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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Descriptions

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE

14.401: Fair Housing Assistance Program: State and Local

Objectives: To provide assistance to State and local fair housing enforcement agencies to support complaint processing, training, technical assistance, education and outreach, data and information systems and other activities that will further fair housing within the agency's jurisdiction. The intent of the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) is to build an intergovernmental enforcement effort to further fair housing and to assist State and local fair housing enforcement agencies to assume a greater share of the responsibility for administering fair housing laws.

PROGRAM AND AWARD FINANCIAL AND INFORMATION CONTACTS

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO.

APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS INFORMATION CONTACTS

RELATED PROGRAMS ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS

PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS

14.401 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility: State and local fair housing enforcement agencies administering State and local fair housing laws and ordinances which have been certified by HUD as providing substantially equivalent rights and remedies as those provided by the Fair Housing Act and which have executed formal written Agreements with HUD to process housing discrimination complaints.

Beneficiary Eligibility: Any person or group of persons aggrieved by a discriminatory housing practice because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.

Credentials/Documentation: Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments.

14.401 APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination: This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure: Not applicable.

Award Procedure: Not applicable.

Deadlines: Not applicable.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: Not applicable.

Appeals: Not applicable.

Renewals: None.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals: Funding for capacity building will be based on a written statement of work within established limitations.

Examples of Funded Projects: Not applicable.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance: Contributions for Capacity Building - $115,000; Complaint Processing, Training, Administrative Costs, and Special Enforcement Efforts - $15,000 to $1,600,000.

14.401 RELATED PROGRAMS:

14.408 Fair Housing Initiatives and Administrative Enforcement Initiative Program;
14.409 Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) Education and Outreach Initiative.

14.401 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Substantial increase in receipt and referral of housing discrimination complaints to State and local agencies. Since the passage of the strengthened Fair Housing Act in 1989, about 80 jurisdictions have amended their fair housing laws to make them substantially equivalent to the Act. In 1999, 85 jurisdictions received financial assistance under this program.

14.401 FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO:

Federal Agency: OFFICE OF FAIR HOUSING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Type of Assistance: Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements).

Obligations: (Grants) FY 99 $16,500,000; FY 00 est 20,000,000; and FY 01 est $21,000,000. (NOTE: Amounts reported reflect allocation of new budget authority rather than obligation amounts.)

Budget Account Number: 86-0144-0-1-751.

Authorization: Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3600 et seq.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature: Certification and Funding of State and Local Fair Housing Enforcement Agencies, 24 CFR Part 115.

14.401 INFO CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office: HUD Field Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity in the appropriate Hub Office listed in the Catalog address Appendix IV.

Headquarters Office: Lauretta Dixon, Director, FHIP/FHAP Support Division, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451-7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410. Phone: (202)708-0800, ext. 7051.

(See Appendix IV for more contact info.)

14.401 ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements: This program has no statutory formula.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Cooperative agreements are executed for one year, they are non-competitive, and provide funding for complaint processing, administrative costs, special enforcement efforts, training, and capacity building. For detailed program information under each funding component, contact the Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Hub or Headquarters Office. Fixed price cooperative agreements are anticipated to be awarded with payments to be made in accordance with a schedule of dates set out in the cooperative agreements.

Uses and Use Restrictions: State and local fair housing enforcement agencies in the first three years of participation in the FHAP receive a fixed amount of capacity building funding. Agencies that are in their fourth year and beyond of participation in the FHAP are eligible to receive contributions funding which provides funds for complaint processing, administrative costs, training costs, and special enforcement effort.

14.401 POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports: On-site review and evaluation and regular monitoring of agency complaint handling performance to assure HUD's substantial equivalency standards are met. Payment is in accordance with payment schedules established in the agency's cooperative agreements.

Audits: In accordance with provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133, "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-profit Organizations," organizations that expend more than $300,000 of Federal funds during their fiscal year shall have an audit made for that year.

Records: State and local agencies are required to maintain housing complaint files for a period of one year after closure.