HUD Miami Highlights Summer 2009
Summertime in Florida brings blazing heat, rainy afternoons
and the threat of hurricane season. There is no better time to look at
ways to save energy when it comes to building cooling costs. The American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provides funding for weatherization and
energy efficient upgrades to HUD assisted housing. In addition many South
Florida Public Housing Authorities are utilizing capital grant funding provided
under ARRA to make their public housing units more energy efficient.
Information on grant opportunities for weatherization and energy efficiency
capital investments through HUD and other Federal agencies can be found at www.grants.gov.
It is also a great time to think about disaster preparedness
with the active part of the hurricane season around the corner. HUD
funded agencies and programs should have a disaster preparedness and recovery
plan in place since many of HUD’s programs serve the most vulnerable
populations. Free information on preparing your agency for disasters can
be found at www.fema.gov.
In this edition of HUD Highlights we have included information on FEMA’s
National Disaster Housing Plan.
If there is any feedback or information you would like to
see included in HUD Highlights please send your comments.
Armando Fana
Miami Field Office
Director
Check it online: HUD Implementation of the Recovery
Act
The
Recovery Act includes $13.61 billion for projects and programs administered by
the Department of Housing and Urban Development, nearly 75 percent of which was
allocated to state and local recipients on February 25, 2009 – only eight
days after President Obama signed the Act into law. Recovery Act
investments in HUD programs will be not just swift, but also effective: they will
generate tens of thousands of jobs, modernize homes to make them energy
efficient, and help the families and communities hardest hit by the economic
crisis. The remaining 25 percent of funds will be awarded via competition in
the coming months. Additional guidance on the implementation of all funds will
be routinely provided on this website
One of the newest tools on this site
is the USDA and HUD ARRA Projects
Map. This map shows the locations of United States Department of
Agriculture and United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
projects funded by the American Recovery Act of 2009. The
USDA and HUD ARRA Projects Map allows the American Public to find and view
information about Recovery Act projects in web-based map display. The map allows the public to click on individual projects
and access specific project information. The
project data displayed on the map is provided by the individual agencies within
the USDA and HUD and displays agency funding which includes commitments,
obligations and disbursements. The markers are placed on the map based on the
zip code of the recipient or award and therefore represent approximate locations.
The map viewer is designed to work in all major web browsers which support full
Google Maps functionality. Performance is optimal on those browsers and
computer systems which are able to perform JavaScript operations quickly (i.e.
Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari). If JavaScript is turned off, the
map viewer will not be available; however, all map data can be viewed by
clicking on the View map data link at the
top-right corner of the map. Fraud, waste, abuse? Report it! If you are aware of fraud, waste, and abuse in HUD programs
and operations, report it to HUD&apss Inspector General Hotline! What kinds of
things should you report? Mismanagement or violations of law, rules, or
regulations by HUD employees or program participants. Your complaint will be kept confidential if you are a
federal government employee. If you are not a federal government employee, a
complaint can be kept confidential if you request it. The Office of Inspector
General will accept anonymous complaints. Federal laws protect federal
government employees from reprisals for filing complaints. Many states provide
protection from reprisals to non-federal government employee complainants.
State whistleblower statutes are normally administered by the respective
state&apss attorney general office. You can submit your complaint one of 4 ways: Online, through e-mail. Remember: if you submit your
complaint online (through e-mail), it is possible - though unlikely - that
others could read it since the internet is not secure. By Phone: Call
toll free: 1-800-347-3735 TDD: (202) 708-2451. By Fax: (202) 708-4829. By Mail:
HUD Office of Inspector General Hotline, GFI - 451 7th Street, SW -
Washington, DC 20410. Want
to make sure HOME funds are properly used in rental projects? The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) and state and local jurisdictions nationwide have invested
approximately $8.7 billion in HOME Program funds in rental housing development
since the program was first funded in 1992, resulting in over 330,000 units of
HOME-assisted rental housing units. A new study Compliance in HOME Rental Projects: A Guide for PJs provides advice to participating jurisdictions on how to
nurture compliant HOME projects. For purposes of this
guide, a compliant HOME project is a financially
viable project that is maintained in standard condition and rented at
affordable rents to low- and very low-income tenants, in accordance with HOME
rules, for the entire period of affordability. This guide
carries lessons that are important to HOME program managers, monitoring staff,
underwriters and project management staff. This guide assumes that the reader
understands the basic rental requirements of the HOME Program. Newcomers to the
HOME Program, or readers who may need to refresh or update their knowledge of
these requirements should review Building HOME. This training manual is
available through the local HUD Field Office or on the HOME Program. HUD has issued a companion HOME model program guide
entitled, Compliance
in HOME Rental Projects: A Guide for Property Owners, that
participating jurisdictions can provide to property owners and managers to
educate them about HOME’s long-term
rental compliance requirements. Homelessness Resource Exchange The Homelessness
Resource Exchange is the one-stop shop for information and resources for
providers who are assisting persons who are homeless or at risk of becoming
homeless. This is the website to bookmark if you need program guidance and
regulations, technical assistance and training resources, research and publications,
and basically all you can think about regarding this topic. It also has specific information on the new Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing
Program (HPRP). On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which includes a $1.5 billion for a
Homelessness Prevention Fund. Funding for this program, is being distributed
based on the formula used for the Emergency Shelter Grants program. For more
information on HPRP visit the website. The latest report on homeless data is also here,
via the Homelessness
Pulse Project. To gain a better understanding of
the impact of the current economic crisis on homelessness, HUD partnered with
nine Continuums of Care nationwide to collect data on a quarterly basis. One
Florida area is represented in the first study: Lakeland / Winterhaven in Polk
County. The up-to-date information will enhance HUD’s ability to respond
to the economic crisis and inform public policy. The report, however, draws on
a very small number of volunteer communities, so it cannot give as reliable or
complete a national picture as the annual report to Congress. In the coming
months, HUD intends to expand the number of communities reporting to the Pulse
project to track real-time changes in homelessness. New Faces @ HUD
A few other notable additions: Dr. Raphael Bostic is the new the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research. With his team, he will work on planning communities in a more integrated, sustainable and inclusive way as the key to advancing economic opportunity and elevate the standard of living for thousands of families.
Sandra Brooks Henriquez, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public and Indian Housing, will oversee the nation&apss public housing and rental assistance programs that assist approximately 3.2 million low-income families across the U.S. She will also be responsible for HUD&apss Native American and Native Hawaiian programs, which serves 562 federally recognized tribes.
Mercedes Marquez is Assistant Secretary for the Office of
Community Planning and Development, which administers nearly $8 billion in
programs designed to stimulate community development, affordable housing, as
well as a variety of special needs assistance programs. The Housing
Commissioner, General Counsel, Fair Housing Assistant Secretary and many more
are also beginning their tenure with HUD.
Grants and the Data Universal
Numbering System
If you are interested in HUD
funding, you need to be familiar with this topic. Most potential and existing
US Government Contractors, Grantees and Loan Recipients are required to obtain
a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number for US Government registration
purposes. The DUNS Number verifies the legal name, physical address and trade
style (DBA) of each location and is the key to starting the registration
process. Information about the grants process with HUD is available online. Check here to find out notices that tell you when grant funds
are available and how you can apply.
Hurricane
season means being ready
The 2009 Disaster Housing Plan describes FEMA’s
approach to working with Federal partners, States, territories, Tribes, local
communities, and individual disaster survivors to meet disaster related
sheltering and temporary housing needs. This Plan is based on key concepts that
are further defined in the National Disaster Housing Strategy and is
intended to serve as an operational guide to FEMA’s
housing mission for 2009 disasters.