HINDS COUNTY MISSISSIPPI

Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) implementation, Hinds County has offered emergency relief to eligible tenants and landlords. The Integrity Group (TIG) was contracted to develop, implement, administer, and verify full compliance with all regulations for the Hinds County Emergency Rental Aid Program (HCERA).

NEED

Funding was provided directly through the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program to the Hinds County Board of Supervisors. HCERA made nearly $15 million available to assist Hinds County households who were unable to pay rent due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Upon the completion of ERA1 spending and in addition to their initial allotment, Hinds County was able to receive a portion of Treasury’s reallocated funds, consequently allowing more funding to be dispersed to those financially impacted.

SOLUTION

Under this program, we developed branded paper applications and a branded online portal for submitting electronic applications and uploading required documentation from residents and landlords. In this portal, frequently asked questions were developed and continuously updated to mimic the fluctuating Treasury guidance. We developed and administered this program to provide relief and assistance to those financially affected in Hinds County. Within this program, we conducted outreach events, assessed programmatic operations to ensure expediency and efficiency, collected and processed individual applications, and performed validation reviews through payment initiation. We have received approximately 4,000 applications, awarding close to $15 million. The portal syncs with a real-time quick view dashboard to allow leadership to track grant disbursement performance. The online dashboard serves as our Case Management System, which receives all portal application information and uploaded documentation. Our dashboard is updated in real-time with status changes and reviewers’ comments documenting interactions with applicants throughout the application review process, also allowing applicants to track and view their status.

RESULTS

The Hinds County Emergency Rental Aid Program (HCERA), administered by The Integrity Group (TIG), has produced remarkable results in providing much-needed relief to eligible tenants and landlords amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 Pandemic and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) implementation. TIG successfully developed and implemented a program that received around 4,000 applications, resulting in the distribution of close to $15 million in funds.  Because of the expertise and hard work of The Integrity Group, Hinds County was able to receive additional reallocated funds, further increasing the assistance provided to those financially affected by the pandemic.

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