MARION COUNTY — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded a $44,747 Family Self-Sufficiency Program grant to the Marion County Housing Authority to help families living in public housing further their education, find good jobs and set them on a path to self-sufficiency.

The grants are designed to help local public housing authorities hire service coordinators who work directly with residents to connect them with programs and services that already exist in the local community.

Participants in the program sign a five-year contract that requires the head of the household to obtain employment and that no member of the FSS family is receiving cash welfare assistance at the end of the five-year term.

Families in the FSS program have an interest-bearing escrow account established for them.

The amount credited to the family’s escrow account is based on increases in the family’s earned income during the term of the FSS contract.

If the family successfully completes its FSS contract, the family receives the escrow funds that it can use for any purpose, including improving credit scores, paying educational expenses, or a down-payment on a home.