As NAHRO previously reported, EveryoneOn, in partnership with HUD, has announced the expansion of the ConnectHome pilot program. First unveiled in 2015, ConnectHome is a White House initiative aimed at narrowing the digital divide within 28 pilot communities (which includes participation from 23 NAHRO member agencies). ConnectHome tested the impact of cross-sector collaborators using non-government resources in order to accelerate the adoption and utilization of broadband technology by families living in HUD-assisted housing.
Senate Committee Votes Favorably on Three HUD Nominees
This morning the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs voted favorably and sent to the full Senate the HUD nominations of Mr. J. Paul Compton, Jr., to be General Counsel; Ms. Anna M. Farias, to be Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity; Mr. Neal J. Rackleff, to be Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.
The committee conducted individual voice votes for each nominee. Mr. Compton’s nomination went to a roll call vote (15 favorable, 7 opposed.) Sens. Brown and Menendez spoke after the vote. Sen. Brown voted “opposed” on all three HUD nominees because of concerns with the nominees’ application and enforcement of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule. Sen. Menendez only voted “opposed” on General Counsel nominee, Mr. Compton, because of AFFH concerns where Mr. Compton’s written question answers backtracked on the support for AFFH Mr. Compton expressed during the hearing.
Past Due Section 3 Reports Due July 31, 2017
On July 7, 2017, HUD’s Economic Opportunity Division of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity issued a notice regarding Section 3 reporting due dates for PHAs. Reporting due dates for PHAs are now based on the PHA fiscal year end (FYE), and generally are due 60 days after the PHA FYE. Non-PHAs that are recipients of Section 3 funding will continue to submit annual reports as they have done so in the past.
However the notice did provide specific dues dates for past due reports. Past due Section 3 reports for 2013, 2014, and 2015 must be submitted by July 31, 2017. Also Section 3 reports for 2016 are due 60 days after the PHA FYE, if not already submitted. For 2017 and beyond, Section 3 reports are due 60 days after PHA FYE.
The process of for electronically submitting your Section 3 reports can be found on the HUD website.
HCV Shortfall Funding Deadline This Friday (7/28/17) at 5 pm ET
As previously mentioned on this blog, the deadline for applying for Shortfall Prevention Team (SPT)-confirmed shortfalls in September, October, or November 2017 is July 28 by 5 pm ET.
Shortfall Funding – There are the two scenarios under which a PHA can apply for shortfall funding. In Scenario 1, HUD’s Shortfall Prevention Team (SPT) has confirmed the shortfall, while in Scenario 2, PHAs have managed their budget in a reasonable and responsible manner, but are later confirmed to be in a SPT-confirmed shortfall position. PHAs with questions related to the calculation of HUD-confirmed shortfall should contact the SPT at 2017ShortfallInquiries@hud.gov. The subject line should include the PHA’s number. There are certain submission requirements that must be met. While Category 1 shortfall set-aside funding will remain available throughout CY 2017, PHAs with SPT-confirmed shortfalls in September, October, or November 2017 must submit an application no later than 5 pm ET Friday, July 28. For PHAs with SPT-confirmed shortfalls for December 2017, the application deadline is 5 pm ET, Monday, January 22, 2018. Requests can be be made via email (2017Set-AsideApplications@hud.gov2017Set-AsideApplications@hud.gov) or via mail.
More information about applying for shortfall funding can be found in PIH 2017-10 (HA).
Housing Organization and Education Partnerships Survey
As part of NAHRO’s work to improve the educational outcomes of the children that your agencies serve and as part of NAHRO’s ongoing partnership with the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation (PAHRC), we ask for your participation in an education partnership survey. Below are the details.
The work our HAs and housing partners do expands well beyond just providing stable housing. We know that connecting the housing sector to other areas like education can create the impact necessary to improve life outcomes. In order to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the landscape of housing organizations involved in this critical work, we have partnered with PAHRC and Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) to collect data.
You may have already received a brief survey from PAHRC, but we would like to remind you to add your housing organization’s story by answering this brief five to nine question survey. All data will be aggregated and no single organization’s data will be identifiable or shared. If the survey does not appear, you can copy this link and paste it into your web browser http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/2715688/f0550dd524bf
The survey asks about education services and related programs you provide directly to your residents or provide through partnerships with other organizations. It also inquires about the challenges related to providing these services or why they might be too difficult for your housing organization to provide at all. Even if you do not currently provide education services, we still encourage you to take the survey. If you are a public housing authority that administers multiple housing authorities, please note in the comments which services are provided for each housing authority.
This survey is part of a larger research project being conducted by PAHRC, a HAI Group company; the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA); and Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) to build knowledge on how housing organizations are working to improve education outcomes for residents and the tools used in the most successful programs. The initiative is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
We know you may have received other surveys regarding your education efforts and want you to know that we are working with the industry groups and partner non-profit organizations to coordinate our efforts. It is exciting that there has been a growing interest in this work and how we can better it, and we greatly appreciate you assisting in the effort to highlight your work and contribute to the field at large.
Thank you for your time! We appreciate your help in improving knowledge about the many services housing agencies provide to their community. Please contact kstater@housingcenter.com or kmelwain@housingcenter.com with any questions.
The FY 2017 Continuum of Care Program Competition is Now Open
On July 14, HUD announced the publication of the FY 2017 Continuum of Care (CoC) Program Competition Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), making available approximately $2 billion in FY 2017 for the CoC Program. The CoC Program is a HUD administered program designed to promote a community-wide commitment to the goals of ending homelessness and provides funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, States, and local governments to quickly re-house individuals and families experiencing homelessness. As of July 18, the FY 2017 CoC Consolidated Application and project applications are available in e-snaps.
The submission deadline is Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 8:00 PM EDT.
Listed below are a number of highlights and special considerations for the FY 2017 competition. More information can be found on HUD’s FY 2017 CoC Program Competition: Funding Availability Page. Continue reading
HUD Provides Information on 2016 Executive Compensation Collection
On July 18, HUD sent an email to PHA Executive Directors informing them that the web application for the on-line collection of Calendar Year 2016 Executive Compensation data will be available Monday, July 24, through Friday, August 11, 2017. HUD also issued Notice PIH-2017-11 providing additional information on CY 2016 executive compensation reporting.
HUD has changed the log-in process from prior years. To enter data, PHAs will have to login to HUD’s Secure Systems, then open the application link in a new Internet Explorer tab or window and login using the same password used for HUD’s Secure Systems.
The link will be active Monday, July 24, through Friday, August 11, 2017.
Questions? Contact Ken Peterson at 702-236-9112, Deborah Fox at 404-229-8952, Eric Willis at 202-475-8822, or email PHACompensation@HUD.gov.
HUD Announces FUP-FSS Webinar
HUD announced a webinar provided by CSH for PHAs (and partners) that are implementing the FUP-FSS demonstration in their community on July 31 from 3:30 – 5 PM EST. The webinar is directed to PHAs that have already been approved to implement a FUP-FSS demonstration, but other PHAs with an FSS program are also welcome to register. During the webinar, two demonstration sites will review how they have implemented their employment and savings incentive program and will highlight their selection procedures, coaching and service strategy, and how youth are leveraging the program to advance their life goals.
If interested in attending, HUD requests that all participants complete a pre-test survey before the webinar.
Register here.
FY 2017 HCV Implementation Broadcast Posted
Following quickly on the heels of publishing the FY 2017 Housing Choice Voucher Funding Implementation Notice, HUD has posted a video on YouTube to review the notice. The video briefs stakeholders on the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 as it relates to HCV Program funding provisions.
The video of the webcast can be found here.
The PowerPoint slides from the webcast can be found here.
HUD to Publish Technical Corrections to Certain HOTMA Voucher Provisions
Tomorrow, June 14, HUD will publish in the Federal Register a notice titled “Housing Opportunity through Modernization Act of 2016: Implementation of Various Section 8 Voucher Provisions; Corrections.” This notice makes technical corrections to the prior notice published by HUD implementing certain HOTMA voucher provisions. The effective date for the original notice and the corrections remains April 18, 2017.
Corrections in this notice include the following:
- Clarifies that in the “Units Owned by a PHA” section, the threshold for control should be “more than 50 percent” rather than “50 percent or more”;
- Units receiving assistance under section 201 of the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978 (the Flexible Subsidy program) are now excepted (i.e., not counted towards the limitation) from the Project-based voucher (PBV) general cap and income-mixing cap;
- For PBV new construction units that qualify as replacement housing for covered units and are exempt from the general cap, one of the requirements should read “site of the original development” instead of “site of the original public housing development”;
- Clarifies that PHAs may not rely solely on a supportive services program that would require a family to engage in the supportive services once the family enrolls (e.g., Family Self-Sufficiency), for the unit to meet the supportive services exception (which excepts families eligible for supportive services, instead of receiving supportive services from the PBV income-mixing cap);
- Clarifies that projects in a census tract with a poverty rate of 20 percent or less are subject to a alternative income mixing requirement of the greater of 25 units or 40 percent of the units (the original notice implied that these projects were completely excluded from the income-mixing cap);
- Corrects an incorrect definition of new construction units that qualify for the exception as replacement housing for the income-mixing PBV cap–the definition in C.3.D(2)(b) (describing projects not subject to the income-mixing cap) is supposed to match the definition in section C.2.C(2)(b);
- Clarifies that in those instances where a PHA is engaged in an initiative to improve, develop, or replace a public housing property or site to attach PBVs to projects that a PHA has an ownership or controlling interest without following a competitive process, the requirement that rehabilitation or construction on the project must have a minimum of $25,000 per unit in hard costs is not applicable in a situation where the PHA is replacing a public housing property or site with existing housing owned or controlled by the PHA; and
- Makes numerous typographical corrections.
The pre-publication notice making corrections can be found here.
The original notice implementing certain HOTMA voucher provisions can be found here.
NAHRO’s prior blog post on the effective date of these certain HOTMA voucher provisions can be found here.
The NAHRO Blog: Legislative & Policy Updates from Washington, DC 