By Stanley Keasling, RCAC CEO

When RCAC received its new short-term contract with Rural Development, I reached out to tell all of you about the new requirement for a “Quality Control Assessment” (QCA).

This is a new requirement in the contract and we wanted all of you to be aware of the new process before we started conducting the assessments in conjunction with quarterly meetings.

From all reports the process has gone well, but admittedly I have only heard from a few grantees and RCAC staff. I would welcome more feedback, especially if the assessment yielded positive results or if there were problems.

Personally, I think that the QCA can and should add value to RCAC’s regular interaction with self-help staff. I am also convinced that our ongoing efforts to help streamline the 502 packaging process could help to alleviate some of the issues around timely loan processing. And, RCAC is willing to help any grantee who continues to have packaging issues.

One last thing, Michael Carroll who has been running the loan fund and housing programs at RCAC for almost 10 years is leaving to take a job with the California Housing Finance Agency. We are really sad to see Michael leave, but we wish him all the best. We are recruiting for his replacement.