[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 18 (Thursday, January 28, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4496-4503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1985]
[[Page 4495]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part II
Department of Housing and Urban Development
_______________________________________________________________________
Funding Availability for the Welfare-to-Work Section 8 Tenant-Based
Assistance Program for Fiscal Year 1999; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 18 / Thursday, January 28, 1999 /
Notices
[[Page 4496]]
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-4448-N-01]
Notice of Funding Availability for the Welfare-to-Work Section 8
Tenant-Based Assistance Program for Fiscal Year 1999
AGENCY: Office of Public and Indian Housing, HUD.
ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).
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SUMMARY: Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Section 8 Welfare-to-
Work Rental Voucher program is to provide tenant-based rental
assistance that will help eligible families make the transition from
welfare to work.
Available Funds: Approximately $248.2 million.
Eligible Applicants: Housing agencies (HAs), Indian tribes, and
tribally designated housing entities (TDHEs). Two or more HAs or Indian
tribes and TDHEs may apply jointly.
Application Deadline: The application deadline for Section 8
Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers under this NOFA is April 28, 1999, at
the time described in section I. of this NOFA, below.
Match: None.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
If you are interested in applying for funding under this program,
please review carefully the following information:
I. Application Due Date, Application Kits, and Technical Assistance
Application Due Date: April 28, 1999.
Address for Submitting Applications: The application and two copies
must be submitted to the HA's local HUD Field Office HUB (Attention:
HUB, Director of Public Housing) or local HUD Field Office Program
Center (Attention: Program Center Coordinator) or for Indian tribes and
their tribally designated housing entities, to the local Office of
Native American Programs, (Attention: Administrator, Office of Native
American Programs). Throughout this NOFA, the Field Office HUBs and
Program Centers and the local Offices of Native American Programs will
be referred to as the local HUD Field offices. Applicants should not
submit any copies of their applications to HUD Headquarters.
(1) Mailed Applications (Other than Overnight or Express Mail
Delivery). Your application will be considered timely filed if
postmarked before midnight, local time, on the application due date and
received by the appropriate local HUD Field Office on or within ten
(10) days of the application due date.
(2) Applications Sent by Overnight/Express Mail Delivery.
Applications sent by overnight delivery or express mail will be
considered timely filed if received by the appropriate local HUD Field
Office before or on the application due date, or upon submission of
documentary evidence that they were placed in transit with the
overnight delivery service by no later than the specified application
due date.
(3) Hand Carried Applications. Applications must be delivered to
the appropriate local HUD Field Office by 6:00 pm local time on the due
date. Hand carried applications will be accepted during normal business
hours before the application due date. On the application due date,
business hours will be extended to 6:00 pm.
For Application Kits, Further Information and Technical Assistance
For an application kit and any supplemental information, please
call the Public and Indian Housing Information and Resource Center at
1-800-955-2232. An application kit will also be available on the
Internet through the HUD web site at http://www.hud.gov. When
requesting an application kit, please refer to the Section 8 Welfare-
to-Work Rental Voucher Program, and provide your name, address
(including zip code) and telephone number (including area code).
For answers to your questions, you may also contact the Public and
Indian Housing Information and Resource Center at 1-800-955-2232, or
contact the Director of Public Housing, the Program Center Coordinator
or the Office of Native American Program Administrator in your local
HUD Office. Hearing-or speech-impaired individuals may call HUD's TTY
number (202) 708-0770 or 1 800-877-8339 (the Federal Information Relay
Service TTY). (Other than the ``800'' number, these numbers are not
toll-free.) Information can also be accessed via the Internet through
the HUD web site at http://www.hud.gov.
The HUD web site will also provide a text link to HUD's Welfare-to-
Work home page, and the Welfare-to-Work related websites of the
Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Transportation, to
assist you in coordinating your proposed program with the efforts
sponsored by these Departments.
Prior to the application deadline, staff at the numbers given above
will be available to provide general guidance, but not guidance in
actually preparing the application. Following selection, but prior to
award, HUD staff will be available to assist in clarifying or
confirming information that is a prerequisite to the offer of an award
by HUD.
II. Amount Allocated
Of the $283 million appropriated in Fiscal Year (FY) 1999 to fund
Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers, approximately $248.2 million
is made available to housing agencies through the national competition
under this NOFA.
Of the remainder, at least $4 million each shall be made available
for local self-sufficiency/welfare-to-work initiatives in San
Bernardino County California; Cleveland, Ohio; Kansas City, Missouri;
Charlotte, North Carolina; Miami/Dade County, Florida; Prince Georges
County Maryland; New York City, New York; and Anchorage, Alaska as
provided by the VA/HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act,
1999 (99 App. Act). HUD will contact these set-aside sites to advise
them of specific application submission requirements and deadlines.
Each HA for a set-aside site must submit to HUD any application
materials requested by HUD. Funding will not be made available to a
set-aside site until the site has submitted all HUD-required materials
and obtained HUD approval of the submission.
In accordance with the 99 App. Act, $2.83 million of the $283
million available for Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers may be
used by HUD
[[Page 4497]]
to conduct a detailed evaluation of the effect of providing Section 8
Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher assistance, rather than be awarded under
this NOFA.
III. Program Description; Eligible Applicants; Eligible Activities
(A) Program Description
The Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher program provides
tenant-based Section 8 rental assistance to help eligible families make
the transition from welfare to work. Tenant-based Section 8 rental
assistance is to be provided in connection with programs where the HA,
tribe, or TDHE has demonstrated that tenant-based rental assistance is
critical to the success of eligible families to obtain or retain
employment. No additional funding is provided under this NOFA for
welfare-to-work services for families. Funding is only for Section 8
Welfare-to-Work rental voucher housing assistance and regular Section 8
administrative fees for administration of such housing assistance. If
appropriate, HAs may project base a portion of the funding following
the applicable Section 8 Project-Based Certificate (PBC) program
regulations (24 CFR part 983). The Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental
Voucher program must take into account the particular circumstances of
the local community. The rental assistance provided to families through
the Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher program must be
coordinated with other welfare reform and welfare-to-work initiatives.
The maximum number of Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers
that can be provided under this NOFA to an HA, tribe or TDHE is as
follows: For an HA that is a State agency, (i.e., an agency with state-
wide jurisdiction)--the lesser of 2,000 or one-half of the total
budgeted Section 8 rental certificates and vouchers in the HA's Section
8 program for the HA's current Fiscal Year. If more than one HA applies
as a State agency from the same State, only the highest-ranking one
will be eligible for an award. For all other HAs, that are not set-
aside sites identified in section II. of this NOFA, above--the lesser
of 700 or one-half of the total budgeted Section 8 rental certificates
and vouchers in the HA's Section 8 program for the HA's current Fiscal
Year, or for tribes or TDHEs, the number of rental certificates and
vouchers the entity was administering as of September 30, 1997. If you
are a set-aside site that would receive fewer units than would be
available to you under the above formula, and you wish to apply for the
maximum number of units under the formula, you must apply under the
national competition in this NOFA. The number of units available to you
under the set-aside plus any units requested under this NOFA may not
exceed the maximum that would be available to you under this NOFA.
An HA seeking welfare-to-work housing vouchers under this NOFA may
use some of its current pool of other Section 8 voucher funding to
augment the welfare-to-work vouchers in order to enlarge the pool of
vouchers available to those families qualifying for its approved
welfare-to-work program.
(B) Eligible Applicants
HAs, including Indian tribes and their tribally designated housing
entities, may apply. All applicant HAs, tribes and TDHEs must develop a
program in consultation with the State, local or Tribal entity
administering the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program
and the entity, if any, administering the Welfare-to-Work formula and/
or competitive grants allocated by the United States Department of
Labor.
(C) Eligible Activities
You may only use funds available under this NOFA for a Section 8
Welfare-to-Work rental voucher program. In the Section 8 Welfare-to-
Work Rental Voucher Program, you will perform all normal rental voucher
program activities, but you may only provide rental assistance to
families that meet all normal Section 8 program requirements and also
meet the specific requirements of the Welfare-to-Work Voucher Program.
These specific requirements are stated in section IV.(A) of this NOFA.
IV. Program Requirements
(A) Eligibility of Families
(1) Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher eligible families. The
term ``Section 8 Welfare-to-Work rental voucher program eligible
family'' means a family that, in addition to meeting the eligibility
requirements of the normal tenant-based Section 8 assistance program,
also meets the following additional requirements:
(a) When initially selected for welfare-to-work rental voucher
assistance, families must be eligible to receive, be currently
receiving, or shall have received within the preceding two years,
assistance or services funded under the TANF program;
(b) Tenant-based housing assistance must be determined to be
critical to the family's ability to successfully obtain or retain
employment; and
(c) The family shall not already be receiving tenant-based
assistance under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937
(1937 Act--42 U.S.C. 1473f).
(2) To be eligible for selection for the Section 8 Welfare-to-Work
Rental Voucher Program, families must be on the waiting list used by
the HA for its tenant-based Section 8 program. For Indian tribes and
TDHEs only, to be eligible for this program, families must be on either
the rental or homeownership waiting list of that entity.
(B) HA Responsibilities
If your application is funded:
(1) You must modify your selection system to require the selection
of Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher program eligible families
for the program;
(2) Families on your Section 8 waiting list must be selected in
accordance with the established selection policies in your HA's
administrative plan;
(3) If you have a closed Section 8 waiting list and do not have a
sufficient number of welfare-to-work eligible families on your waiting
list, you must reopen the waiting list to accept an application from
any Section 8 Welfare-to-Work eligible applicant family that is not
currently on your waiting list for your tenant-based Section 8 program;
(4) You must administer the rental assistance in accordance with
applicable voucher program regulations and requirements and your
Section 8 administrative plan;
(5) During the term of this welfare-to-work funding, if Section 8
rental assistance for a family under this program is terminated,
available welfare-to-work rental assistance must be provided to another
Section 8 Welfare-to-Work eligible family selected from your tenant-
based Section 8 program waiting list. The term of welfare-to-work
funding is the term of the welfare-to-work ACC funding increment.
(6) Welfare-to-Work Evaluation Participation. HUD is seeking 5 to 9
HAs to participate, on a voluntary basis, in the evaluation that HUD
intends to conduct on the Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher
Program. HAs who volunteer to participate as a special evaluation site
for purposes of this evaluation, if they are selected for an award
under this NOFA, will be compensated for any additional administrative
burden from the $2.83 million evaluation setaside in the 99 App. Act.
In order to participate as a special evaluation site, you and your
partners must:
[[Page 4498]]
(a) Be awarded at least 450 units under this NOFA.
(b) Fully cooperate with random assignment of your welfare-to-work
applicants to treatment and control groups. You will be required to
follow an established protocol for determining that some eligible
families receive and some eligible families do not receive welfare-to-
work vouchers on a random basis.
(c) Assist in data collection and retrieval for the evaluation
through administration of special forms and extraction of data from
management systems.
(d) Submit a budget with reasonable and necessary costs once HUD
specifies the required activities for the evaluation.
If HUD does not receive sufficient voluntary applications to
participate as evaluation sites for this Congressionally mandated
study, HUD may require one or more sites receiving at least 450 units
to cooperate with an evaluation based on random assignment as a
condition of funding. If you submit an application for 450 or more
units, your consent to cooperate with a random-assignment evaluation
may be assumed by HUD, even if you do not explicitly volunteer.
(C) TANF and Welfare-to-Work Support
Your application must include certifications from the State, local
or Tribal entity administering assistance under the TANF program and
from the entity, if any, administering the Welfare-to-Work formula and/
or competitive grants allocated by the United States Department of
Labor that these entities support your proposed Section 8 Welfare-to-
Work program and will cooperate with you, as the administrator of the
housing assistance, to assure that the rental assistance is coordinated
with other welfare reform and welfare-to-work initiatives. If any of
these entities does not respond to your request for this certification
within a reasonable time period, its concurrence shall be assumed but
you will be required to submit a copy of your request for this
certification with your application. If any of these entities objects
to the application, their concerns must accompany the application when
it is submitted to HUD so that HUD can take the concerns into account
in its funding decision.
(D) Waiver Requests
Your proposed Section 8 Welfare-to-Work program must be workable
without any waivers, and will be rated and ranked without the waiver of
any requirements. Statutory waivers will not be granted. However, your
application may include requests for waivers of any regulatory,
handbook or directive requirements along with an explanation of how the
waivers would improve your program. If you are selected for an award,
HUD will consider whether or not to grant your waiver request. Among
other considerations, waivers will not be granted if they have an
adverse impact on fair housing and civil rights.
(E) Program Compliance and Designation of Subcontractor
Immediately after the publication of this NOFA, the local HUD field
office will notify, in writing, those HAs that are not eligible to
apply without a subcontractor acceptable to HUD or a proposal for
management improvements acceptable to HUD, as explained in this
section.
(1) Program compliance. Your application must designate a
subcontractor acceptable to HUD to administer the new funding increment
on your behalf, in accordance with paragraph (2) of this section, if
you have:
(a) Material weaknesses or reportable conditions outstanding from
Inspector General audit findings, or HUD management review findings for
one or more of your Section 8 rental voucher, rental certificate or
moderate rehabilitation programs;
(b) Serious underutilization evidenced by fewer than 85 percent of
budgeted rental certificates or vouchers under lease; or
(c) Significant findings in program compliance reviews.
(2) Designation of Subcontractor. If you have any of the compliance
problems listed in paragraph (1) of this section, you must designate a
subcontractor acceptable to HUD to administer the new funding increment
under this NOFA on your behalf. In such instances, your application
must include:
(a) An agreement by the subcontractor to administer the new funding
increment; and
(b) A statement that outlines the steps you are taking to resolve
the compliance problems, which may be a proposal for management
improvements that you will implement to remedy the problems.
(F) Statutory Requirements
To be eligible for funding under this NOFA, you, the applicant,
must meet all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. If you
need copies of regulations, they are available at the HUD web site
located at http://www.HUD.gov. HUD may reject an application from
further funding consideration if the activities or projects proposed in
the application are not eligible activities and projects, or HUD may
eliminate the ineligible activities from funding consideration and
reduce the grant amount accordingly.
(G) Threshold Requirements--Compliance with Fair Housing and Civil
Rights Laws
With the exception of Federally recognized Indian tribes, all
applicants must comply with all Fair Housing and civil rights laws,
statutes, regulations and executive orders as enumerated in 24 CFR
5.105(a). If you are a Federally recognized Indian tribe, you must
comply with the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Indian Civil Rights Act. If you,
the applicant,--
(1) Have been charged with a violation of the Fair Housing Act by
the Secretary;
(2) Are a defendant in a Fair Housing Act lawsuit filed by the
Department of Justice; or
(3) Have received a letter of noncompliance findings under Title VI
of the Civil Rights Act, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, or
section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act--
You are not eligible to apply for funding under this NOFA until you
have resolved the charge, lawsuit, or letter of findings to the
satisfaction of the Department.
(H) Additional Nondiscrimination Requirements
You, the applicant, must comply with the Americans with
Disabilities Act, and Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972.
(I) Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
If you are a successful applicant, you will have a duty to
affirmatively further fair housing. You, the applicant, should include
in your application or work plan the specific steps that you will take
to:
(1) Address the elimination of impediments to fair housing that
were identified in the jurisdiction's Analysis of Impediments (AI) to
Fair Housing Choice;
(2) Remedy discrimination in housing; or
(3) Promote fair housing rights and fair housing choice.
Further, you, the applicant, have a duty to carry out the specific
activities provided in your responses to the NOFA rating factors that
address affirmatively furthering fair housing.
[[Page 4499]]
(J) Forms, Certifications and Assurances
You, the applicant, are required to submit signed copies of the
standard forms, certifications, and assurances, included in the HUD
Section 8 application, form HUD-52515 (see section VI.(A), below, of
this NOFA) and the certification required by 24 CFR 24.510. (The
provisions of 24 CFR part 24 apply to the employment, engagement of
services, awarding of contracts, subgrants, or funding of any
recipients, or contractors or subcontractors, during any period of
debarment, suspension, or placement in ineligibility status, and a
certification is required.)
(K) Conflicts of Interest
If you are a consultant or expert who is assisting HUD in rating
and ranking applicants for funding under this NOFA, you are subject to
18 U.S.C. 208, the Federal criminal conflict of interest statute, and
the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch
regulation published at 5 CFR part 2635. As a result, if you have
assisted or plan to assist applicants with preparing applications for
this NOFA, you may not serve on a selection panel and you may not serve
as a technical advisor to HUD for this NOFA. All individuals involved
in rating and ranking this NOFA, including experts and consultants,
must avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts.
Individuals involved in the rating and ranking of applications must
disclose to HUD's General Counsel or HUD's Ethic Law Division the
following information if applicable: the selection or non-selection of
any applicant under this NOFA will affect the individual's financial
interests, as provided in 18 U.S.C. 208; or the application process
involves a party with whom the individual has a covered relationship
under 5 CFR 2635.502. The individual must disclose this information
prior to participating in any matter regarding this NOFA. If you have
questions regarding these provisions or if you have questions
concerning a conflict of interest, you may call the Office of General
Counsel, Ethics Law Division, at 202-708-3815 and ask to speak to one
of HUD's attorneys in this division.
(L) Environmental Requirements
In accordance with 24 CFR 50.19(b)(11) of the HUD regulations,
tenant-based activities assisted under this program are categorically
excluded from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act
and are not subject to environmental review under the related laws and
authorities. In accordance with 24 CFR 983.11(b), you must have a
responsible entity complete an environmental review and obtain a HUD
release of funds before entering into any agreement to provide project-
based assistance.
(M) Notice of Repeal of Local Government Comment Requirements
Local government comments that HUD was previously required to
obtain from the unit of general local government on HA applications for
Section 8 rental assistance under Section 213(c) of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974 are no longer required. Section 551
of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (Pub.L. 105-
276, 112 Stat. 2461, approved October 21, 1998) (QHWRA) repealed the
provisions of Section 213(c) of the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974. Although section 503 of QHWRA establishes an effective
date of October 1, 1999, for its provisions unless otherwise
specifically provided, section 503 also permits any QHWRA provision or
amendment to be implemented by notice, unless otherwise specifically
provided. Accordingly, this section of the NOFA provides the notice of
implementation of section 551 of QHWRA as permitted by section 503 of
QHWRA.
V. Application Selection Process
(A) Overview of Process
Selections of applicants will be made on the basis of a national
competition according to the criteria described in section V.(C),
below, of this NOFA. Local HUD field offices will initially review
applications to ensure that your applications are complete and on time
and that you meet the threshold requirements found in section V.(B),
below, of this NOFA. Based on your past experience and field office
knowledge of your capacity to perform, the field office must also
determine if the number of units you request can reasonably be placed
under lease within 12 months. If the field office determines that you
cannot enroll the number of Section 8 Welfare-to-Work families
projected and place under lease the number of units requested, the
field office will determine the number of units that can be expected to
be placed under lease within 12 months.
All eligible applications will then be forwarded to the Grants
Management Center with the field office recommendation of the maximum
number of units that should be considered for approval for each
application based on its analysis of capacity. Applications will be
rated and ranked by the Grants Management Center based on the criteria
listed below in section V.(C). An application must meet all of the
threshold requirements of this NOFA and receive a score of at least 55
points to qualify for funding. In this national competition, HUD will
fund applications from at least the two highest rated and ranked Indian
tribes or their tribally designated housing entities that qualify for
funding. All other awards will be made in rank order to qualifying
applications.
(B) Threshold Requirements
(1) The application is received on time.
(2) The application is complete and all required certifications,
including those described in section IV.(K), above, of this NOFA.
(3) Any technical deficiencies have been corrected by the end of
the 14-day correction period.
(4) You meet the requirements of section IV.(G) of this NOFA,
Compliance With Fair Housing and Civil Rights Laws.
(5) The application designates a subcontractor in accordance with
section IV.(E), above, of this NOFA, if necessary under that section.
(6) Your leasing rate for your Section 8 rental certificate and
rental voucher programs is at least 90 percent of the units in your
HUD-approved budget for the last completed HA fiscal year prior to this
application funding.
(C) Rating Factors
(1) Factor 1: Need for Welfare-to-Work Voucher Program (20 points)
(a) Description: This factor examines the extent to which you
identify the community need that your proposed activities will target
and the urgency of meeting this need. You must provide evidence of the
housing need of the eligible population that will be served by this
program and demonstrate that tenant-based assistance is essential to
assist these families obtain/retain employment. If the HA plans to
project-base any of the Welfare-to-Work rental voucher funding, the HA
must explain how this would benefit the HA's Welfare-to-Work rental
voucher program. Applicants with jurisdiction outside of metropolitan
areas must address the needs of rural areas.
(b) Submission Requirements for Factor 1: You must submit a
narrative that documents that tenant-based rental assistance for which
you are applying is necessary to assist Welfare-to-Work eligible
families to obtain/retain employment. If you plan to project-base a
portion of the Welfare-to-Work rental
[[Page 4500]]
voucher funding, the need to develop project-based units must be
explained and how this would best meet the needs of welfare-to-work
eligible families, and you must provide an estimate of the time to
occupancy.
(2) Factor 2: Soundness of Approach (20 Points).
(a) Description: This factor examines the quality of your Welfare-
to-Work voucher program. You must describe in narrative form the
proposed program developed in coordination with the TANF program and
other welfare-to-work programs. And how the proposed program design
encourages and aids Welfare-to-Work eligible families to move from
welfare to work. In evaluating this factor, HUD will consider the
extent to which your application demonstrates that tenant-based
assistance is critical to the success of assisting eligible families to
obtain or retain employment. HUD will also consider the extent to which
your application lays out an effective plan, with a fully developed
strategy of outreach to eligible families to ensure that all Welfare-
to-Work vouchers are under lease within a year of award, including how
your analysis of need in Factor 1 affects your outreach to families and
targeting of assistance. You should describe any innovative approaches
that will be included in your proposed program. You must address your
strategy for tenant counseling, housing search, and landlord outreach,
and specify the criteria for selecting among eligible families.
HUD will also consider the extent to which, and how well, your plan
of proposed activities is described in detail in your application;
addresses the goals and purposes of the Welfare-to-Work voucher
program; addresses the need for a Welfare-to-Work program that was
identified under Factor 1, above; will be carried out in a timely
manner, conducted in a manner that will reach and benefit members of
the target group, and will make use of services and materials that are
accessible to all persons, including persons with disabilities; and
will yield long-term results and innovative strategies or ``best
practices'' that can be readily disseminated to other organizations and
State, tribal and local governments.
(b) Submission Requirements for Factor 2:
(i) A detailed narrative describing your proposed Welfare-to-Work
voucher program developed in coordination with the TANF program and
other welfare-to-work programs; the specific tasks and subtasks to be
performed, including innovative approaches and plans for tenant
counseling, housing search and landlord outreach.
(ii) A discussion of how your application demonstrates that tenant-
based assistance is critical to the success of assisting eligible
families to obtain or retain employment.
(iii) A discussion of how your proposed activities address the
goals and purposes of the Welfare-to-Work voucher program including how
the program design encourages and aids the move to self-sufficiency,
and the criteria for selecting among eligible families.
(iv) A discussion of how your application lays out a fully
developed and effective plan with outreach to eligible families to
ensure that all Welfare-to-Work vouchers are under lease within a year
of award. Your discussion must specify how your analysis of need in
Factor 1 affects your outreach to families and targeting of assistance,
including families in rural areas if your jurisdiction includes rural
areas, unless you provide justification for not addressing rural areas.
(v) A description of the immediate benefits of your proposed
activities and how the benefits will be measured. You must describe the
methods you will use to determine the effectiveness of Welfare-to-Work
program activities.
(vi) A Section 8 Leasing Schedule.
(vii) A discussion of how the activities will reach and benefit
members of the target group and will make use of services and materials
that are accessible to all persons, including persons with
disabilities;
(viii) A description of how the proposed activities will yield
long-term results and innovative strategies or ``best practices'' that
can be readily disseminated to other organizations, communities, and
State, tribal and local governments.
(3) Factor 3: Capacity of Applicant and Relevant Organizational
Experience (20 Points)
(a) Description: This factor examines the extent to which your
organization (including individuals or organizations, such as
subcontractors or consultants, if any, that will be your partners in
carrying out the proposed activities) have the organizational resources
necessary to carry out your proposed activities in a timely manner. In
evaluating this factor, HUD will consider the extent to which you
demonstrate recent and relevant experience in, and knowledge about,
carrying out the same or similar activities as those proposed. The
overall quality of your staff, administrative ability, and fiscal
management ability will be evaluated by HUD. HUD may also rely on
information from performance reports, financial status information,
monitoring reports, audit reports and other information available to
HUD in making its determination under this factor.
Your overall administrative ability is evidenced by factors such as
leasing rates, MTCS reporting, correct administration of housing
quality standards, compliance with fair housing and equal opportunity
program requirements, assistance computation and rent reasonableness
and, if you have a mandatory Family Self-Sufficiency Program,
implementation of an FSS program of at least the minimum program size
or a smaller program size approved by HUD. Your relevant organization
experience would be evidence of a successful implementation of an FSS
program, Family Unification program, or other program that involved
coordination with other agencies and/or coordination of services for
families.
(b) Submission Requirements for Factor 3:
(i) Narrative description of past performance in carrying out
activities that are the same as, or similar to, the activities proposed
for funding, and demonstrate reasonable success in carrying out those
activities. You may demonstrate such reasonable success by showing that
your previous activities have been carried out as proposed and in a
timely manner. You must show that benchmarks in operation were met and
performance reports were prepared as required. You must also describe
any delays that were encountered, and the actions you took to overcome
such delays.
(ii) You must submit the proposed number of staff years necessary
to carry out the proposed activities, identifying the employees and
partners, such as co-applicants, subgrantees, contractors, consultants,
and volunteers, to be allocated to the project; the titles and relevant
professional background and experience of each employee and partner
proposed to be assigned to the project; and the roles to be performed
by each identified employee and partner. If you do not presently have
the employees and partners necessary to carry out all of the proposed
activities, you must identify the gaps in your current staffing and
describe in detail your proposed method for securing the necessary
employees and partners to carry out the project in a timely manner.
(iii) You must provide a comprehensive description of the project's
management structure. You must also describe how staff and partners
relate to the project's administrator or manager, including the
[[Page 4501]]
lines of authority and accountability for all the proposed activities.
(iv) You must demonstrate ability in handling financial resources
with adequate financial control procedures and accounting procedures by
providing a comprehensive description of the fiscal management
structure for the proposed project, including budgeting, fiscal
controls and accounting. HUD will also consider findings identified in
your most recent audits; internal consistency in the application of
numeric quantities; accuracy of mathematical calculations; and other
available information on financial management ability.
(4) Factor 4: Leveraging Resources. (20 Points)
(a) Description: This factor addresses the commitment of public and
private resources that will support your Welfare-to-Work voucher
program. HUD will consider the extent to which you can document firm,
written commitments of resources from the local TANF agency, and, if
applicable, from the entity administering the Department of Labor
Welfare-to-Work formula and/or competitive grant; other Federal, State,
tribal, and local sources; and from other entities, such as private
industry, and for-profit and not-for-profit organizations to provide
services and assistance in the form of cash funding, in-kind
contributions, services or personnel. Such commitments may include, but
are not limited to: child care, transportation necessary to receive
services or maintain employment, remedial education, education for
completion of secondary or post-secondary schooling, job training,
preparation and counseling; substance abuse treatment and counseling;
training in homemaking and parenting skills; training in money
management; counseling in homeownership responsibilities and
opportunities available for rental and homeownership in the private
housing market; and job development and placement.
(b) Submission Requirements for Factor 4:
(i) Describe all firm commitments to the Welfare-to-Work voucher
program including cash funding, in-kind contributions, services or
personnel from other Federal, State, tribal, local and private sources.
(ii) Provide evidence of leveraging/partnerships by including in
the application, letters of firm commitments, memoranda of
understanding, or agreements to participate from those entities
identified as partners. To be firmly committed, there must be a written
agreement to provide the resources. The written agreement may be
contingent upon an application receiving funding under this NOFA. Each
letter of commitment, memorandum of understanding, or agreement to
participate should include the partner organization's or individual's
name, proposed level of commitment and responsibilities as they relate
to the proposed activities. The commitment must also be signed by an
official legally able to make commitments on behalf of the
organization.
(5) Factor 5: Comprehensiveness and Coordination (20 Points)
(a) Description: This factor addresses the extent to which your
proposal reflects a coordinated, comprehensive process of identifying
needs and building a system to address needs on an ongoing basis by
using available HUD funding and other resources. You must describe the
extent to which assistance under your proposed Welfare-to-Work program
will be coordinated with welfare reform and with other welfare-to-work
initiatives, including the U.S. Department of Transportation's Job
Access program. The application must include certifications from the
TANF agency and the entity, if any, administering the Welfare-to-Work
formula and/or competitive grants of the Department of Labor agency of
their cooperation and support of the proposed program or evidence of
your request for the certification of those agencies and of their
failure to respond within a reasonable time, or, if either agency
objects to your proposed Welfare-to-Work program, the objections must
be included in your application.
In evaluating this factor, HUD will consider:
(i) The extent to which you demonstrate the support and
participation of the TANF agency and the entity, if any, administering
the Department of Labor Welfare-to-Work formula and/or competitive
grant and the commitment of other public and private organizations in
the community.
(ii) The specific steps you will take to share with others
information on solutions and outcomes resulting from the Welfare-to-
Work voucher program, if funded.
(iii) The specific steps you have taken or will take to become
active in the community's Consolidated Plan process; Analysis of
Impediments to Fair Housing Choice process; Continuum of Care Homeless
Assistance planning process, if homeless persons are to be served by
the proposed activities; or the community's Indian Housing Plan
process; and to address, through these processes, the needs that are
the focus of the Welfare-to-Work voucher program.
(iv) The specific steps you have taken or will take to coordinate,
through meetings, information networks, planning processes, or other
mechanisms, your activities with other welfare-to-work activities in
the community, including the appropriate local transportation entity
(i.e., transit properties, metropolitan planning organizations, State
and/or Indian tribe departments of transportation).
(b) Submission Requirements for Factor 5:
(i) Describe what role families, community leaders and
organizations and government and private entities in communities you
serve have had in planning the activities described in your application
and what role they will have in carrying out such activities.
(ii) Describe how you will share with others information on
solutions and outcomes resulting from the Section 8 Welfare-to-Work
voucher program, if funded.
(iii) Describe specific steps you have taken or will take to become
active in the community's Consolidated Plan process; or the process for
the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice; or the community's
Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance planning process, if homeless
persons are to be served by the proposed welfare-to-work activities; or
the community's Indian Housing Plan process; and to address, through
these processes, the needs that are the focus of your proposed
activities.
(iv) Describe the specific steps you have taken or will take to
coordinate, through meetings, information networks, planning processes,
or other mechanisms, your activities with other proposed or on-going
activities in the community funded by HUD or other Federal, State,
tribal, local or private sources, including the appropriate local
transportation entity (i.e., transit properties, metropolitan planning
organizations, State and/or Indian tribe departments of transportation.
VI. Application Submission Requirements
(A) Form HUD-52515
Funding Application, form HUD-52515, must be completed and
submitted for the Section 8 Welfare-to-Work voucher program. This form
includes all the necessary certifications for Fair Housing, Drug-Free
Workplace and Lobbying Activities. An application must include the
information in Section C, Average Monthly Adjusted Income of form HUD-
52515 in order for HUD to calculate the amount of Section 8
[[Page 4502]]
budget authority necessary to fund the requested number of voucher
units. You may obtain a copy of form HUD-52515 from the local HUD Field
Office or may download it from the HUD Home page on the internet's
world wide web (http://www.HUD.gov).
(B) Response to Threshold Requirements
Your application must respond to the threshold requirements that
apply to you in paragraphs V.(B)(2) through (5), above, in this NOFA.
(C) Narrative response to Factors for Award
Your application package must include the narrative description and
any letters, certifications or other materials required for each of the
ranking and rating factors from Section V.(C) of this NOFA.
(D) Waiver Requests
Your application may include requests for waivers of any
administrative requirements in HUD regulations or directives (handbooks
and notices). Statutory waivers will not be granted. Waiver requests
must include an explanation of how the waivers would improve your
program. Your proposed program must be workable without any waivers,
and waiver requests will not be considered in rating and ranking your
application. Your waiver requests will only be considered if you
receive an award under this NOFA.
(E) Program Evaluation Participation
If you would like to participate in HUD's Welfare-to-Work program
evaluation, your application should also include a statement that you
are willing to participate as a special evaluation site in accordance
with the conditions described in section IV.(B)(6) of this NOFA, above.
VII. Corrections to Deficient Applications
After the application due date, HUD may not, consistent with its
regulations in 24 CFR part 4, subpart B, consider any unsolicited
information you, the applicant, may want to provide. HUD may contact
you, however, to clarify an item in your application or to correct
technical deficiencies. You should note, however, that HUD may not seek
clarification of items or responses that improve the substantive
quality of your response to any eligibility or selection factors.
Examples of curable (correctable) technical deficiencies include your
failure to submit the proper certifications or your failure to submit
an application that contains an original signature by an authorized
official. In each case, HUD will notify you in writing by describing
the clarification or technical deficiency. HUD will notify applicants
by facsimile or by return receipt requested. Applicants must submit
clarifications or corrections of technical deficiencies in accordance
with the information provided by HUD within 14 calendar days of the
date of receipt of the HUD notification. If your deficiency is not
corrected within this time period, HUD will reject your application as
incomplete, and it will not be considered for funding.
VIII. Findings and Certifications
(A) Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
The information collection requirements related to this program
have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520), and have been assigned OMB approval number 2577-0169. An agency
may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to,
a collection of information unless the collection displays a valid
control number.
(B) Environmental Impact
Except to the extent that recipients may project base assistance
provided under this NOFA, this NOFA does not direct, provide for
assistance or loan and mortgage insurance for, or otherwise govern or
regulate, real property acquisition, disposition, leasing (other than
tenant-based rental assistance), rehabilitation, alteration,
demolition, or new construction, or establish, revise or provide for
standards for construction or construction materials, manufactured
housing, or occupancy. To the extent that recipients project base
assistance provided under this NOFA, that assistance is subject to 24
CFR part 983, including the environmental review provisions set out at
24 CFR 983.11. Accordingly, under 24 CFR 50.19(c) (1) and (5), this
NOFA is categorically excluded from environmental review under the
National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321).
(C) Federalism, Executive Order 12612
The General Counsel, as the Designated Official under section 6(a)
of Executive Order 12612, Federalism, has determined that the policies
contained in this NOFA will not have substantial direct effects on
States or their political subdivisions, or on the relationship between
the Federal Government and the States, or on the distribution of power
and responsibilities among the various levels of government.
Specifically, the NOFA solicits applicants to help eligible families
make the transition from welfare to work, and does not impinge upon the
relationships between the Federal government and State and local
governments. As a result, the NOFA is not subject to review under the
Order.
(D) Prohibition Against Lobbying Activities
You, the applicant, are subject to the provisions of section 319 of
the Department of Interior and Related Agencies Appropriation Act for
Fiscal Year 1991, 31 U.S.C. 1352 (the Byrd Amendment), which prohibits
recipients of Federal contracts, grants, or loans from using
appropriated funds for lobbying the executive or legislative branches
of the Federal Government in connection with a specific contract,
grant, or loan. You are required to certify, using the certification
found at Appendix A to 24 CFR part 87, that they will not, and have
not, used appropriated funds for any prohibited lobbying activities. In
addition, you must disclose, using Standard Form LLL, ``Disclosure of
Lobbying Activities,'' any funds, other than Federally appropriated
funds, that will be or have been used to influence Federal employees,
members of Congress, and congressional staff regarding specific grants
or contracts. Tribes and tribally designated housing entities (THDEs)
established by an Indian tribe as a result of the exercise of the
tribe's sovereign power are excluded from coverage of the Byrd
Amendment, but tribes and TDHEs established under State law are not
excluded from the statute's coverage.
(E) Section 102 of the HUD Reform Act; Documentation and Public Access
Requirements
Section 102 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development
Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 3545) (HUD Reform Act) and the
regulations codified in 24 CFR part 4, subpart A, contain a number of
provisions that are designed to ensure greater accountability and
integrity in the provision of certain types of assistance administered
by HUD. On January 14, 1992 (57 FR 1942), HUD published a notice that
also provides information on the implementation of section 102. The
documentation, public access, and disclosure requirements of section
102 apply to assistance awarded under this NOFA as follows:
[[Page 4503]]
(1) Documentation and public access requirements. HUD will ensure
that documentation and other information regarding each application
submitted pursuant to this NOFA are sufficient to indicate the basis
upon which assistance was provided or denied. This material, including
any letters of support, will be made available for public inspection
for a 5-year period beginning not less than 30 days after the award of
the assistance. Material will be made available in accordance with the
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and HUD's implementing
regulations in 24 CFR part 15.
(2) Disclosures. HUD will make available to the public for 5 years
all applicant disclosure reports (HUD Form 2880) submitted in
connection with this NOFA. Update reports (also Form 2880) will be made
available along with the applicant disclosure reports, but in no case
for a period less than 3 years. All reports--both applicant disclosures
and updates--will be made available in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and HUD's implementing regulations at 24
CFR part 5.
(3) Publication of Recipients of HUD Funding. HUD's regulations at
24 CFR 4.7 provide that HUD will publish a notice in the Federal
Register on at least a quarterly basis to notify the public of all
decisions made by the Department to provide:
(i) Assistance subject to section 102(a) of the HUD Reform Act; or
(ii) Assistance that is provided through grants or cooperative
agreements on a discretionary (non-formula, non-demand) basis, but that
is not provided on the basis of a competition.
(F) Section 103 HUD Reform Act
HUD's regulations implementing section 103 of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 3537a),
codified in 24 CFR part 4, apply to this funding competition. The
regulations continue to apply until the announcement of the selection
of successful applicants. HUD employees involved in the review of
applications and in the making of funding decisions are limited by the
regulations from providing advance information to any person (other
than an authorized employee of HUD) concerning funding decisions, or
from otherwise giving any applicant an unfair competitive advantage.
Persons who apply for assistance in this competition should confine
their inquiries to the subject areas permitted under 24 CFR part 4.
Applicants or employees who have ethics related questions should
contact the HUD Ethics Law Division at (202) 708-3815. (This is not a
toll-free number.) For HUD employees who have specific program
questions, the employee should contact the appropriate field office
counsel, or Headquarters counsel for the program to which the question
pertains.
(G) Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers
The Federal Domestic Assistance numbers for this program are
14.855 and 14.857.
IX. Authority
The VA/HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999
appropriated $283 million for the Welfare-to-Work Tenant-Based
Assistance Program.
Dated: January 25, 1999.
Harold Lucas,
Assistant, Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 99-1985 Filed 1-25-99; 2:46 pm]
BILLING CODE 4210-33-P
