DCA outlines NJ Homes, veterans housing push, lead-abatement surge and ARPA spending status in budget hearing

The commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs told the Assembly Budget Committee on April 15, 2025, that the department will launch an NJ Homes initiative to provide technical assistance and funding for municipal affordable-housing planning and that it has obligated $180,000,000 for childhood lead remediation and abatement (LRAP).

"NJ Homes will go live on the April 25 in New Brunswick," the commissioner said, describing the program as a mix of curriculum, a Launchpad competitive cohort for 10 to 20 municipalities, and technical assistance intended to help towns choose housing types that fit their communities while meeting statutory obligations.

Why it matters: DCA’s presentation tied multiple programs to the department’s three stated pillars — data-driven decision making, stakeholder engagement, and a solutions focus — and emphasized the department’s role as both funder and technical adviser to municipalities facing new affordable-housing calculations under state law and persistent demand for life-cycle housing.

The department described NJ Homes as designed to keep local elected officials “in the driver’s seat” when meeting obligations under recent affordable-housing legislation (referred to in testimony as "A 4"/A4S50) and the Mount Laurel doctrine, offering planning tools, pilot funding and a Launchpad that prioritizes municipalities committed to developing projects within 12 months.

Veterans, homelessness prevention and a "surge" DCA said it is leading the Bringing Veterans Home initiative, launched in fall 2024 and run from the department’s Office of Homelessness Prevention in partnership with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. The department described a goal to reduce veteran homelessness to “functional zero” by July 1, 2026, supported by more than $30,000,000 in state and federal funds.

The commissioner said the state will use a statewide, by-name list of veterans at risk, six regional coordination hubs and a short-term surge response that aims to house 300 veterans during a 180‑day surge that followed a March training at the New Jersey National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt.

Lead remediation and LRAP DCA reported it has obligated the full $180,000,000 in LRAP funding from the legislature’s FY2023–FY2024 investments to remediate lead-based paint hazards. The department estimates that LRAP funds will address about 7,200 housing units and said 55 nonprofit and local-government grantees — all trained in lead remediation and abatement — will carry out the work.

The commissioner contrasted that $180,000,000 LRAP effort with an earlier $10,700,000 expenditure (2015–2020) that remediated about 625 homes, saying LRAP will address roughly 12 times as many units as the prior effort.

Shared services, LEAP and school regionalization DCA highlighted the Local Assistance Bureau (the Lab) within the Division of Local Government Services that supports shared services, reporting more than 4,000 shared-service agreements since 2018 and an estimated cost savings of over $280,000,000. The department has issued 120 Local Efficiency Achievement Program (LEAP) grants since FY2020 totaling just over $18,000,000 and said it plans to expand LEAP allocations.

Atlantic City, redevelopment and public safety For Atlantic City, DCA said its 2025 agenda focuses on homelessness, economic development and clean-and-safe initiatives. The department described partnerships with nonprofits and health providers to address unsheltered homelessness, a review of tax-abatement ordinances, negotiations around Renaissance Plaza redevelopment to secure an anchor grocery store, and collaborations with Stockton University’s Lloyd D. Levinson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism on a brand campaign.

ARPA funding status and federal-dependency risks Answering committee questions about American Rescue Plan Act funding, the commissioner said the state received about $6,200,000,000; DCA has fully obligated its allocation and reported about half of that obligation remains unexpended — roughly $3,100,000,000 — though the commissioner said the department has not identified grantees who will miss the federal expenditure deadline. DCA emphasized its practice of advancing funds and then reimbursing grantees as they document expenditures.

Committee members raised specific urgency about ARPA-funded projects for trauma-care expansions at University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ). DCA staff said those projects have received advances and that disbursements are tied to documented expenditures: "Once they show us that we spent down that $20,000,000 they get their next tranche of funding," the deputy commissioner explained, and the federal expenditure deadline for ARPA funds is December 31, 2026.

Office of Homelessness Prevention and eviction prevention DCA described an eviction-prevention focus tied to its Office of Homelessness Prevention and said diversion and rapid rehousing programs can be far cheaper than full homelessness: the department cited a per-case comparison described in testimony (an average two-year cost if someone becomes homeless versus a much smaller average cost for upstream diversion), and said nine-month follow-up data showed durable housing stability for many who received prevention assistance.

Bureau of Housing Inspection and code enforcement Committee members asked about increases in collections for the Bureau of Housing Inspection (BHI). DCA said revenue increases were driven by improved administrative systems that sped billing and collection, and that fines are intended to gain compliance rather than punish. The department also described audits and on-site assistance when construction code offices show nonuniform enforcement.

Nut graf: The Assembly Budget Committee hearing covered a broad set of operational priorities at DCA — from an NJ Homes technical-assistance launch intended to steer municipalities through new housing calculations, to targeted homelessness and veteran-housing surge efforts, to a major lead-abatement push — while committee members pressed the department on ARPA drawdown timelines, trust‑fund balances and practical implementation hurdles at the municipal level.

Ending: Committee follow-up requests and next steps Assembly members asked DCA to provide follow-up materials through the committee chair: breakdowns of Affordable Housing Trust Fund balances (including obligated vs. unencumbered amounts), the status of ARPA grantee drawdowns (including the trauma-center projects), LEAP and SREP grant lists, LRAP grantee lists and expected unit counts, and data on LIHEAP and other utility assistance outreach and denials. The commissioner agreed to provide additional data and to coordinate with grantees to expedite reimbursements where possible.