What Is The Housing Counseling Program?

The Housing Counseling Program works with the Public Housing and Section 8 Programs. The client base includes applicants, residents, and program participants.  The services provided include one-to-one counseling sessions for individuals who may be at risk of denial, eviction or termination.  Applicants may be counseled for various reasons including past evictions, criminal history, negative behavior and other circumstances that would jeopardize their applications or tenancy with CDA.

Clients will benefit from the Housing Counseling Program by learning how to change their situations in order to become eligible as applicants and to be successful residents. The goal of the Housing Counseling Program is to decrease the number of applicants and residents/participants who are denied or evicted/ terminated from CDA's housing programs.

How Does The Housing Counseling Program Work?

An applicant may be found ineligible for the Section 8 and/or Public Housing due to negative Landlord references (PH), negative behavior, insufficient information (PH), or drug related or violent criminal behavior (S8).  Resources used in screening an application are the following:

• Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Program (WCCP)

• Madison Police Department Initial Contact Sheets

• The Registry, Criminal Check America (out-of-state criminal histories.) 

• Landlord Reference Forms

• Happy software (money owed to another Housing Authority)

The Program Eligibility Monitor may find reasons for denial from these resources, such as evictions, violent criminal behavior, or drug related charges.  If so, the applicant would be forwarded to the Housing Counselor.

The Housing Counselor will review the information and will send the applicant a letter indicating that their application may be at-risk of denial and to contact the Housing Counselor to further discuss their application.  The Housing Counselor may refer an applicant to AODA services or mental  health treatment so that the applicant can work on changing their behaviors in order to become eligible for housing.  The Housing Counselor will ask for documents to prove that behaviors and circumstances have changed, such as verification from AODA or mental health treatment programs stating successful completion.  Letters from Probation/Parole Officers stating that the applicant is in compliance with the program, letters from Landlords that the applicant has made a payment plan and letters of recommendation for tenancy are helpful too.

Once the documents are received, the Housing Counselor works with CDA staff, such as the Program Eligibility Coordinator and the Program Assistant 3 in order to decide if the applicant could now be eligible for CDA programs.

For further information contact our Housing counselor at: (608) 267-8694 Ext 301