Community Development Agency
www.santa-ana.org/cd
Item # 3
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
October 7, 2025
TOPIC: Section Eight Management Assessment Program High Performer Certification
AGENDA TITLE
Section Eight Management Assessment Program High Performer Certification for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2025
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Receive and file the Section Eight Management Assessment Program High Performer Certification for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2025.
GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: No
DISCUSSION
For the eighth consecutive year, the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Ana (SAHA) has been designated a High Performer by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Section Eight Management Assessment Program (SEMAP). This prestigious designation recognizes SAHA as one of the nation’s top- performing public housing authorities in administering the Housing Choice Voucher Program. It reflects the dedication and expertise of SAHA staff in delivering high-quality housing assistance to the community’s most vulnerable residents.
SEMAP is HUD’s performance management system for evaluating the management and administration of the Housing Choice Voucher Program. It measures efficiency, regulatory compliance, and program quality across 14 performance indicators, including waiting list management, determination of adjusted income, inspections, utilization, and family self-sufficiency. In general, SEMAP is HUD’s framework for monitoring and measuring the performance of public housing authorities. Public housing authorities (PHAs) that score above 90% are designated as High Performers while those that score below 60% are designated as Troubled and placed under HUD oversight.
SAHA’s SEMAP score for Fiscal Year Ending (FYE) June 30, 2025 was 90%. SAHA earned perfect scores in 10 out of the 14 SEMAP performance indicators. To achieve this success, since July 2015, SAHA has maintained a quality control program that exceeds HUD’s minimum performance management requirements for SEMAP, demonstrating a commitment to program integrity and service excellence. For example, to measure performance under SEMAP Indicator # 3 (Determination of Adjusted
Section Eight Management Assessment Program High Performer Certification October 7, 2025
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Income), staff audited 432 randomly selected tenant files, equal to 12 times the number of files that HUD requires staff to audit. This extraordinary effort ensures accurate housing assistance calculations for every family served.
Program utilization stands out as another key SEMAP performance indicator of the SAHA’s success and serves as a vital measure of how effectively staff utilizes available funding to provide housing assistance to vulnerable families in the community. For SEMAP indicator # 13 (Lease-Up), SAHA utilized 106.4% of its Budget Authority in Calendar Year 2024 (“Budget Authority” is the amount of funds provided by HUD each Calendar Year). The excess above 100% is covered by housing assistance payments (HAP) reserves and recuperated the following year with additional funds authorized by HUD. Over the last five years, sustained efforts to utilize and maximize available funds have increased rental assistance funding for residents by more than $15 million:
Calendar
Year
Total Budget Authority
Expended
(HAP Expense)
Allocated Budget
Authority
(Eligibility)
HAP Expense as
% of Eligibility
2020 $36,624,763 $35,819,279 102.2%
2021 $39,417,200 $38,739,843 101.7%
2022 $42,392,321 $40,497,979 104.7%
2023 $47,195,265 $45,630,128 103.4%
2024 $52,303,277 $49,152,885 106.4%
The Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program also continues to excel, and over the last four (4) years, participation in the program has increased with enrollment at 263% of the mandatory requirement by HUD. This underscores SAHA’s commitment to helping families achieve economic independence.
Section Eight Management Assessment Program High Performer Certification October 7, 2025
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FSS participants sign a 5-Year Contract of Participation, work toward goals for self- sufficiency and employment, and strive to graduate by completing their contract goals and maintaining self-sufficiency without assistance for a year. Over the last five (5) years, 45 families have successfully graduated from the FSS program. As the family’s income increases, a portion of that increase is deposited into an interest-bearing escrow account that they receive (with the accumulated interest) upon graduation. Most recently, a graduation ceremony was held at the WORK Center in September to celebrate 13 new graduates from the program.
This High Performer designation underscores SAHA’s leadership among public housing authorities across the country. By exceeding utilization, maintaining strict quality controls, and investing in family self-sufficiency, SAHA provides a local model of excellence. For the community, this translates into more families housed, accurate housing assistance payments for each family, higher quality units maintained, and residents moving toward economic independence.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
EXHIBIT(S)
1. Housing Authority of the City of Santa Ana SEMAP Score for FYE June 2025
2. SEMAP Certification for FYE June 2025
Submitted By: Michael L. Garcia, Executive Director, Community Development Agency Approved By: Alvaro Nuñez, City Manager