HUD Awards $75 Million in FSS Grants

~ Tushar Gurjal

Today, HUD announced that it was awarding $75 million in grants through the Family Self-Sufficieny (FSS) program. The grants allow for public housing residents, Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program participants, and recipients of Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) to advance their education or receive job-training skills. The grants allow public housing agencies (PHAs) to work with social service agencies, community colleges, businesses, and other local partners to help individuals participating in the program.

HUD’s press release on the awards can be found here.

A list of the grant awards can be found here.

HUD Partners with Comcast to Expand Internet Essentials Program

~ Tushar Gurjal

On July 15, HUD announced that it was teaming up with Comcast to expand Comcast’s Internet Essentials program. After this expansion, all public housing and HUD-assisted residents that are within Comcast’s service area are eligible to apply for Internet Essentials. Internet Essentials is Comcast’s high-speed internet adoption program for low-income families. An estimated 2 million HUD-assisted homes will now be eligible for low-cost internet service.

HUD’s full press release can be read here.

HR 3700 Sent to President for Signature

~ Georgi Banna

In a huge victory for NAHRO and its members, the Senate today approved the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HR 3700) unanimously by a voice vote, sending the bill to the President for his signature.
The bill was approved using a process known as “hot-lining”, a procedure to quickly pass non-controversial legislation. It was passed by the House unanimously on February 2, 2016.

“NAHRO commends the House and the Senate for their work on this critical legislation. With the President’s signature, housing authorities across the country will be able to do their jobs more efficiently and serve their residents and communities better,” said NAHRO President Steve Merritt.

NAHRO thanks everyone involved in the passage of this important legislation, including legislators and their staff, NAHRO membership, and partner housing advocacy groups.

“This is a big deal. The passage of HR 3700 marks the culmination of years of work by members of Congress and their staff, NAHRO members and staff, and the housing community at large. It demonstrates that housing reform is a priority and can be accomplished, and that the legislative process does still work,” said NAHRO’s Acting CEO John Bohm.

New HUD Guidance on the Review Process for Assessments of Fair Housing

~ Jenny Hsu

Last week, HUD published a new document that will assist program participants in understanding how the Department will conduct its review of an Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) and apply the two standards established in Section 5.162 of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Final Rule. HUD will not accept an AFH if:

  1. The AFH is inconsistent with fair housing or civil rights requirements; or
  2. The AFH is substantially incomplete.

The document also describes the general principles that will guide HUD reviewers as they apply the two standards and additional information related to HUD’s review. Also included are examples of reasons that HUD will not accept an AFH, an explanation of why the AFH would be substantially incomplete or inconsistent with fair housing or civil rights requirements, and the corrective actions HUD will seek.

Visit the NAHRO Resource Center for more information on the AFFH rule and requirements.

New RAD Resources and Webinar

~ Tushar Gurjal

In its “RADBlast!” email, HUD announced the availability of two Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) resources:

  1. Initial Year Funding Instructions – a document that describes the calculation of funding during the initial year and provides instructions on how to access the funds; and
  2. Initial Year Funding Tool – a revised and simplified version of the prior tool that “allows PHAs and Project Owners to calculate the amount of revenue that will be available to the project in the Initial Year and ensures that all parties have an accurate understanding of these amounts.”

To access these resources, and others, please go to HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration Resource Desk (www.radresource.net) after logging-in and click on the “Document Library” link under “Main Menu Selections.”

Additionally, HUD will hold a live question-and-answer webinar to walk through the revised tool and answer questions that participants may have. The webinar will be held on July 13, 2016 between 3 pm and 4 pm (EST). Registration for the webinar can be found here.

MTW Advisory Committee Meetings Announced

~ Eric Oberdorfer

On Monday, July 11, HUD announced the schedule and proposed agenda for two MTW Advisory Committee meetings. The meetings will be held via conference call on Tuesday, July 26, 2016, and Thursday, July 28. The meeting is open to the public and is accessible to individuals with disabilities. Tuesday’s call will focus on increasing housing choices for low-income families. Thursday’s call will focus on cost-effectiveness and incentives to increase self-sufficiency for families with children.

In its FY 2016 Appropriations bill, Congress directed HUD to expand the MTW by 100 additional public housing agencies (PHAs) over the next seven years. Congress also called on HUD to establish a federal research advisory committee. The research advisory committee is responsible for advising HUD on specific policy proposals and methods of research and evaluation for MTW.

The public is invited to call-in to both meetings by using the following toll-free number in the United States: (800) 230-1766, or the following International number for those outside the United States: (612) 288-0329. Please be advised that the operator will ask callers to provide their names and their organizational affiliations (if any) prior to placing callers into the conference line.

More information can be found here. Background information on the MTW Expansion can be found here (members only). NAHRO’s MTW policy proposals and research evaluation recommendations can be found here (members only).

CBPP Publishes Chart Book on the Benefits of Federal Rental Assistance

~ Tushar Gurjal

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) has published a Chart Book titled “Rental Assistance Reduces Hardship, Promotes Children’s Long-Term Success.” It has some great charts that help to illustrate why rental assistance is so crucial.

Here’s one taken from page 6 of the chart book PDF that illustrates the benefits of the HUD-VASH program.

Homelessness Among Veterans Fell as Targeted Voucher Program Expanded

The Center’s web-based chart book can be found here.

The Center’s PDF of the chart book can be found here.

HUD Awards 10 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants

~ Jenny Hsu

On June 28, HUD awarded $8 million in Choice Neighborhoods Planning grants to 10 communities across the nation. The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) helps struggling neighborhoods with severely distressed public housing or HUD-assisted housing by comprehensively investing in the community’s housing, residents and neighbors. Planning Grants, which assist communities in developing their comprehensive neighborhood revitalization plan or “Transformation Plan,” is one of two types of grants offered through the Initiative. Implementation Grants, which support communities that are ready to implement their Transformation Plan, are also funded through this program.

HUD is awarding Choice Neighborhood Planning funds to the following grantees:

  • Asbury Park Housing Authority, New Jersey
  • Housing Authority of the City of Brownsville, Texas
  • Greater Dayton Premier Management, Ohio
  • Louisville Metro Housing Authority, Kentucky
  • Metropolitan Development and Housing Authority (Nashville, Tennessee)
  • City of Newport News, Virginia
  • City of Phoenix, Arizona
  • Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Sanford Housing Authority, Florida
  • City of Shreveport, Louisiana

Prior to the funding announcement for the FY 2015/FY 2016 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant last November, Planning Grant funds could only be used for the creation of a Transformation Plan. HUD has now introduced a new component called Planning and Action Grants that will allow communities to use grants of up to $2 million over three years to demonstrate a commitment to “doing while planning.”

During the planning process, communities will identify Action Activities to be carried out during the latter portion of the grant period that must build upon the planning for the target housing and neighborhood. Eligible Action Activities may include reclaiming and recycling vacant property into community gardens, pocket parks, farmers’ markets, or land banking; beautification, placemaking, and community arts projects; homeowner and business façade improvement programs; neighborhood broadband/Wi-Fi; fresh food initiatives; and gap financing for economic development projects. The inspiration for this new component comes from the 63 previously awarded Planning Grantees that showed “tangible, early actions help sustain community energy, attract new resources, and build momentum to turn that plan into reality.”

Read comprehensive summaries of the 10 Choice Neighborhoods Planning grants here.

Additional New Proposed Administrative Fee Links

~ Tushar Gurjal

On July 6, in an email to Public Housing Agency (PHA) Executive Directors, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Castro Ramirez announced a proposed administrative fee HUD webpage that consolidates information on the new proposed administrative fee formula.

The page includes the following resources:

HUD’s page on the new proposed rule administrative fee formula can be read here.