce poverty in public housing by increasing residents employment and earnings. The program is intentionally place-based, meaning it focuses on a specific public housing development (or developments) and aims to "saturate" that community with both practical employment supports and strong financial incentives so that working becomes more common, visible, and socially reinforced. In plain terms, Jobs Plus is meant to change the local environment around work: it helps residents prepare for jobs, connect to real employers, keep and advance in jobs once hired, and feel supported by neighbors and housing staff while doing it.

At the center of Jobs Plus are three required, reinforcing components that must be implemented together. The first is Employment-Related Services, which are on-the-ground services that help residents move from unemployment or underemployment into stable work and higher earnings. HUD expects grantees to deliver job readiness and career exploration workshops, job search and placement assistance, entrepreneurship supports, and access to paid work-based learning such as on-the-job training, internships, pre-apprenticeships, and Registered Apprenticeships. The program also emphasizes ongoing support after placement, including job retention help and career advancement coaching, as well as rapid re-employment support if someone loses a job. Because job search now depends heavily on technology, the program also calls for access to computers and basic office resources (phones, fax, copiers) along with training so residents can actually use them effectively for job-related tasks.

A key requirement is that successful applicants must partner with the local Workforce Development Board and American Job Center (also known as the One-Stop system). This is meant to anchor the program in the mainstream workforce system and expand residents access to training and employer connections already operating in the region. Applicants are expected to use local labor market information during planning and throughout implementation, so that training and placement are aligned with jobs that are realistically available and growing locally, rather than disconnected from employer demand. HUD also suggests that grantees consider dedicated on-site workforce staff who function as job developers and case managers. Job developers focus on relationships with employers and identifying or creating job opportunities, while case managers provide one-on-one guidance that helps residents navigate barriers, stay engaged, and meet their employment goals.

The second required component is a financial incentive called the Jobs Plus Earned Income Disregard (JPEID). This is designed to remove one of the most common work disincentives in public housing: when earned income rises, rent typically rises too. Under JPEID, a participating residents incremental earned income (the increase in earnings after enrolling) is excluded from the rent calculation, which effectively neutralizes rent increases tied to new or higher wages. The disregard can apply for up to 48 months starting from enrollment and runs through the end of the grant period. Importantly, baseline income is essentially locked in for the term of the grant once JPEID is triggered, so residents who enroll earlier may benefit longer than those who enroll later. All residents in a Jobs Plus development are eligible for JPEID even if they do not participate in other program services, but they must sign up for Jobs Plus to access it. The program also notes that residents who previously used some or all of their standard lifetime Earned Income Disregard eligibility can still receive the full Jobs Plus version, and when the grant ends, rents return to regular income-based levels at the next recertification.

From an administrative standpoint, PHAs must calculate and document each participants rent during each recertification both with and without the incremental earned income included, and the difference is what gets reimbursed to the PHA using Jobs Plus grant funds. HUD flags that other rent-loss compensation mechanisms will be adjusted to prevent duplicative payment. The program also recognizes that earning more can affect other benefits (sometimes called benefit cliffs), so grantees are expected to help residents understand the full financial picture of increased earnings and to encourage use of other work incentives where applicable, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.

The third required component is Community Supports for Work (CSW), which is about building a development-wide culture where employment is encouraged, normalized, and supported socially, not just through formal services. HUD frames this as community change work: strengthening trust between residents and PHA staff, reducing isolation, building resident leadership, and creating a shared sense of purpose around economic security. CSW is not limited to occasional social events; it is intended to produce real peer-to-peer support that makes it easier to pursue and keep work. Examples include residents sharing job leads, helping with resumes, driving each other to interviews or organizing carpools, offering encouragement, and informally helping with child supervision during interviews. CSW also includes consistent messaging that "work pays," highlighting success stories, and using community-based outreach so information travels through resident networks, not only through official channels. HUD stresses that CSW should involve the entire development, including PHA staff not directly assigned to Jobs Plus (like property management or maintenance staff) who can reinforce the programs norms and encourage participation.

To keep residents engaged over time, the opportunity emphasizes outreach and retention strategies that reach residents across the full employment spectrum, from people with little or no work history to residents who are currently working but underemployed and seeking better wages or advancement. A central engagement tactic is the use of resident Community Coaches. These are residents empowered to shape offerings, guide outreach based on lived knowledge of the community, gather feedback, participate in governance conversations, promote program features like JPEID and training options, and mentor other residents. The underlying idea is that lasting participation and long-term impact are more likely when residents have visible leadership roles and feel the program belongs to them rather than being something imposed from outside.

Beyond the three core components, HUD encourages applicants to build strong partnerships that connect residents to additional supports that remove barriers to work, such as childcare, transportation solutions, health and behavioral health resources, and other stabilization services. The program expects each participant to have an Individualized Training and Services Plan (ITSP) that lays out goals, identifies the mix of services and strategies to reach those goals, and provides a way to track progress over time. This adds structure and accountability and helps ensure services are not one-size-fits-all.

Historically, Jobs Plus is based on a model developed through a public-private partnership involving HUD, the Rockefeller Foundation, and MDRC between 1998 and 2003. HUD cites evaluations showing positive effects on residents outcomes when the model is implemented well and includes all three required elements, reinforcing that the program is evidence-informed and that fidelity to the model matters.

In the specific grant listing provided, the opportunity is titled "Jobs Plus Initiative" (Funding Opportunity Number FR 6200 N 14) and is categorized as a HUD discretionary grant under CFDA 14.895. It was posted in June 2018 with an application deadline in August 2018, anticipated to make about five awards, and listed an award ceiling of $3.7 million per award. The overall thrust of the funding is to help public housing agencies and partners deliver a comprehensive, community-wide employment strategy that combines services, rent incentives, and culture change to increase employment, earnings, and longer-term economic security for public housing residents.

• The US Department of Housing and Urban Development in the housing sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Jobs Plus Initiative" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 14.895.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 13, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 14, 2018 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,700,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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