[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 147 (Tuesday, July 30, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39812-39813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-19238]
[[Page 39811]]
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Part VIII
Department of Housing and Urban Development
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24 CFR Chapter IX
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Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing;
Strengthening the Role of Fathers in Public Housing Families, Advance
Notice; Proposed Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 147 / Tuesday, July 30, 1996 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 39812]]
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
24 CFR Chapter IX
[Docket No. FR-4087-N-01]
RIN 2577-AB68
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing;
Strengthening the Role of Fathers in Public Housing Families, Advance
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian
Housing, HUD.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: In his 1996 State of the Union Address, President Clinton said
``Our first challenge is to cherish our children and strengthen
America's families. Family is the foundation of American life. If we
have stronger families, we will have a stronger America.
HUD is committed to cooperating with other Federal agencies and
with State and local entities to identify and pursue policies and to
support activities that will encourage reuniting families and
strengthen the role of fathers in American families.
This notice announces HUD's intention (1) To develop a regulatory
package concerning measures, practices, and authorizations to local
public housing agencies and Indian Housing Authorities (hereinafter
referenced collectively as HAs) in support of efforts to encourage
husbands and/or fathers to play a more responsible role in the lives of
families in HA-owned or assisted developments, and (2) to solicit
public comment on this subject prior to publication of a proposed rule.
Issues for which HUD specifically requests comment from the public
are identified in Section II of the Supplementary Information portion
of this Notice.
DATES: Comment Due Date: September 13, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
MaryAnn Russ, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Assisted
Housing Operations, HUD, Room 4204, 451 Seventh Street SW., Washington,
DC 20410-5000, telephone (202) 708-1380 (this is not a toll-free
number). A telecommunications device for hearing- and speech-impaired
persons (TTY) is available at 1-800-877-8339 (Federal Information Relay
Services). (This is a toll-free number.)
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments in
response to this notice to the Rules Docket Clerk, Office of the
General Counsel, Room 10276, Department of Housing and Urban
Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410-0500.
Comments should refer to the above docket number and title. A copy of
each comment submitted will be available for public inspection and
copying during regular business hours at the above address. Facsimile
(FAX) comments are not acceptable.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
In a June 1995 memorandum to the heads of all Executive Branch
departments and agencies, President Clinton charged the Federal
government to review every policy, program, and initiative that
pertains to families, to
--Ensure, where appropriate, and consistent with program objectives,
that these policies, programs and initiatives seek to engage and
meaningfully include fathers;
--Proactively modify those programs that were designed to serve
primarily mothers and children, where appropriate, and consistent with
program objectives, to explicitly include fathers and strengthen their
involvement with their children;
--Include evidence of father[s'] involvement and participation, where
appropriate, in measuring the success of the program; and
--Involve fathers, where appropriate, in government initiated research
regarding children and their families.
HUD has demonstrated its commitment to strengthening families
through its public and assisted housing programs, affordable housing
and homeownership initiatives, and services for homeless people. For
homeless women and children--America's fastest-growing homeless
population--HUD has implemented a rental assistance certificate/voucher
program to move women and children out of shelters and into safer,
long-term transitional housing. HUD provides premiums to shelters that
help keep families intact. Working families also find it more
advantageous to stay together in public housing under new rent
computation procedures that permit optional deductions from, or
exemptions of, earned income. Additionally, HUD works to strengthen
families through employment initiatives that incorporate conditions for
participation, encouraging workers to adopt positive behaviors toward
their families and their communities.
HUD has undertaken two major pilot programs involving outreach to
absent fathers, using a combination of job opportunities and housing
benefits to encourage uniting or reuniting of families, and more active
and positive participation of fathers in their families. These two
pilot efforts were described in detail by the Secretary at the Vice
President's May 3, 1996, ``Federal Conference on Strengthening the Role
of Fathers in Families.''
In Baltimore, Maryland, the housing authority has developed a
Healthy Head Start Men's Service Program, which links employment in a
housing rehabilitation project, including training in lead-based paint
and asbestos removal, with requirements that participants accompany
their families on obstetric and pediatric visits.
In Hartford, Connecticut, a public housing Family Restoration
Program at Charter Oak Terrace apartments is using a portion of a $20.8
million project redevelopment grant to redevelop families. Absent
fathers are eligible for on-site construction jobs paying up to $22/
hour, but qualification for employment is premised on the father's
commitment to behavior that is positive for themselves and their
families; such positive behaviors include agreeing to work on a high
school diploma or equivalency certificate, participating in counseling
on parenting and communications skills, and agreeing to become and/or
remain free from substance abuse. At a very early stage of this
initiative, there are twenty families participating; the Hartford
Housing Authority has established a goal of reuniting 100 families.
While these two pilot programs have concentrated on providing
training and employment opportunities to absent fathers, HUD recognizes
that an absent spouse or parent may be a mother as well. As a result
any future programs of this type will be administered in a gender
neutral fashion to permit these opportunities for women as well as men.
II. Solicitation of Public Comments
HUD is requesting public comment in several areas to be addressed
by the regulation. In developing this regulation, HUD will work closely
with HAs and their associations and with residents and community
organizations to ensure that HUD has heard as many viewpoints as
possible.
Based on the comments that HUD receives in response to this notice
and any written guidance received from additional communications with
industry groups and others, HUD will publish a proposed rule. Following
careful consideration of the comments received on the proposed rule,
HUD will issue a final regulation.
[[Page 39813]]
The areas for which HUD specifically requests comment from the
public include the following:
1. The basic principle underlying this initiative is that families
ought to be reunited. Fathers living apart from mothers and children,
or living-in only intermittently, should be encouraged to rejoin their
families and accept a role in the upbringing of the children. To the
extent that it may be necessary to encourage such responsible behavior
by an absent parent (who may also be mother, we acknowledge) HAs would
be encouraged, but not necessarily required, to
a. Provide a priority for transfer among HA properties;
b. Offer a priority for a Section 8 certificate or voucher
(consistent with the principles of the Family Unification program);
c. Exempt from rent determinations the incremental income of the
returning parent for a period of up to three years without adverse
effect on the HA's eligibility for operating subsidy under the PFS.
HUD is interested in public comments on whether such encouragements
are necessary, or sufficient.
2. To obtain any benefits or incentives offered by an HA program, a
returning parent would be required to enter into a formal agreement or
contract, binding him or her to comply with the requirements of the HA
lease and to make and honor commitments to their family and to the HA
community. HUD is interested in public comments on the nature of such
an agreement, and on the range of obligations that could reasonably be
demanded of a returning parent. Should HUD create a model form of
agreement for this purpose? Are there certain minimum requirements that
HUD could itemize, and permit HAs to make additions to reflect local
interests? Or should HAs be given maximum latitude to develop their own
standards and agreements?
3. HUD's position is that participants must be subject to
admissions screening, to assure the rest of the community that the new
or re-joining family member would not constitute any special treat to
the peace and quiet of the neighborhood.
4. Returning parents, or a parent newly accepting a responsible
role in a family, would be required to participate in a parenting and/
or counseling program. To the extent that some returning parents may
have been involved in domestic violence or abuse, such counseling or
training must have been completed before admission or re-admission to
the HA housing. Parenting training or counseling would be allowable
budget costs for the HA.
5. The Hartford Family Reunification model includes an explicit
requirement that returning parents be and remain drugfree, including
provisions for pre-admission drug testing and subseqent random testing.
Testing is at the expense of the housing authority. HUD is interested
in public comments on drug abstinence and drug testing requirements and
policies.
6. HUD is soliciting public input on any other matters, ideas,
recommendations, or any other form of comment relevant to the issue of
re-integrating absent parents and strengthening the role of fathers and
husbands in public housing families. In addition to comments, HUD is
also requesting any reports, documents, or other material that will
assist the Department in evaluating issues to be addressed in the
regulation.
HUD requests that, in submitting comments on any of the foregoing
issues, the commenter please cite the item number of the issue
addressed by the comment. HUD also welcomes comments on issues not
specifically included in the foregoing list, but related to involving
husbands and fathers, and strengthening the role of husbands and
fathers in families living in public and assisted housing.
Dated: July 15, 1996.
Michael B. Janis,
General Deputy, Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 96-19238 Filed 7-29-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-33-M
