Notice of Funding Availability for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Mainstream Housing Opportunities for Persons With Disabilities Program (Mainstream Program), 66724-66738 [05-21894]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 211 / Wednesday, November 2, 2005 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR 5002–N–01]
Notice of Funding Availability for
Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Mainstream
Housing Opportunities for Persons
With Disabilities Program (Mainstream
Program)
Office of Public and Indian
Housing, HUD.
ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability
(NOFA).
AGENCY:
Overview Information
A. Federal Agency Name: Department
of Housing and Urban Development,
Office of Public and Indian Housing,
Office of Public Housing and Voucher
Programs.
B. Funding Opportunity Title:
Mainstream Housing Opportunities for
Persons With Disabilities Program
(Mainstream Program).
C. Announcement Type: Initial
Announcement.
D. Funding Opportunity Number: The
Federal Register number for this NOFA
is FR–5002-N–01. The Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
paperwork approval number is 2577–
0169.
E. Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA) Number: 14.871,
Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers.
F. Application Deadline: The
application submission date is January
3, 2006. Applications must be submitted
through www.grants.gov and must be
received by grants.gov no later than
11:59:59 p.m. Eastern time on the
application submission date. Applicants
receiving a waiver of the electronic
submission requirement must send their
application via the United States Postal
Service (USPS) no later than 11:59:59
p.m. Eastern time on the application
submission date. Please see the General
Section of the SuperNOFA (70 FR
13575) published March 21, 2005, for
further information about application
submission, delivery, and timely receipt
requirements.
G. Optional, Additional Overview
Content Information: The purpose of the
Mainstream Program is to provide
vouchers under the Housing Choice
Voucher Program to enable persons with
disabilities (elderly and non-elderly) to
access affordable private housing.
Public housing agencies (PHAs) and
nonprofit organizations that provide
services to the disabled are eligible to
apply. Those PHAs and nonprofit
organizations interested in applying for
the approximately $10.2 million in fiveyear budget authority (anticipated to
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fund approximately 250 vouchers)
under this funding announcement
should carefully review the General
Section of the SuperNOFA published
March 21, 2005 (70 FR 13575); the
additional guidance and other helpful
information located at www.hud.gov
(click on ‘‘Grants’’ and then click on
‘‘Funds Available’’); and the detailed
information contained in this
Mainstream Program funding
announcement. The available funding is
derived from Fiscal Year (FY) 2005
Section 811 funding, and previously
unobligated Mainstream funding from
FY 2000 and FY 2003.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
A. Authority and Purpose
Authority for this program is found in
the Cranston-Gonzalez National
Affordable Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 8013
(Pub. L. 101–625), the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, FY 2005 (Pub. L.
108–447, approved December 8, 2004),
and in chapters of the Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations Act for
Defense, the Global War on Terror and
Tsunami Relief, 2005 (Pub. L. 109–13,
approved May 11, 2005). The Secretary
has established a Mainstream Housing
Opportunities for Persons With
Disabilities Program (Mainstream
Program) to provide vouchers to enable
persons with disabilities to access
affordable private housing of their
choice. The Mainstream Program will
assist PHAs and nonprofit organizations
in providing housing choice vouchers to
a segment of the population recognized
by HUD’s housing research as having
one of the worst housing needs of any
group in the United States, i.e., very
low-income households with adults
with disabilities. In addition, the
Mainstream Program will assist persons
with disabilities who often face
difficulties in locating suitable and
accessible housing on the private
market. The vouchers that HUD will
provide under this announcement must
be made available to eligible disabled
families regardless of their type of
disability. (See the definition of
disabled family in section I. B. 1. of this
announcement.) The Mainstream
Program vouchers must not be issued by
the administering agency on the basis of
any preference system favoring any
particular type of disability over
another, nor shall the vouchers be
issued solely on the basis of an
administering agency’s waiting list
which, in turn, is based on that agency
having heretofore served only certain
types of disabled persons. The Housing
Choice Voucher Program regulations
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provide at 24 CFR 982.207(b)(3) that a
PHA may give preference for admission
of families that include a person with
disabilities; however, the PHA may not
give preference for admission of persons
with a specific disability. This
regulatory requirement is also
applicable to nonprofit organizations
that receive funding under this
announcement, as such organizations
must comply with the regulatory
requirements applicable to the Housing
Choice Voucher Program. Because
Mainstream vouchers are targeted for
use by disabled persons, each successful
applicant will need to revise the
administrative plan for its voucher
program to clearly indicate that
Mainstream vouchers will be issued
only to disabled persons. Preferences
within the disability category; e.g.,
disabled veterans, etc., may be used as
long as the result is not to give a
preference to the admission of persons
with any specific type of disability.
B. Definitions
The following definitions apply to the
approximately $10.2 million in five-year
budget authority available under this
funding announcement.
1. Disabled Family. Disabled family
means a family whose head, spouse, or
sole member is a person with
disabilities. It may include two or more
persons with disabilities living together,
or one or more persons with disabilities
living with one or more live-in aides.
2. Person With Disabilities. a. Means
a person who:
(1) Has a disability as defined in 42
U.S.C. 423;
(2) Is determined, pursuant to HUD
regulations, to have a physical, mental,
or emotional impairment that:
(a) Is expected to be of long-continued
and indefinite duration;
(b) Substantially impedes his or her
ability to live independently; and
(c) Is of such a nature that the ability
to live independently could be
improved by more suitable housing
conditions; or
(3) Has a developmental disability as
defined in 42 U.S.C. 6001;
b. Does not exclude persons who have
the disease of acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome or any
conditions arising from the etiologic
agent for acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome;
c. For purposes of qualifying for lowincome housing, does not include a
person whose disability is based solely
on any drug or alcohol dependence.
Note: HUD is exercising its waiver
authority under the ‘‘Housing for Persons
With Disabilities’’ section of the
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Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, to
use the definition of ‘‘person with
disabilities’’ found at section 3 (b)(3)(E) of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437 et seq.) (‘‘the Act’’), as implemented in
the HUD regulations for the Housing Choice
Voucher Program at 24 CFR 5.403, in lieu of
the definition of ‘‘person with disabilities’’
found at 42 U.S.C. 8013 (k)(2).
3. Housing Choice Voucher Search
Assistance. Assistance to increase
access by program participants to
housing units in a variety of
neighborhoods (including areas with
low poverty concentrations) and to
locate and obtain units suited to their
needs.
II. Award Information
A. Available Funds
Approximately $10.2 million in fiveyear funding is available for
approximately 250 vouchers for
supportive housing for persons with
disabilities. This allocation is consistent
with the Consolidated Appropriations
Act, FY 2005 (Pub. L. 108–447,
approved December 8, 2004), and the
Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act for Defense, the
Global War on Terror and Tsunami
Relief, 2005 (Pub. L. 109–13, approved
May 11, 2005). Congressional rescission
of a portion of HUD’s appropriated
funding resulted in the $10 million in
appropriations being reduced to
$9,920,000. This amount was
supplemented by prior year unobligated
Mainstream funding from FY 2000 and
FY 2003 (also derived from section 811
funding) totaling approximately
$318,000, for a grand total for
Mainstream funding of approximately
$10.2 million. All future references in
this funding announcement to five-year
budget authority are based upon these
funding sources. All of the
approximately $10.2 million in
Mainstream funding is for use in
housing persons with disabilities.
B. Housing Choice Voucher Funding
1. Determination of Funding Amount
for the Applicant’s Requested Number
of Vouchers. HUD’s Housing Voucher
Financial Management Division will
determine the amount of funding that an
applicant will be awarded under this
announcement based upon actual
annual per unit costs.
2. Determination Process. a. HUD will
extract from the Voucher Management
System (VMS) the actual housing
assistance payments (HAP) costs for
five-year Mainstream units, divided by
the total units leased, both as reported
by the PHA in VMS and verifiable, for
the most recently reported quarter. HUD
will multiply the monthly per unit cost
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by 12 to determine the annual per unit
cost and may adjust that total by the
applicable Annual Adjustment Factor,
to arrive at a funding amount for HAP
costs. The HAP dollar amount,
approved by HUD for an awardee for
five-year Mainstream vouchers, will not
be increased by HUD during the fiveyear term.
b. If a PHA does not currently
administer a five-year Mainstream
Program, the per unit funding amount
will be that amount used to calculate
the PHA’s Calendar Year 2005 renewal
funding for the regular voucher
program.
c. Administrative fees will be
calculated on the basis of the per unit
month rate determined for the PHA
from its Calendar Year 2005 renewal fee
allocation.
C. Unfunded Approvable Applications
PHAs or nonprofit organizations with
approvable applications that are not
funded in whole or in part, due to
insufficient funds available under this
funding announcement, shall be funded
first in FY 2006, provided HUD receives
additional appropriations for the
Mainstream Program for FY 2006.
III. Eligibility Information
A. Eligible Applicants
PHAs and nonprofit organizations
that provide services to the disabled (as
defined in section I. B. 1. of this
announcement) are eligible applicants
for the five-year budget authority
funding available under this funding
announcement. PHAs with less than 300
vouchers under an annual contributions
contract (ACC), nonprofit organizations
not previously funded under the
Mainstream Program, as well as PHAs or
nonprofit organizations that fall into any
of the categories in section III. C. 1. of
this announcement, are ineligible to
have an application funded under this
announcement. Indian Housing
Authorities (IHAs), Indian tribes, and
their tribally designated housing entities
are not eligible to apply for new
increments of housing choice voucher
funding because the Native American
Housing Assistance and SelfDetermination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C.
4101 et seq.), does not allow HUD to
enter into new housing choice voucher
ACCs with IHAs after September 30,
1997.
B. Cost Sharing or Matching
None required.
C. Other
1. Program Related Threshold
Requirements. An applicant must be
eligible under the following threshold
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requirements at the time of the
application due date, as well as at such
subsequent time of HUD’s selection of
awardees. The Grants Management
Center (GMC) will use information
available within HUD’s information
systems, as well as coordinate with
HUD’s local HUD field offices, in
assessing whether applicants fall into
any of the threshold categories.
Applications from PHAs or nonprofit
organizations that fall into any of the
following threshold categories will not
be processed:
a. PHAs or nonprofit organizations
that do not meet the fair housing and
civil rights compliance threshold
requirements of Sections III. C. 2. c. and
III. C. 4. a. and b. of the General Section
of the SuperNOFA (70 FR 13575)
published March 21, 2005.
b. The applicant is designated as
troubled by HUD under the Section 8
Management Assessment Program
(SEMAP), or has major program
management findings in an Inspector
General audit for its voucher program
that are unresolved, or has other
significant program compliance
problems that are not resolved. Major
program management findings, or
significant program compliance
problems, are those that would cast
doubt on the capacity of the applicant
to effectively administer any new
housing choice voucher funding in
accordance with applicable HUD
regulatory and statutory requirements.
The only exception to this category is if
the applicant has been identified under
the policy established in section III. C.
2. c. of this announcement and the
applicant makes application with a
designated contract administrator.
c. The PHA or nonprofit organization
has failed to expend 97 percent of its
allocated budget authority (ABA) for its
voucher program. The percent of
allocated budget authority expended
(PABAE) for a PHA’s or nonprofit
organization’s voucher program will be
calculated by HUD Headquarters’
Housing Voucher Financial
Management Division based upon the
expenditure information submitted
electronically to HUD’s voucher
management system (VMS) on a
quarterly basis for the most recent 12month period (prior to the Mainstream
application due date). The PABAE will
be determined by HUD dividing the
amount of housing assistance payments
(HAP) by the ABA. If data in the VMS
is not available or cannot be relied
upon, HUD will use other sources of
available information, such as the HUD
Central Accounting Processing System
(HUDCAPS), up to December 31, 2004,
or financial statement information
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submitted to the Real Estate Assessment
Center through the Financial
Assessment Sub-System. (Note: If the
PABAE is 96.5 percent but less than 97
percent, the PABAE shall be rounded up
to 97 percent.) See section IV. B. 1. g.
of this funding announcement, which
addresses the certification to be
submitted by Moving to Work (MTW)
agencies in connection with the 97
percent expenditure requirement
referenced above.
d. The PHA or nonprofit organization
is involved in litigation and HUD
determines that the litigation may
seriously impede the ability of the
applicant to administer the vouchers.
e. An application that does not
comply with the requirements of 24 CFR
982.103 and this program section after
the expiration of the 7-calendar day
technical deficiency correction period.
f. The application was submitted after
the application due date.
g. The application was not submitted
to the official place of receipt as
indicated in section F. under Overview
Information at the beginning of this
funding announcement, or as indicated
in section IV. F. of this funding
announcement, as appropriate.
h. The applicant has been debarred or
otherwise disqualified from providing
assistance under the program.
i. The PHA did not have its PHA
plans approved by HUD for the FY 2004
plan cycle on the application due date
for this funding announcement. (This
category of ineligibility does not apply
to nonprofit organizations whose
Housing Choice Voucher Program is
based solely upon previously approved
housing choice vouchers under the
Mainstream Program.)
j. The applicant does not have a
financial management system that meets
federal standards. See Section III. C. 2.
f. of the General Section of the
SuperNOFA (70 FR 13575) published
March 21, 2005, regarding those
applicants that may be subject to HUD’s
arranging for a pre-award survey of an
applicant’s financial management
system.
k. The PHA does not have a HUDapproved designated housing plan as of
the application due date under this
funding announcement (this does not
apply to nonprofit applicants).
l. The applicant is not in compliance
with the Uniform Financial Reporting
Standards (UFRS) at the time of the
application due date.
m. The applicant submits an
electronic application with a virus. (The
applicant may resubmit a virus-free
electronic application, but it must be
resubmitted at least 24 hours prior to
the due date.)
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n. The applicant is not registered at
www.grants.gov as the authorized
organization representative.
o. The applicant submits an
application using a Dun and Bradstreet
Number System (DUNS) number under
which it is not registered to submit an
electronic application to
www.grants.gov.
2. PHA Program Requirements.
a. A PHA may submit only one
application under this announcement.
This one-application-per-PHA limit
applies regardless of whether or not the
PHA is a state or regional PHA, except
in those instances where such a PHA
has more than one PHA code number
due to its operating under the
jurisdiction of more than one HUD field
office. In such an instance, a separate
application under each code shall be
considered for funding, with the
cumulative total of vouchers applied for
under the applications not to exceed the
maximum of 20 vouchers the PHA is
eligible to apply for under section IV. E.
of this announcement, i.e., no more than
the number of vouchers the same PHA
would be eligible to apply for if it only
had one PHA code number.
b. PHAs are encouraged to involve
nonprofit organizations that provide
services to disabled families, as defined
in section III. C. 3. of this
announcement, in the administration of
the Mainstream Program’s vouchers. In
the past, such organizations have
frequently demonstrated a capacity to
assist disabled families and have
demonstrated an in-depth knowledge of
the disability community.
(1) A nonprofit organization could
function as either a contract
administrator for the PHA’s Mainstream
vouchers, or as a subcontractor
responsible for providing case
management services or assisting
disabled families to locate suitable
housing, gaining access to supportive
services, or identifying private funding
sources to cover the costs of unit
modifications needed as a reasonable
accommodation.
(2) Such contractual arrangements
must, however, ensure equal
opportunity among the wide variety of
disabled populations in the PHA’s
service area.
c. In some cases, an applicant
currently administering the Housing
Choice Voucher Program has, at the
time of publication of the SuperNOFA,
been designated by HUD as troubled
under the SEMAP, has major program
management findings from Inspector
General audits that are unresolved, or
has other significant program
compliance problems. HUD will reject
an application from such an applicant
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as a contract administrator if, on the
application due date, the troubled
designation under SEMAP has not been
removed by HUD, and the findings or
other significant program compliance
problems are not resolved. If the
applicant wants to apply for funding
under this announcement, it must
submit an application that designates
another contractor that is acceptable to
HUD. The application must include an
agreement by the other contractor to
administer the new funding increment
on behalf of the applicant, and (in the
instance of an applicant with
unresolved major program management
findings or other significant program
compliance problems) a statement that
outlines the steps the applicant is taking
to resolve the program findings or
compliance problems.
Immediately after the publication of
this funding announcement, the Office
of Public Housing in the local HUD field
office will notify, in writing, those PHAs
and nonprofit organizations that have
been designated by HUD as troubled
under SEMAP, and those PHAs and
nonprofit organizations with unresolved
major program management findings or
other significant program compliance
problems that are not eligible to apply
without such an agreement.
Concurrently, the local HUD field office
will provide a copy of each such written
notification to the Director of the Grants
Management Center (GMC). The
applicant may appeal the decision, in
writing, if HUD has mistakenly
classified the applicant as having
unresolved major program findings or
other significant program compliance
problems. The applicant may not appeal
its designation as troubled under
SEMAP. Any appeal with respect to
unresolved major program management
findings or other significant program
compliance problems must be
accompanied by conclusive evidence of
HUD’s error (i.e., documentation
showing that the finding has been
cleared or the program compliance
problem has been resolved) and must be
received prior to the application
deadline. The appeal should be
submitted to the local HUD field office
where a final determination shall be
made. Concurrently, the local HUD field
office shall provide the GMC with a
copy of the applicant’s written appeal
and the field office’s written response to
the appeal. Copies of all letters of
ineligibility and matters that relate to
PHA appeals referenced in this
paragraph must be submitted to the
GMC by the field office so as to be
received by the GMC no later than 10
days after the application deadline date.
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Major program management findings, or
significant program compliance
problems, are those that would cast
doubt on the capacity of the applicant
to effectively administer any new
housing choice voucher funding in
accordance with applicable HUD
regulatory and statutory requirements.
(Note: If any additional PHAs or nonprofit
organizations fall into the above category
prior to HUD’s announcement of awards
under this NOFA, but subsequent to the local
HUD field office’s notification of the GMC
addressed above, the field office shall
immediately notify the GMC of the
applicant’s name and the category into which
the applicant falls, i.e., designated as
troubled under SEMAP, major unresolved
Office of Inspector General (OIG)
management findings, or other significant
program compliance problems. As indicated
in section III. C. 1. of this NOFA, an
applicant must be eligible for funding at the
time of the application due date, as well as
at such subsequent time of HUD’s selection
of awardees. No PHA appeals, based upon
field office letters of ineligibility issued after
the application deadline date, shall be
considered for purposes of eligibility for
funding under this funding announcement.)
3. Nonprofit Organization Program
Requirements. A nonprofit organization
may submit only one application under
this announcement. For purposes of the
Mainstream Program, a nonprofit
organization shall be defined as an
organization, no part of the net earnings
of which inures to the benefit of any
member, founder, contributor, or
individual, that provides services to
persons with disabilities and has
received a federal tax-exempt
designation, under section 501(c) (3) of
the Internal Revenue Code, from the
U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
a. The nonprofit entity must:
(1) Have a voluntary board;
(2) Be authorized by its charter or
state law to enter into a contract with
the Federal Government to provide
housing assistance to persons with
disabilities;
(3) Have a functioning accounting
system that is operated in accordance
with generally accepted accounting
principles, or designate an entity that
will maintain a functioning accounting
system for the organization in
accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles;
(4) Practice nondiscrimination in the
provision of assistance; and
(5) Provide services to the disabled as
part of its ongoing activities and
responsibilities.
b. Nonprofit organizations are
encouraged to seek out PHAs in their
geographic area to develop cooperative
contractual relationships under the
Mainstream Program and to enhance
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services to disabled families. In addition
to contacting local PHAs, nonprofit
organizations may also wish to contact
regional (multi-county) or statewide
PHAs.
4. Eligible Participants. Only a
disabled family that is income-eligible
under 24 CFR 982.201(b)(1), as well as
otherwise eligible under the regulations
at 24 CFR 982.201, may receive a
voucher awarded under the Mainstream
Program. Applicants with disabilities
must be selected from the PHA’s or
nonprofit organization’s housing choice
voucher waiting list. Additional
information on those families and
individuals eligible to receive a voucher
is located at the following HUD Web
site: https://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/
programs/hcv.
IV. Application and Submission
Information
A. Website Addresses To Request
Application Package
This section describes how you may
obtain application forms, additional
information about the Mainstream
Program NOFA, and technical
assistance. Copies of the published
Mainstream NOFA and related
application forms for this NOFA may be
downloaded from the grants.gov Web
site at www.grants.gov/Apply. (Be sure
to download both the instructions
package and the application package.
Information from both packages will be
necessary to have a successful
submission.) You may choose from links
provided under the topic ‘‘Search Grant
Opportunities,’’ which allows you to do
a basic search or to browse by category
or agency. The NOFA may also be found
by using the search function at
www.grants.gov. If you have difficulty
accessing the information, you may
receive customer support from
Grants.gov by calling its help line at
(800) 518–GRANTS or sending an email to support@grants.gov. The
Grants.gov help desk is open from 7
a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern time, Monday
through Friday, except federal holidays.
The operators will assist you in
accessing the information. If you do not
have Internet access and you need to
obtain a copy of this NOFA, you may
contact HUD’s NOFA Information
Center toll-free at (800) HUD–2209 and
immediately submit a request for a
waiver of the electronic requirement. A
copy of this funding announcement for
the Mainstream Program, the forms to be
submitted with the application, and
reference materials for use in preparing
an application may be downloaded from
the following Web site: www.grants.gov/
Apply, by clicking on Apply Step 1.
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1. Application Kit. There is no
application kit for this program. This
announcement contains all the
information necessary for the
submission of your application for
voucher funding for the Mainstream
Program. The materials needed to apply
are found in the instruction download
and application download found at
www.grants.gov/Apply. HUD has made
an effort to improve the readability of
this NOFA and publish all required
forms for application submission in the
Federal Register. Please pay attention to
the registration and submission
requirements, including the format for
submission, for the Mainstream NOFA
to ensure that you have submitted all
required elements of your application.
The published Federal Register
document is the official document that
HUD uses to solicit applications.
Therefore, if there is a discrepancy
between any materials published by
HUD in its Federal Register
publications and other information
provided in paper copy, electronic copy,
or at www.grants.gov, the Federal
Register publication prevails. Please be
sure to review your application
submission against the requirements in
the Federal Register for this program
NOFA.
2. Further Information. A guidebook
to HUD programs entitled, ‘‘Connecting
with Communities: A User’s Guide to
HUD Programs and the FY 2005 NOFA
Process,’’ is available from the HUD
NOFA Information Center and the HUD
Web site at: www.hud.gov/offices/adm/
grants/fundsavail.cfm. The guidebook
provides a brief description of all HUD
programs, identifies eligible applicants
for the programs, and provides
examples of how programs can work in
combination to serve local community
needs. The telephone numbers for the
NOFA Information Center are (800)
HUD–8929, or for the hearing impaired,
(800) HUD–2209 (TTY) (these are tollfree numbers). The NOFA Information
Center is open between the hours of
10:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Eastern time,
Monday through Friday, except federal
holidays.
B. Content and Form of Application
Submission
You must meet all the registration,
application, and submission
requirements described in Section IV. B.
of the General Section of the
SuperNOFA (70 FR 13581).
1. Content of Application. Applicants
are requested to read this section very
carefully, as it addresses the specific
information that must be in the
applications submitted to HUD under
this NOFA. Applications failing to
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provide this information will be
determined either ineligible for
processing, or in the instance of an
application having a curable
(correctable) technical deficiency (see
the General Section of the SuperNOFA
(70 FR 13575) published March 21,
2005), the applicant will be requested to
submit additional information. Those
application submission items identified
below in this section IV. B. 1. as ‘‘not
curable’’ shall mean that any item; e.g.,
Mainstream Program Operating Plan,
for which the applicant does not
provide all the requested information
shall result in the application being
determined ineligible for processing.
The turnaround times established by
HUD in the instance of curable technical
deficiencies are relatively brief, so the
initial submission of a carefully
prepared and complete application is
extremely important. Applicants should
also carefully review sections III. C. 1.
(b) and (c) of this funding
announcement to determine if their
SEMAP designation, OIG status,
existence of significant program
compliance problems, or percentage
expended of allocated budget authority
will require the submission of
additional information with their
application.
a. Form SF–424, Application for
Federal Assistance. All applicants must
complete and submit the SF–424,
Application for Federal Assistance. The
SF–424 requires each applicant to enter
basic information; e.g., applicant’s
name, address, Dun and Bradstreet
Universal Numbering System (DUNS)
number, CFDA number for the type of
funding being requested, etc. In the box
titled ‘‘Federal Identifier’’ (on the top
right hand side of the form), the
applicant should enter the housing
authority code number (for example,
CT00). In part a. (Federal), of section 15
(Estimated Funding), the applicant
should enter a zero dollar amount, as
HUD will determine (as per section II.
B. of this funding announcement) the
amount of funding needed to fund the
number of vouchers an applicant may
be awarded. (Electronic Application
Submission Tip: When entering the zero
for the dollar amount, do not use any
decimal points.) The SF–424 is located
in the General Section of the
SuperNOFA and is also available at the
following HUD Web site: https://
www.hud.gov/Apply. Applicants are
placed on notice that by electronically
signing the SF–424, the applicant is
certifying to the accuracy of (1) All data/
information on the Form SF–424, (2) all
information described in Section IV. B.
2. (‘‘Certifications and Assurances’’) in
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the General Section (70 FR 13575),
published March 21, 2005, and (3) all
data and information provided on all
other forms and components (including
certifications related to rating criteria) in
its application. If you are granted a
waiver to the electronic submission
requirements, the Form SF–424 must be
submitted and signed/dated by the
applicant. An electronic or handwritten
signature on the form certifies the
accuracy of the application.
b. Form HUD–52515. All applicants
must complete and submit Form HUD–
52515, Funding Application, for the
Housing Choice Voucher Program.
Section C of the form should be left
blank. The standard Assurances and
Certifications required to be submitted
by each applicant are on the Form
HUD–52515, which includes the Equal
Opportunity Certification, and the
Certification Regarding Lobbying. A
copy of the Form HUD–52515, which is
not included among the forms in the
General Section of the SuperNOFA, is
attached to this funding announcement.
c. Letter of Intent and Narrative. In
the letter of intent and narrative, the
applicant must indicate the number of
vouchers being requested, whether it
will accept a reduction in the number of
vouchers, and the minimum number of
vouchers the applicant will accept,
since the funding is limited and HUD
may only have enough funds to approve
an amount smaller than the number of
vouchers requested. The maximum
number of vouchers that an applicant
may apply for under this announcement
is limited to 20, and the minimum
number of vouchers an applicant may
apply for is 10.
The letter of intent and narrative
should also include information
addressing how the applicant meets the
selection criteria in section V.A. of this
NOFA. Failure of the applicant to
provide information in connection with
selection criterion 1 shall result in the
GMC scoring the applicant solely on the
basis of information HUD already has
on-hand. An applicant (with the
exception of a Block Grant MTW PHA)
is not required to submit any
information with its application relative
to selection criterion 2, as HUD will
determine the applicant’s percentage of
allocated budget authority that has been
expended for its voucher program based
upon information already available
within HUD’s data systems. Failure of
the applicant to provide the information
called for under selection criterion 3,
selection criterion 4, or selection
criterion 5 shall be considered not
curable, but shall not make the
application ineligible for processing.
Failure to provide the information shall
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simply mean that the applicant is
ineligible for the points under the
categories for which it failed to provide
the information requested in this
funding announcement. An applicant
must submit the monitoring and
evaluation plan required under
selection criterion 6 if the applicant
sought to be rated under selection
criteria 3, 4, or 5. Failure to provide the
monitoring and evaluation plan shall be
considered not curable and shall make
the application ineligible for processing.
d. Description of Need for Mainstream
Program Vouchers. The PHA’s and
nonprofit organization’s application
must demonstrate a need for
Mainstream Program vouchers by
providing information documenting that
the demand for housing for non-elderly
and elderly persons with disabilities
would equal or exceed the requested
number of vouchers. The applicant must
assess and document the housing need
for elderly and non-elderly persons with
disabilities using a range of sources
including, but not limited to: Census
data, information from the applicant’s
waiting list (both public housing and
housing choice voucher), statistics on
recent public housing admissions and
housing choice voucher use, data from
local advocacy groups and local public
and private service agencies familiar
with the housing needs of elderly and
non-elderly persons with disabilities,
and pertinent information from the
Consolidated Plan [including the
Analysis of Impediments to Fair
Housing Choice (AI)] applicable to the
applicant’s jurisdiction. (See 24 CFR
91.205(d).) Failure of the applicant to
provide the information required under
this section (d) shall be determined not
curable and the application deemed
ineligible for processing.
e. Mainstream Program Operating
Plan. The application must include a
plan for operating a program to serve
eligible disabled families. This
Mainstream Program Operating Plan
must, at a minimum, address the
following:
(1) How the applicant will carry out
its responsibilities under 24 CFR 8.28 to
assist recipients in locating units with
needed accessibility features;
(2) How the applicant will identify
private or public funding sources to
help participants cover the costs of
modifications that need to be made to
their units as reasonable
accommodations to their disabilities;
and
(3) How the applicant will use a
nonprofit organization or PHA under a
contract to administer the Mainstream
Program vouchers or to otherwise
provide services. (This area needs to be
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addressed only if the applicant intends
to partner with a PHA or nonprofit
organization as part of its efforts to serve
eligible disabled families receiving
Mainstream vouchers.)
Failure of the applicant to provide the
information required under this section
(e) shall be determined not curable and
the application deemed ineligible for
processing.
f. Statement Regarding the Steps the
PHA and Nonprofit Organization Will
Take to Affirmatively Further Fair
Housing. The statement must include
specific steps to address the categories
outlined in Section III. C. 4. b. in the
General Section of the HUD
SuperNOFA.
g. Block Grant Moving to Work (MTW)
PHA Certification. Block Grant MTW
agencies must submit a certification
with their application certifying to HUD
that their voucher program funds have
been used to meet the commitments of
their MTW Agreement. Block Grant
MTW PHAs that cannot rightfully
submit such a certification shall submit
a statement with their application
explaining specifically why such a
certification would not be accurate.
(MTW PHAs in this latter category will
have the number of Mainstream
vouchers they are requesting evaluated
by HUD on a case-by-case basis.) Failure
of a Block Grant MTW PHA to provide
the certification or statement required
under this section g. shall be determined
not curable and the application deemed
ineligible for processing.
h. Form HUD–2993. Applicants that
have received a waiver of the
requirement to submit an electronic
application are required to complete
and submit Form HUD–2993,
Acknowledgment of Application
Receipt. In addition to the applicant’s
entering its name and address on the
form, the full title of the program under
which the applicant is seeking funding
must also be entered. This form is
located in the General Section of the
SuperNOFA (70 FR 13575), published
March 21, 2005, and is also available at
the following Web site: www.grants.gov/
Apply.
i. Identification of Primary Market
Area. Each applicant must specify in the
application its primary market area, i.e.,
the geographic area in which it is legally
authorized to operate and where the
vouchers will be issued. This
information may be different from that
entered by such an applicant on the
Form HUD–52515, as the form calls for
the applicant to identify its ‘‘legal area
of operation,’’ which may be far more
geographically expansive than the
specific city, county, or area within a
state where a PHA (particularly a
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regional or state PHA) or nonprofit
organization intends to issue the
vouchers. This information is critical
because, as indicated in section V. A. 2.
a. of this funding announcement, the
geographic area in which the vouchers
are intended to be issued and in which
the applicant is legally authorized to
operate a Housing Choice Voucher
Program will be used by the applicant
(and subsequently by the GMC during
the review of applications) to determine
the percentage of the nation’s housing
needs for disabled persons at or below
the poverty level that are within the
applicant’s primary market area. For
example, although an applicant may be
legally authorized to operate throughout
the entire county in which it is located,
if the vouchers will be issued only in
two cities within that county then the
primary market area is those two cities
and not the entire county. Conversely, if
the applicant is planning to issue
vouchers to all cities within a county,
then the applicant must list the county
only and not list the individual cities
within that county (the county is the
sum of all housing needs for cities
within a county). If, in addition to the
county, there are individual cities
outside the county where the applicant
also will be issuing vouchers, the PHA
then also must list these cities. A state
PHA or nonprofit organization legally
authorized to operate throughout the
entire state, but which intends to issue
the Mainstream vouchers in only one
county, must list solely that county as
its primary market area. In addition, the
primary market area shall not include a
geographic area in which the applicant
is issuing vouchers, outside its normal,
legally authorized area of operation,
based upon an agreement with another
agency/PHA to issue vouchers in the
other agency’s/PHA’s jurisdiction.
2. SF–424 Supplement, Survey on
Ensuring Equal Opportunity for
Applicants. Non-profit applicants are
invited to respond to a survey
questionnaire. This survey is designed
to help HUD assess the interest in its
funding opportunities to grassroots
community-based organizations,
including faith-based organizations. A
copy of the survey form can be found in
the General Section of the SuperNOFA
(70 FR 13575), published March 21,
2005, and is also available as part of the
application package at www.grants.gov/
Apply.
C. Submission Date and Time
Applications submitted through
www.grants.gov/Apply must be received
by no later than 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern
Time on January 3, 2006. Applicants
receiving a waiver of the electronic
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submission requirement must submit
their application to the United States
Postal Service no later than 11:59:59
p.m. Eastern Time on January 3, 2006.
This application submission date is
firm. In the interest of fairness to all
competing PHAs and nonprofit
organizations, HUD will not consider
any application that is submitted after
the application submission date.
Applicants should take this practice
into account and submit their materials
early to avoid any risk of loss of
eligibility brought about by submission
problems, unanticipated delays, weather
conditions, or other delivery-related
problems. See paragraph IV. titled
‘‘Application and Submission
Information’’ in the General Section of
the SuperNOFA (70 FR 13575),
published March 21, 2005, regarding
HUD’s procedures pertinent to the
submission of your application.
Applicants applying electronically will
receive a confirmation of receipt, and
then 24 to 48 hours later will receive a
validation receipt that indicates the
application was accepted for processing
by www.grants.gov for transfer to the
offering agency (HUD). Applicants are
advised to submit electronically at least
72 hours prior to the due date and time
to allow themselves time to correct any
deficiencies noted in the electronic
application during the Grants.gov
validation process. The validation
process does not check for content. It
only accepts applications where the
applicant is registered and authorized to
submit an application on behalf of the
organization, if the electronic file is free
from viruses, and if all mandatory forms
and mandatory data elements in the
forms have been completed. With early
submission, if an application is rejected
for using the wrong DUNS, the
applicant will be able to correct the
problem prior to the due date and time.
D. Intergovernmental Review
Applicants submitting an application
under this funding announcement are
not subject to intergovernmental review;
i.e., Executive Order (EO) 12372,
Intergovernmental Review of Federal
Programs.
E. Funding Restrictions
There is a limit on the minimum and
maximum number of vouchers that may
be requested. An eligible applicant may
apply for not less than 10 vouchers and
no more than a maximum of 20
vouchers. No less than 10 vouchers and
no more than 20 vouchers will be
awarded to any applicant under the FY
2005 Mainstream Program. Any
application incorrectly requesting more
than 20 vouchers shall have its voucher
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request reduced by HUD to 20 vouchers.
Likewise, because an applicant is not to
request less than 10 vouchers under this
NOFA, any applicant requesting less
than 10 vouchers shall have that
voucher request increased by HUD to 10
vouchers.
F. Waivers of the Electronic Submission
Requirement; Other Submission
Requirements
HUD regulations at 24 CFR 5.110
permit waivers of regulatory
requirements to be granted for cause. If
you are unable to submit your
application electronically, you may
request a waiver from this requirement.
Your waiver request must be in writing
and state the basis for the request and
explain why electronic submission is
not possible. The waiver request should
also include an e-mail and/or name and
mailing address where responses can be
directed. Applicants must submit
waiver requests to the General Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Public and
Indian Housing, Attn: Paula O. Blunt,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for
the Office of Public and Indian Housing,
Department of Housing and Urban
Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW.,
Room 4100, Washington, DC 20410,
with a facsimile copy to the Housing
Voucher Management and Operations
Division at (202) 401–7974. Waiver
requests will be accepted beginning on
the date of publication of this NOFA
and no later than 30 days prior to the
application submission date. HUD will
not consider a waiver request that does
not conform to the above requirement.
If a waiver to the electronic application
submission requirements is granted,
HUD requires one original and two
copies of a paper application to be sent
to the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Central Processing Unit,
Room 7152, 451 Seventh Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20410, Attn:
Mainstream Program (Mainstream). A
copy of the application is not required
to be submitted to the local HUD field
office. For ease of reference, the term
‘‘local HUD field office’’ will be used in
this announcement to mean the local
HUD field office Hub or the local HUD
field office program center. A listing of
HUD field offices is attached to the
General Section of the SuperNOFA.
V. Application Review Information
A. Criteria
1. Rating and Ranking. After the
Grants Management Center has screened
and disapproved any applications found
unacceptable for further processing, it
will review all acceptable applications
to ensure they are technically adequate
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and responsive to the requirements of
this announcement. HUD Headquarters
will fund all applications from PHAs
and nonprofit organizations that are
recommended for funding by the Grants
Management Center unless HUD
receives approvable applications for
more funds than are available. HUD will
select applicants to be funded based
upon the methodology indicated in
section V. B. 1. of this NOFA.
Applications meeting all the application
submission requirements of section IV.
B. of this NOFA will be rated and
ranked on the basis of their score under
the selection criteria in section V. A. of
this NOFA. The maximum score under
the selection criteria is 100 points.
2. Selection Criteria. a. Selection
Criterion 1, Disabled Persons at or
Below the Poverty Level (40 points).
(1) Description: This criterion assesses
the number of disabled persons at or
below the poverty level in the primary
market area served by the applicant, as
a percentage of such disabled persons
on a national basis using 2000 census
data. The primary market area is defined
as the geographic area in which the
applicant is legally authorized to
operate and where the vouchers will be
issued. (See section IV. B. 1. i. of this
NOFA regarding the description of the
primary market area required to be
included in each PHA’s/nonprofit
organization’s application.) A table
listing all the cities and counties with a
population of 10,000 or more persons
within the nation states and territories)
will be listed with this funding
announcement on HUD’s Web site at:
www.grants.gov/Apply. Also indicated
on the table will be the number of
disabled persons/percentage of such
disabled persons at or below the poverty
level within each city or county, as a
percentage of the number of disabled
persons at or below the poverty level
within the nation. An applicant (and the
GMC during the review of applications)
will use the table to determine the
percentage of disabled persons at or
below the poverty level that is in the
applicant’s primary market area. The
percentage will determine the number
of points that the applicant is eligible
for under Selection Criterion 1.
(2) Rating and Assessment: Points
will be assigned based on the number of
disabled persons at or below the poverty
level in the applicant’s primary market
area, as a percentage of such persons
within the nation. For each tenth of one
percent (.001) within the applicant’s
primary market area, the applicant will
receive 5 points. Percentages of .0015,
.0025, etc. or higher but less than the
next whole tenth of one percent, i.e.,
.002, .003, etc. shall be rounded to the
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next whole tenth of a percentage point.
An applicant having a primary market
area with less than one-tenth of one
percent for disabled persons, or a
population of 10,000 or fewer, or for
which disability percentages are not
listed on the table, will receive 5 points
under Selection Criterion 1. Likewise,
an applicant having a primary market
area comprised of more than one
community with a population of 10,000
or fewer shall receive a total of 5 points
for all such communities combined. In
addition, an applicant with a primary
market area comprised of one or more
cities and/or counties, for which the
total combined percentage is equal to or
less than .00149, shall receive 5 points.
A maximum of 40 points is available
under Selection Criterion 1 regardless of
how high a percentage of disabled
persons at or below the poverty level is
located within the applicant’s primary
market area.
b. Selection Criterion 2, Percentage of
Allocated Budget Authority Expended
(PABAE) (20 points).
(1) Description: This criterion focuses
on PABAE; i.e., the percentage of
allocated budget authority (ABA) that a
PHA or nonprofit organization has
expended for its housing choice voucher
program. While a PHA or nonprofit
organization must have an expenditure
rate of at least 97 percent under section
III. C. 1. c. of this NOFA in order to have
an acceptable application, Selection
Criterion 2 provides for the award of
selection points to those PHAs and
nonprofit organizations having a PABAE
of 99 percent or higher. The PABAE for
a PHA’s or nonprofit organization’s
voucher program will be calculated by
HUD Headquarters’ Housing Voucher
Financial Management Division based
upon the ABA expenditure information
submitted electronically to HUD’s
voucher management system (VMS) on
a quarterly basis for the most recent 12month period (prior to the Mainstream
application due date). The PABAE will
be determined by HUD dividing the
amount of housing assistance payments
(HAP) by the ABA. If data in the VMS
is not available or cannot be relied
upon, HUD will use other sources of
available information such as the HUD
Central Accounting System
(HUDCAPS), up to December 31, 2004,
or financial statement information
submitted to the Real Estate Assessment
Center through the Financial
Assessment Sub-System. (Note: A
PABAE of a half or more of one
percentage point will be rounded to the
next highest percentage point for
purposes of qualifying for the points
available under Selection Criterion 2
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(for example, 98.5 percent will be
rounded up to 99 percent).
See section IV. B. 1. g. of this NOFA
regarding the certification requirement
applicable to Block Grant MTW PHAs in
connection with qualifying for the
points available under Selection
Criterion 2.
(2) Rating and Assessment: The GMC
will assign point values as follows:
* 20 points: The PHA or nonprofit
organization has a PABAE of 99 percent
for its voucher program.
c. Selection Criterion 3,
Homeownership Option Under Housing
Choice Voucher Program (10 points).
(Note: Selection Criterion 3 addresses
HUD’s homeownership policy priority.)
(1) Description: Applicants are
encouraged, consistent with 24 CFR
982.625–982.643, to establish a
homeownership component or to
expand upon an existing component
within their housing choice voucher
program. Points will be awarded under
this NOFA to applicants that are able to
meet the rating and assessment criteria
listed below.
(2) Rating and Assessment: The GMC
will assign points under Selection
Criterion 3 as follows:
* 3 points: The applicant has
established a housing choice voucher
homeownership program as evidenced
by its submission with its application of
a copy of the Board resolution
approving changes to its administrative
plan for the implementation of the
homeownership option under its
housing choice voucher program.
* 7 points: The applicant qualifies for
the three points under the paragraph
immediately above and has had one or
more closings under its homeownership
program, as evidenced by the
applicant’s submission of information to
HUD’s Public and Indian Housing
Information Center (PIC) on Form HUD–
50058, Family Report, indicating at least
one homeownership unit has completed
the closing process; i.e., has qualified
the PHA for the $1,000 administrative
fee associated with each
homeownership voucher closing, as
described in Notice PIH 2005–14 (HA)
and the predecessor to this Notice
issued ‘‘To All Section 8 Housing
Authorities’’ on October 27, 2004. (Note:
The applicant can only qualify for the
seven points under this paragraph if it
has first qualified for the three points
under the paragraph immediately
above.)
d. Selection Criterion 4, Family SelfSufficiency (FSS) Slots Filled (10
points).
(1) Description: PHAs are encouraged,
consistent with 24 CFR Part 984, to fill
the slots required under a mandatory
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FSS program, and to establish a
voluntary FSS program and fill slots
under that program where a mandatory
FSS program is not required. Points will
be awarded under this NOFA to PHAs
submitting a certification with their
application certifying that they have
filled one or more of their slots with
persons with disabilities, and that these
slots have been reported to HUD’s PIC
on the Form HUD–50058. (Note:
Nonprofit organizations may also
qualify for points under this selection
criterion, but the basis upon which they
may do so is different than for PHAs, as
indicated below.)
(2) Rating and Assessment for PHAs:
The GMC will assign rating points
under Selection Criterion 4 as follows:
* 10 points: 20 or more of the
applicant’s FSS slots have been filled by
persons with disabilities.
* 5 points: 10 to 19 of the applicant’s
FSS slots have been filled by persons
with disabilities.
* 3 points: 1 to 9 of the applicant’s
FSS slots have been filled by persons
with disabilities.
* 0 points: None of the applicant’s
FSS slots have been filled by persons
with disabilities.
(3) Rating and Assessment for
Nonprofit Organizations: In order to
receive any points under this criterion,
a nonprofit must submit a certification
statement indicating that it currently
assists persons with disabilities either
directly, or indirectly through referrals
to other agencies, with such needs as
child care, transportation, educational
and job training opportunities,
employment, money management, and
such other similar needs as are
necessary to assist these families in
achieving economic independence and
self-sufficiency. The GMC will assign
rating points under Selection Criterion 4
when the application is accompanied by
the certification statement indicated
immediately above and also
accompanied by one of the certifications
indicated below, as follows:
* 10 points: A certification is
submitted with the application
certifying that the nonprofit
organization will assist 80 percent or
more of its Mainstream voucher families
either directly, or indirectly through
referrals to other agencies, with such
needs as child care, transportation,
educational and job training
opportunities, employment, money
management, and such other similar
needs as are necessary to assist these
families in achieving economic
independence and self-sufficiency.
* 5 points: A certification is
submitted with the application
certifying that the nonprofit
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66731
organization will assist 50 to 79 percent
of its Mainstream voucher families
either directly, or indirectly through
referrals to other agencies, with such
needs as child care, transportation,
educational and job training
opportunities, employment, money
management, and such other similar
needs as are necessary to assist these
families in achieving economic
independence and self-sufficiency.
* 3 points: A certification is
submitted with the application
certifying that the nonprofit
organization will assist 25 to 49 percent
of its Mainstream voucher families
either directly, or indirectly through
referrals to other agencies, with such
needs as child care, transportation,
educational and job training
opportunities, employment, money
management, and such other similar
needs as are necessary to assist these
families in achieving economic
independence and self-sufficiency.
* 0 points: The nonprofit
organization does not submit any of the
certification statements indicated
immediately above.
e. Selection Criterion 5, Commitments
from Outside Agencies (15 points).
(Note: Selection Criterion 5’s category
for 15 points addresses HUD’s grassroots
faith-based and other community-based
organizations policy priority.)
(1) Description: The applicant
provides documentation that it has
entered into agreements with one or
more organizations to assist disabled
families with moving costs, security
deposits, utility hook-up fees, utility
deposits, medical care, transportation,
educational opportunities, employment,
and child care.
(2) Rating and Assessment: The GMC
will assign points as follows:
* 15 points: The applicant provides
copies of the agreements that it has
entered into with three or more
organizations to assist disabled families
with any one or more of the following:
moving costs, security deposits, utility
hook-up fees, utility deposits, medical
care, transportation, educational
opportunities, employment, and child
care. The applicant must also provide
information indicating it has undertaken
one or more of the activities to promote
the participation of grass roots faithbased and other community-based
organizations indicated in section V. b.
1. f. of the General Section of the
SuperNOFA, as relates to the
aforementioned agreements. The
applicant’s provision of the former, but
not the latter information, shall result in
the application receiving no more than
9 points under this Selection Criterion
5, as indicated below.
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* 9 points: The applicant provides
copies of the agreements that it has
entered into with three or more
organizations to assist disabled families
with any one or more of the following:
moving costs, security deposits, utility
hook-up fees, utility deposits, medical
care, transportation, educational
opportunities, employment, and child
care.
* 6 points: The applicant provides
copies of the agreements it has entered
into with two organizations to assist
disabled families with any one or more
of the following: moving costs, security
deposits, utility hook-up fees, utility
deposits, medical care, transportation,
educational opportunities, employment,
and child care.
* 3 points: The applicant provides
copies of the agreements it has entered
into with one organization to assist
disabled families with any one or more
of the following: moving costs, security
deposits, utility hook-up fees, utility
deposits, medical care, transportation,
educational opportunities, employment,
and child care.
f. Selection Criterion 6, Achieving
Results and Program Evaluation (5
points). (Note: Selection Criterion 6
addresses HUD’s Achieving Results and
Program Evaluation policy priority. This
rating criterion is mandatory; i.e.,
applicants must provide information in
their application responding to this
rating criterion.)
(1) Description: This criterion
emphasizes HUD’s determination to
ensure that applicants meet
commitments made in their applications
and assess their performance in meeting
performance goals. HUD requires
Mainstream Program applicants to
develop an effective, quantifiable,
outcome-oriented monitoring and
evaluation plan for measuring
performance and determining that goals
have been met. This monitoring and
evaluation plan requirement is
applicable to Selection Criterion 3
(Homeownership Option Under
Housing Choice Voucher Program),
Selection Criterion 4 (FSS Slots Filled),
and Selection Criterion 5 (Commitments
from Outside Agencies). The plan is to
be set forth on the Form HUD–96010,
Logic Model, and shall address solely
those selection criteria (3, 4, and 5)
under which the applicant sought to be
rated in its application. The Form HUD–
96010 must be submitted with the
applicant’s application. See section VI.
C., Reporting, of this NOFA regarding
the reporting requirements pertaining to
the goals identified by the applicant on
the Form HUD–96010.
(2) Rating and Assessment: The GMC
will assign points as follows:
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* 5 points: The applicant submits a
monitoring and evaluation plan meeting
the descriptive requirements outlined
immediately above.
B. Reviews and Selection Process
1. Selection for Funding. HUD will
select applications for funding that meet
all of the application submission
requirements in section IV. B. of this
NOFA and that score a sufficient
number of points under the selection
criteria listed in section V. A. of this
NOFA. Applications will be ranked
from highest to lowest score in
descending order, with the highest
ranked application selected first for
funding, and so forth. Where two or
more applicants have exactly the same
score under the selection criteria in
section V. A. of this NOFA and
insufficient funding remains to fund all
of them, applicants will be funded in
the order of the exact percentage of
disabled persons at or below the poverty
level that is in each applicant’s primary
market area. The applicant with the
highest percentage will be funded first,
etc. HUD will limit the number of
applications selected for funding from
any state to 10 percent of the budget
authority available for the Mainstream
Program. If establishing this geographic
limit would result, however, in
unreserved budget authority, HUD may
modify this limit to assure that all
available funds are used. When
remaining budget authority is
insufficient to fund the last selected
application in full, the application will
be funded to the extent of the funding
available, unless the applicant indicates
that it will only accept a higher number
of units. In that event, the next selected
application shall be the one indicating
a willingness to accept the lesser
amount of funding for the units
available.
2. Deficient Applications. The
application must include all of the
information specified in section IV. B.
1., Content of Application, of this
announcement. Examples of curable
(correctible) technical deficiencies
include inconsistencies in the funding
request, a failure to submit the proper
certifications, or, in the instance where
a waiver to the submission of an
electronic application has been granted,
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.
Applicants will be notified by facsimile
or by United States Postal Service
(USPS), return receipt requested.
Clarifications or corrections to technical
deficiencies in accordance with the
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information provided by HUD must be
submitted within 7 calendar days of the
date of receipt of the HUD notification—
not 14 days as is indicated in the
General Section of the SuperNOFA. If
the due date falls on a Saturday,
Sunday, or Federal holiday, your
correction must be received by HUD on
the next day that is not a Saturday,
Sunday, or Federal holiday. If the
deficiency is not corrected within this
time period, HUD will reject your
application as incomplete and it will
not be considered for funding.
3. Unacceptable Applications;
Applicant Debriefing. After the 7
calendar day technical deficiency
correction period, the Office of Public
and Indian Housing’s Grants
Management Center will disapprove all
applications from PHAs and nonprofit
organizations that the GMC determines
are not acceptable for processing. The
GMC’s notification of rejection letter
must state the basis for the decision.
Applicants may request an applicant
debriefing related to its application.
Beginning 30 days after the awards for
assistance are publicly announced in
the Federal Register, and for at least 120
days thereafter, HUD will, upon
receiving a written or email request
from the applicant, provide a debriefing
to the requesting applicant. (See the
General Section of the SuperNOFA for
additional information regarding a
debriefing.) Applicants requesting to be
debriefed must send a written request to
Iredia Hutchinson, Director, Grants
Management Center, Department of
Housing and Urban Development, 501
School Street, SW, Suite 800,
Washington, DC 20024. An e-mail
request may also be sent to Ms.
Hutchinson at the following e-mail
address: Iredia_Hutchinson@hud.gov.
Information provided during a
debriefing will include, at a minimum,
the final score you received for each
rating factor, final evaluation comments
for each rating factor, and the final
assessment indicating the basis upon
which assistance was provided or
denied.
C. Anticipated Announcement and
Award Dates
The announcement of Mainstream
awards is anticipated to occur during
the month of February 2006.
VI. Award Administration Information
A. Award Notices
Successful applicants will receive a
letter from HUD Headquarters’ Office of
Public and Indian Housing (OPIH)
advising of their having been selected to
receive an award of Mainstream
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vouchers. Shortly thereafter, the
awardee will receive award documents
from OPIH’s Financial Management
Center (FMC) providing the awardee
with notification of its Mainstream
voucher award, contract documents,
and a funding exhibit.
B. Administrative and National Policy
Requirements
1. Housing Choice Voucher Program
Regulations. Applicants must
administer the Mainstream Program in
accordance with HUD regulations and
requirements governing the Housing
Choice Voucher Program. The only
exception to this requirement shall be
for nonprofit organizations which shall
not be required to comply with the
requirements of 24 CFR Part 903,
subpart B concerning the requirement
for a PHA Plan.
2. Housing Choice Voucher Program
Admission Requirements. Housing
choice voucher assistance must be
provided to eligible disabled families in
conformity with regulations and
requirements governing the Housing
Choice Voucher Program and the PHA’s
administrative plan.
3. Turnover. When a voucher under
this announcement becomes available
for reissue (e.g., the family initially
selected for the program drops out of the
program or is unsuccessful in the search
for a unit), the voucher may be used
only for another family eligible for
assistance under this announcement for
five years from the date the rental
assistance is placed under an annual
contributions contract (ACC). In
addition, any renewal by HUD of the
five-year voucher funding shall require
the continued reissuance of the
vouchers to disabled families.
If there is ever an insufficient pool of
disabled families on the PHA’s or
nonprofit organization’s housing choice
voucher waiting list, the PHA or
nonprofit organization shall conduct
outreach to encourage eligible persons
to apply for this special allocation of
vouchers. Outreach may include
contacting independent living centers,
advocacy organizations for persons with
disabilities, and medical, mental health,
and social service providers for referrals
of persons receiving such services who
would benefit from housing choice
voucher assistance. If the PHA’s or
nonprofit organization’s housing choice
voucher waiting list is closed, and if the
PHA or nonprofit organization has
insufficient applicants on its housing
choice voucher waiting list to use all
awarded vouchers under this
announcement, the PHA or nonprofit
disability organization should open the
waiting list for applications from
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disabled families. PHAs and nonprofit
organizations must take care to keep
track of the number of disabled
vouchers they have been awarded under
this funding announcement versus the
number of such vouchers they have
actually issued to disabled families.
4. PHA and Nonprofit Organization
Responsibilities. In addition to the
responsibilities under the Housing
Choice Voucher Program and HUD
regulations concerning
nondiscrimination based on disability
(24 CFR 8.28) and to affirmatively
further fair housing, PHAs and
nonprofit organizations that receive
voucher funding shall:
a. Where requested by an individual,
assist program participants to gain
access to supportive services available
within the community, but not require
eligible applicants or participants to
accept supportive services as a
condition of participation or continued
occupancy in the program.
b. Identify public and private funding
sources to assist participants in covering
the costs of modifications that need to
be made to their units as a reasonable
accommodation for their disabilities.
c. Not deny other housing
opportunities to persons who qualify for
rental assistance under this program, or
otherwise restrict access to PHA or
nonprofit organization programs to
eligible applicants who choose not to
participate.
d. Provide housing choice voucher
search assistance.
e. In accordance with regulatory
guidance, provide higher rents to
owners necessary for the provision of
accessible units and structural
modifications for persons with
disabilities.
f. Provide technical assistance to
owners for making reasonable
accommodations or making units
accessible to persons with disabilities.
5. Conducting Business in Accordance
With Core Values and Ethical
Standards. To reflect core values, all
PHAs shall develop and maintain a
written code of conduct in the PHA
administrative plan that (1) requires
compliance with the conflict of interest
requirements of the Housing Choice
Voucher Program at 24 CFR 982.161,
and (2) prohibits the solicitation or
acceptance of gifts or gratuities, in
excess of a nominal value, by any officer
or employee of the PHA, or any
contractor, subcontractor, or agent of the
PHA. The PHA’s administrative plan
shall state PHA policies concerning
PHA administrative and disciplinary
remedies for violation of the PHA code
of conduct. The PHA shall inform all
officers, employees, and agents of its
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66733
organization of the PHA’s code of
conduct.
6. Environmental Review. In
accordance with 24 CFR 50.19(b)(11)
and 58.35(b)(1) of the HUD regulations,
tenant-based rental activities under this
program are categorically excluded from
the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA) and are not subject to
environmental review under the related
laws and authorities. Activities under
the homeownership option of this
program are categorically excluded from
NEPA requirements and excluded from
other environmental requirements
under 24 CFR 58.5 in accordance with
24 CFR 58.35(b)(5), but PHAs and
nonprofit organizations are responsible
for the environmental requirements in
24 CFR 982.626(c).
7. Procurement of Recovered
Materials. See section III. C. 4. i. of the
General Section of the SuperNOFA.
C. Reporting
Reporting requirements are the same
as for regular vouchers under the
Housing Choice Voucher Program.
Awardee performance on goals included
on the Form HUD–96010, Logic Model,
shall be monitored by HUD utilizing the
current HUD reporting systems for the
Housing Choice Voucher Program for
tracking PHA progress on
homeownership, the FSS program, and
commitments from outside agencies.
Applicants should internally track their
performance in meeting the strategic
goals in the Logic Model using the
information required by the format of
that form.
In addition, HUD requires that funded
recipients collect racial and ethnic
beneficiary data. It has adopted the
Office of Management and Budget’s
(OMB’s) Standards for the Collection of
Racial and Ethnic Data. In view of these
requirements, funded recipients should
use Form HUD–27061, Racial and
Ethnic Data Reporting Form (found on
www.grants.gov/Apply), a comparable
program form, or a comparable
electronic data system for this purpose.
VII. Agency Contacts
A. Technical Assistance
Before the application due date, HUD
staff is available to provide general
guidance and technical assistance about
this NOFA. However, staff is not
permitted to assist in preparing your
application. Also, following selection of
applicants, but before awards are
announced, staff may assist in clarifying
or confirming information that is a
prerequisite to the offer of an award.
You may contact George C.
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Hendrickson, Housing Program
Specialist, Room 4214, Office of Public
Housing and Voucher Programs,
Department of Housing and Urban
Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW,
Washington, DC 20410; telephone (202)
708–0477, ext. 4064. Subsequent to
application submission, you may
contact the Grants Management Center
at (202) 358–0221. (These are not tollfree numbers.) Persons with hearing or
speech impairments may access these
numbers via TTY (text telephone) by
calling the Federal Information Relay
Service at 1–800–877–8339 (this is a
toll-free number). For technical support
for registering to apply using
www.grants.gov, downloading an
application, or electronically submitting
an application, please call Grants.gov
Customer Support at 800–518-GRANTS
(This is a toll-free number) or e-mail
support@grants.gov.
B. Satellite Broadcast
HUD will not have a satellite
broadcast on the Mainstream Program.
Applicants seeking additional
information or clarifications regarding
the content of the Mainstream NOFA
should contact George C. Hendrickson
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in HUD Headquarters (see paragraph A.
immediately above).
VIII. Other Information
A. Please review Section VIII. A., B.,
E., F., G., and H. (‘‘Other Information’’)
of the General Section of the
SuperNOFA (70 FR 13575), published
March 21, 2005. Please note that these
subsections are incorporated into this
NOFA by reference.
B. Environmental Impact
This NOFA provides funding under,
and does not alter the environmental
requirements of 24 CFR Part 982, as
noted in section VI. B. 6. of this NOFA,
and this NOFA concerns activities listed
in 24 CFR 50.19(b) as categorically
excluded from environmental review
under the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321)
(‘‘NEPA’’). Accordingly, under 24 CFR
50.19 (c) (5), this NOFA is categorically
excluded from environmental review
under NEPA.
C. Paperwork Reduction Act
The information collection
requirements contained in this
document have been approved by the
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Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–3520) and
assigned OMB control number 2577–
0169. In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act, HUD may not conduct or
sponsor, and a person is not required to
respond to, a collection of information
unless the collection displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
Public reporting burden for the
collection of information is estimated to
average one hour per annum per
respondent for the application and grant
administration.
This includes the time for collecting,
reviewing, and reporting the data for the
application, semi-annual reports and
final report. The information will be
used for grantee selection and
monitoring the administration of funds.
Response to this request for information
is required in order to receive the
benefits to be derived.
Dated: October 25, 2005.
Paula O. Blunt,
General Deputy Assistant, Secretary for Public
and Indian Housing.
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[FR Doc. 05–21894 Filed 11–1–05; 8:45 am]
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 211 (Wednesday, November 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66724-66738]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21894]
[[Page 66723]]
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Part V
Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Notice of Funding Availability for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Mainstream
Housing Opportunities for Persons With Disabilities Program (Mainstream
Program); Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 211 / Wednesday, November 2, 2005 /
Notices
[[Page 66724]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR 5002-N-01]
Notice of Funding Availability for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005
Mainstream Housing Opportunities for Persons With Disabilities Program
(Mainstream Program)
AGENCY: Office of Public and Indian Housing, HUD.
ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Overview Information
A. Federal Agency Name: Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Office of Public and Indian Housing, Office of Public
Housing and Voucher Programs.
B. Funding Opportunity Title: Mainstream Housing Opportunities for
Persons With Disabilities Program (Mainstream Program).
C. Announcement Type: Initial Announcement.
D. Funding Opportunity Number: The Federal Register number for this
NOFA is FR-5002-N-01. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
paperwork approval number is 2577-0169.
E. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 14.871,
Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers.
F. Application Deadline: The application submission date is January
3, 2006. Applications must be submitted through www.grants.gov and must
be received by grants.gov no later than 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern time on
the application submission date. Applicants receiving a waiver of the
electronic submission requirement must send their application via the
United States Postal Service (USPS) no later than 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern
time on the application submission date. Please see the General Section
of the SuperNOFA (70 FR 13575) published March 21, 2005, for further
information about application submission, delivery, and timely receipt
requirements.
G. Optional, Additional Overview Content Information: The purpose
of the Mainstream Program is to provide vouchers under the Housing
Choice Voucher Program to enable persons with disabilities (elderly and
non-elderly) to access affordable private housing. Public housing
agencies (PHAs) and nonprofit organizations that provide services to
the disabled are eligible to apply. Those PHAs and nonprofit
organizations interested in applying for the approximately $10.2
million in five-year budget authority (anticipated to fund
approximately 250 vouchers) under this funding announcement should
carefully review the General Section of the SuperNOFA published March
21, 2005 (70 FR 13575); the additional guidance and other helpful
information located at www.hud.gov (click on ``Grants'' and then click
on ``Funds Available''); and the detailed information contained in this
Mainstream Program funding announcement. The available funding is
derived from Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Section 811 funding, and previously
unobligated Mainstream funding from FY 2000 and FY 2003.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
A. Authority and Purpose
Authority for this program is found in the Cranston-Gonzalez
National Affordable Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 8013 (Pub. L. 101-625), the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, FY 2005 (Pub. L. 108-447, approved
December 8, 2004), and in chapters of the Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror and Tsunami
Relief, 2005 (Pub. L. 109-13, approved May 11, 2005). The Secretary has
established a Mainstream Housing Opportunities for Persons With
Disabilities Program (Mainstream Program) to provide vouchers to enable
persons with disabilities to access affordable private housing of their
choice. The Mainstream Program will assist PHAs and nonprofit
organizations in providing housing choice vouchers to a segment of the
population recognized by HUD's housing research as having one of the
worst housing needs of any group in the United States, i.e., very low-
income households with adults with disabilities. In addition, the
Mainstream Program will assist persons with disabilities who often face
difficulties in locating suitable and accessible housing on the private
market. The vouchers that HUD will provide under this announcement must
be made available to eligible disabled families regardless of their
type of disability. (See the definition of disabled family in section
I. B. 1. of this announcement.) The Mainstream Program vouchers must
not be issued by the administering agency on the basis of any
preference system favoring any particular type of disability over
another, nor shall the vouchers be issued solely on the basis of an
administering agency's waiting list which, in turn, is based on that
agency having heretofore served only certain types of disabled persons.
The Housing Choice Voucher Program regulations provide at 24 CFR
982.207(b)(3) that a PHA may give preference for admission of families
that include a person with disabilities; however, the PHA may not give
preference for admission of persons with a specific disability. This
regulatory requirement is also applicable to nonprofit organizations
that receive funding under this announcement, as such organizations
must comply with the regulatory requirements applicable to the Housing
Choice Voucher Program. Because Mainstream vouchers are targeted for
use by disabled persons, each successful applicant will need to revise
the administrative plan for its voucher program to clearly indicate
that Mainstream vouchers will be issued only to disabled persons.
Preferences within the disability category; e.g., disabled veterans,
etc., may be used as long as the result is not to give a preference to
the admission of persons with any specific type of disability.
B. Definitions
The following definitions apply to the approximately $10.2 million
in five-year budget authority available under this funding
announcement.
1. Disabled Family. Disabled family means a family whose head,
spouse, or sole member is a person with disabilities. It may include
two or more persons with disabilities living together, or one or more
persons with disabilities living with one or more live-in aides.
2. Person With Disabilities. a. Means a person who:
(1) Has a disability as defined in 42 U.S.C. 423;
(2) Is determined, pursuant to HUD regulations, to have a physical,
mental, or emotional impairment that:
(a) Is expected to be of long-continued and indefinite duration;
(b) Substantially impedes his or her ability to live independently;
and
(c) Is of such a nature that the ability to live independently
could be improved by more suitable housing conditions; or
(3) Has a developmental disability as defined in 42 U.S.C. 6001;
b. Does not exclude persons who have the disease of acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome or any conditions arising from the etiologic
agent for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome;
c. For purposes of qualifying for low-income housing, does not
include a person whose disability is based solely on any drug or
alcohol dependence.
Note: HUD is exercising its waiver authority under the ``Housing
for Persons With Disabilities'' section of the
[[Page 66725]]
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, to use the definition of
``person with disabilities'' found at section 3 (b)(3)(E) of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.) (``the
Act''), as implemented in the HUD regulations for the Housing Choice
Voucher Program at 24 CFR 5.403, in lieu of the definition of
``person with disabilities'' found at 42 U.S.C. 8013 (k)(2).
3. Housing Choice Voucher Search Assistance. Assistance to increase
access by program participants to housing units in a variety of
neighborhoods (including areas with low poverty concentrations) and to
locate and obtain units suited to their needs.
II. Award Information
A. Available Funds
Approximately $10.2 million in five-year funding is available for
approximately 250 vouchers for supportive housing for persons with
disabilities. This allocation is consistent with the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, FY 2005 (Pub. L. 108-447, approved December 8,
2004), and the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense,
the Global War on Terror and Tsunami Relief, 2005 (Pub. L. 109-13,
approved May 11, 2005). Congressional rescission of a portion of HUD's
appropriated funding resulted in the $10 million in appropriations
being reduced to $9,920,000. This amount was supplemented by prior year
unobligated Mainstream funding from FY 2000 and FY 2003 (also derived
from section 811 funding) totaling approximately $318,000, for a grand
total for Mainstream funding of approximately $10.2 million. All future
references in this funding announcement to five-year budget authority
are based upon these funding sources. All of the approximately $10.2
million in Mainstream funding is for use in housing persons with
disabilities.
B. Housing Choice Voucher Funding
1. Determination of Funding Amount for the Applicant's Requested
Number of Vouchers. HUD's Housing Voucher Financial Management Division
will determine the amount of funding that an applicant will be awarded
under this announcement based upon actual annual per unit costs.
2. Determination Process. a. HUD will extract from the Voucher
Management System (VMS) the actual housing assistance payments (HAP)
costs for five-year Mainstream units, divided by the total units
leased, both as reported by the PHA in VMS and verifiable, for the most
recently reported quarter. HUD will multiply the monthly per unit cost
by 12 to determine the annual per unit cost and may adjust that total
by the applicable Annual Adjustment Factor, to arrive at a funding
amount for HAP costs. The HAP dollar amount, approved by HUD for an
awardee for five-year Mainstream vouchers, will not be increased by HUD
during the five-year term.
b. If a PHA does not currently administer a five-year Mainstream
Program, the per unit funding amount will be that amount used to
calculate the PHA's Calendar Year 2005 renewal funding for the regular
voucher program.
c. Administrative fees will be calculated on the basis of the per
unit month rate determined for the PHA from its Calendar Year 2005
renewal fee allocation.
C. Unfunded Approvable Applications
PHAs or nonprofit organizations with approvable applications that
are not funded in whole or in part, due to insufficient funds available
under this funding announcement, shall be funded first in FY 2006,
provided HUD receives additional appropriations for the Mainstream
Program for FY 2006.
III. Eligibility Information
A. Eligible Applicants
PHAs and nonprofit organizations that provide services to the
disabled (as defined in section I. B. 1. of this announcement) are
eligible applicants for the five-year budget authority funding
available under this funding announcement. PHAs with less than 300
vouchers under an annual contributions contract (ACC), nonprofit
organizations not previously funded under the Mainstream Program, as
well as PHAs or nonprofit organizations that fall into any of the
categories in section III. C. 1. of this announcement, are ineligible
to have an application funded under this announcement. Indian Housing
Authorities (IHAs), Indian tribes, and their tribally designated
housing entities are not eligible to apply for new increments of
housing choice voucher funding because the Native American Housing
Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.),
does not allow HUD to enter into new housing choice voucher ACCs with
IHAs after September 30, 1997.
B. Cost Sharing or Matching
None required.
C. Other
1. Program Related Threshold Requirements. An applicant must be
eligible under the following threshold requirements at the time of the
application due date, as well as at such subsequent time of HUD's
selection of awardees. The Grants Management Center (GMC) will use
information available within HUD's information systems, as well as
coordinate with HUD's local HUD field offices, in assessing whether
applicants fall into any of the threshold categories. Applications from
PHAs or nonprofit organizations that fall into any of the following
threshold categories will not be processed:
a. PHAs or nonprofit organizations that do not meet the fair
housing and civil rights compliance threshold requirements of Sections
III. C. 2. c. and III. C. 4. a. and b. of the General Section of the
SuperNOFA (70 FR 13575) published March 21, 2005.
b. The applicant is designated as troubled by HUD under the Section
8 Management Assessment Program (SEMAP), or has major program
management findings in an Inspector General audit for its voucher
program that are unresolved, or has other significant program
compliance problems that are not resolved. Major program management
findings, or significant program compliance problems, are those that
would cast doubt on the capacity of the applicant to effectively
administer any new housing choice voucher funding in accordance with
applicable HUD regulatory and statutory requirements. The only
exception to this category is if the applicant has been identified
under the policy established in section III. C. 2. c. of this
announcement and the applicant makes application with a designated
contract administrator.
c. The PHA or nonprofit organization has failed to expend 97
percent of its allocated budget authority (ABA) for its voucher
program. The percent of allocated budget authority expended (PABAE) for
a PHA's or nonprofit organization's voucher program will be calculated
by HUD Headquarters' Housing Voucher Financial Management Division
based upon the expenditure information submitted electronically to
HUD's voucher management system (VMS) on a quarterly basis for the most
recent 12-month period (prior to the Mainstream application due date).
The PABAE will be determined by HUD dividing the amount of housing
assistance payments (HAP) by the ABA. If data in the VMS is not
available or cannot be relied upon, HUD will use other sources of
available information, such as the HUD Central Accounting Processing
System (HUDCAPS), up to December 31, 2004, or financial statement
information
[[Page 66726]]
submitted to the Real Estate Assessment Center through the Financial
Assessment Sub-System. (Note: If the PABAE is 96.5 percent but less
than 97 percent, the PABAE shall be rounded up to 97 percent.) See
section IV. B. 1. g. of this funding announcement, which addresses the
certification to be submitted by Moving to Work (MTW) agencies in
connection with the 97 percent expenditure requirement referenced
above.
d. The PHA or nonprofit organization is involved in litigation and
HUD determines that the litigation may seriously impede the ability of
the applicant to administer the vouchers.
e. An application that does not comply with the requirements of 24
CFR 982.103 and this program section after the expiration of the 7-
calendar day technical deficiency correction period.
f. The application was submitted after the application due date.
g. The application was not submitted to the official place of
receipt as indicated in section F. under Overview Information at the
beginning of this funding announcement, or as indicated in section IV.
F. of this funding announcement, as appropriate.
h. The applicant has been debarred or otherwise disqualified from
providing assistance under the program.
i. The PHA did not have its PHA plans approved by HUD for the FY
2004 plan cycle on the application due date for this funding
announcement. (This category of ineligibility does not apply to
nonprofit organizations whose Housing Choice Voucher Program is based
solely upon previously approved housing choice vouchers under the
Mainstream Program.)
j. The applicant does not have a financial management system that
meets federal standards. See Section III. C. 2. f. of the General
Section of the SuperNOFA (70 FR 13575) published March 21, 2005,
regarding those applicants that may be subject to HUD's arranging for a
pre-award survey of an applicant's financial management system.
k. The PHA does not have a HUD-approved designated housing plan as
of the application due date under this funding announcement (this does
not apply to nonprofit applicants).
l. The applicant is not in compliance with the Uniform Financial
Reporting Standards (UFRS) at the time of the application due date.
m. The applicant submits an electronic application with a virus.
(The applicant may resubmit a virus-free electronic application, but it
must be resubmitted at least 24 hours prior to the due date.)
n. The applicant is not registered at www.grants.gov as the
authorized organization representative.
o. The applicant submits an application using a Dun and Bradstreet
Number System (DUNS) number under which it is not registered to submit
an electronic application to www.grants.gov.
2. PHA Program Requirements.
a. A PHA may submit only one application under this announcement.
This one-application-per-PHA limit applies regardless of whether or not
the PHA is a state or regional PHA, except in those instances where
such a PHA has more than one PHA code number due to its operating under
the jurisdiction of more than one HUD field office. In such an
instance, a separate application under each code shall be considered
for funding, with the cumulative total of vouchers applied for under
the applications not to exceed the maximum of 20 vouchers the PHA is
eligible to apply for under section IV. E. of this announcement, i.e.,
no more than the number of vouchers the same PHA would be eligible to
apply for if it only had one PHA code number.
b. PHAs are encouraged to involve nonprofit organizations that
provide services to disabled families, as defined in section III. C. 3.
of this announcement, in the administration of the Mainstream Program's
vouchers. In the past, such organizations have frequently demonstrated
a capacity to assist disabled families and have demonstrated an in-
depth knowledge of the disability community.
(1) A nonprofit organization could function as either a contract
administrator for the PHA's Mainstream vouchers, or as a subcontractor
responsible for providing case management services or assisting
disabled families to locate suitable housing, gaining access to
supportive services, or identifying private funding sources to cover
the costs of unit modifications needed as a reasonable accommodation.
(2) Such contractual arrangements must, however, ensure equal
opportunity among the wide variety of disabled populations in the PHA's
service area.
c. In some cases, an applicant currently administering the Housing
Choice Voucher Program has, at the time of publication of the
SuperNOFA, been designated by HUD as troubled under the SEMAP, has
major program management findings from Inspector General audits that
are unresolved, or has other significant program compliance problems.
HUD will reject an application from such an applicant as a contract
administrator if, on the application due date, the troubled designation
under SEMAP has not been removed by HUD, and the findings or other
significant program compliance problems are not resolved. If the
applicant wants to apply for funding under this announcement, it must
submit an application that designates another contractor that is
acceptable to HUD. The application must include an agreement by the
other contractor to administer the new funding increment on behalf of
the applicant, and (in the instance of an applicant with unresolved
major program management findings or other significant program
compliance problems) a statement that outlines the steps the applicant
is taking to resolve the program findings or compliance problems.
Immediately after the publication of this funding announcement, the
Office of Public Housing in the local HUD field office will notify, in
writing, those PHAs and nonprofit organizations that have been
designated by HUD as troubled under SEMAP, and those PHAs and nonprofit
organizations with unresolved major program management findings or
other significant program compliance problems that are not eligible to
apply without such an agreement. Concurrently, the local HUD field
office will provide a copy of each such written notification to the
Director of the Grants Management Center (GMC). The applicant may
appeal the decision, in writing, if HUD has mistakenly classified the
applicant as having unresolved major program findings or other
significant program compliance problems. The applicant may not appeal
its designation as troubled under SEMAP. Any appeal with respect to
unresolved major program management findings or other significant
program compliance problems must be accompanied by conclusive evidence
of HUD's error (i.e., documentation showing that the finding has been
cleared or the program compliance problem has been resolved) and must
be received prior to the application deadline. The appeal should be
submitted to the local HUD field office where a final determination
shall be made. Concurrently, the local HUD field office shall provide
the GMC with a copy of the applicant's written appeal and the field
office's written response to the appeal. Copies of all letters of
ineligibility and matters that relate to PHA appeals referenced in this
paragraph must be submitted to the GMC by the field office so as to be
received by the GMC no later than 10 days after the application
deadline date.
[[Page 66727]]
Major program management findings, or significant program compliance
problems, are those that would cast doubt on the capacity of the
applicant to effectively administer any new housing choice voucher
funding in accordance with applicable HUD regulatory and statutory
requirements.
(Note: If any additional PHAs or nonprofit organizations fall
into the above category prior to HUD's announcement of awards under
this NOFA, but subsequent to the local HUD field office's
notification of the GMC addressed above, the field office shall
immediately notify the GMC of the applicant's name and the category
into which the applicant falls, i.e., designated as troubled under
SEMAP, major unresolved Office of Inspector General (OIG) management
findings, or other significant program compliance problems. As
indicated in section III. C. 1. of this NOFA, an applicant must be
eligible for funding at the time of the application due date, as
well as at such subsequent time of HUD's selection of awardees. No
PHA appeals, based upon field office letters of ineligibility issued
after the application deadline date, shall be considered for
purposes of eligibility for funding under this funding
announcement.)
3. Nonprofit Organization Program Requirements. A nonprofit
organization may submit only one application under this announcement.
For purposes of the Mainstream Program, a nonprofit organization shall
be defined as an organization, no part of the net earnings of which
inures to the benefit of any member, founder, contributor, or
individual, that provides services to persons with disabilities and has
received a federal tax-exempt designation, under section 501(c) (3) of
the Internal Revenue Code, from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
a. The nonprofit entity must:
(1) Have a voluntary board;
(2) Be authorized by its charter or state law to enter into a
contract with the Federal Government to provide housing assistance to
persons with disabilities;
(3) Have a functioning accounting system that is operated in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or designate
an entity that will maintain a functioning accounting system for the
organization in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles;
(4) Practice nondiscrimination in the provision of assistance; and
(5) Provide services to the disabled as part of its ongoing
activities and responsibilities.
b. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to seek out PHAs in their
geographic area to develop cooperative contractual relationships under
the Mainstream Program and to enhance services to disabled families. In
addition to contacting local PHAs, nonprofit organizations may also
wish to contact regional (multi-county) or statewide PHAs.
4. Eligible Participants. Only a disabled family that is income-
eligible under 24 CFR 982.201(b)(1), as well as otherwise eligible
under the regulations at 24 CFR 982.201, may receive a voucher awarded
under the Mainstream Program. Applicants with disabilities must be
selected from the PHA's or nonprofit organization's housing choice
voucher waiting list. Additional information on those families and
individuals eligible to receive a voucher is located at the following
HUD Web site: https://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv.
IV. Application and Submission Information
A. Website Addresses To Request Application Package
This section describes how you may obtain application forms,
additional information about the Mainstream Program NOFA, and technical
assistance. Copies of the published Mainstream NOFA and related
application forms for this NOFA may be downloaded from the grants.gov
Web site at www.grants.gov/Apply. (Be sure to download both the
instructions package and the application package. Information from both
packages will be necessary to have a successful submission.) You may
choose from links provided under the topic ``Search Grant
Opportunities,'' which allows you to do a basic search or to browse by
category or agency. The NOFA may also be found by using the search
function at www.grants.gov. If you have difficulty accessing the
information, you may receive customer support from Grants.gov by
calling its help line at (800) 518-GRANTS or sending an e-mail to
support@grants.gov. The Grants.gov help desk is open from 7 a.m. to 9
p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. The
operators will assist you in accessing the information. If you do not
have Internet access and you need to obtain a copy of this NOFA, you
may contact HUD's NOFA Information Center toll-free at (800) HUD-2209
and immediately submit a request for a waiver of the electronic
requirement. A copy of this funding announcement for the Mainstream
Program, the forms to be submitted with the application, and reference
materials for use in preparing an application may be downloaded from
the following Web site: www.grants.gov/Apply, by clicking on Apply Step
1.
1. Application Kit. There is no application kit for this program.
This announcement contains all the information necessary for the
submission of your application for voucher funding for the Mainstream
Program. The materials needed to apply are found in the instruction
download and application download found at www.grants.gov/Apply. HUD
has made an effort to improve the readability of this NOFA and publish
all required forms for application submission in the Federal Register.
Please pay attention to the registration and submission requirements,
including the format for submission, for the Mainstream NOFA to ensure
that you have submitted all required elements of your application. The
published Federal Register document is the official document that HUD
uses to solicit applications. Therefore, if there is a discrepancy
between any materials published by HUD in its Federal Register
publications and other information provided in paper copy, electronic
copy, or at www.grants.gov, the Federal Register publication prevails.
Please be sure to review your application submission against the
requirements in the Federal Register for this program NOFA.
2. Further Information. A guidebook to HUD programs entitled,
``Connecting with Communities: A User's Guide to HUD Programs and the
FY 2005 NOFA Process,'' is available from the HUD NOFA Information
Center and the HUD Web site at: www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/
fundsavail.cfm. The guidebook provides a brief description of all HUD
programs, identifies eligible applicants for the programs, and provides
examples of how programs can work in combination to serve local
community needs. The telephone numbers for the NOFA Information Center
are (800) HUD-8929, or for the hearing impaired, (800) HUD-2209 (TTY)
(these are toll-free numbers). The NOFA Information Center is open
between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, Monday
through Friday, except federal holidays.
B. Content and Form of Application Submission
You must meet all the registration, application, and submission
requirements described in Section IV. B. of the General Section of the
SuperNOFA (70 FR 13581).
1. Content of Application. Applicants are requested to read this
section very carefully, as it addresses the specific information that
must be in the applications submitted to HUD under this NOFA.
Applications failing to
[[Page 66728]]
provide this information will be determined either ineligible for
processing, or in the instance of an application having a curable
(correctable) technical deficiency (see the General Section of the
SuperNOFA (70 FR 13575) published March 21, 2005), the applicant will
be requested to submit additional information. Those application
submission items identified below in this section IV. B. 1. as ``not
curable'' shall mean that any item; e.g., Mainstream Program Operating
Plan, for which the applicant does not provide all the requested
information shall result in the application being determined ineligible
for processing. The turnaround times established by HUD in the instance
of curable technical deficiencies are relatively brief, so the initial
submission of a carefully prepared and complete application is
extremely important. Applicants should also carefully review sections
III. C. 1. (b) and (c) of this funding announcement to determine if
their SEMAP designation, OIG status, existence of significant program
compliance problems, or percentage expended of allocated budget
authority will require the submission of additional information with
their application.
a. Form SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. All applicants
must complete and submit the SF-424, Application for Federal
Assistance. The SF-424 requires each applicant to enter basic
information; e.g., applicant's name, address, Dun and Bradstreet
Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number, CFDA number for the type of
funding being requested, etc. In the box titled ``Federal Identifier''
(on the top right hand side of the form), the applicant should enter
the housing authority code number (for example, CT00). In part a.
(Federal), of section 15 (Estimated Funding), the applicant should
enter a zero dollar amount, as HUD will determine (as per section II.
B. of this funding announcement) the amount of funding needed to fund
the number of vouchers an applicant may be awarded. (Electronic
Application Submission Tip: When entering the zero for the dollar
amount, do not use any decimal points.) The SF-424 is located in the
General Section of the SuperNOFA and is also available at the following
HUD Web site: https://www.hud.gov/Apply. Applicants are placed on notice
that by electronically signing the SF-424, the applicant is certifying
to the accuracy of (1) All data/information on the Form SF-424, (2) all
information described in Section IV. B. 2. (``Certifications and
Assurances'') in the General Section (70 FR 13575), published March 21,
2005, and (3) all data and information provided on all other forms and
components (including certifications related to rating criteria) in its
application. If you are granted a waiver to the electronic submission
requirements, the Form SF-424 must be submitted and signed/dated by the
applicant. An electronic or handwritten signature on the form certifies
the accuracy of the application.
b. Form HUD-52515. All applicants must complete and submit Form
HUD-52515, Funding Application, for the Housing Choice Voucher Program.
Section C of the form should be left blank. The standard Assurances and
Certifications required to be submitted by each applicant are on the
Form HUD-52515, which includes the Equal Opportunity Certification, and
the Certification Regarding Lobbying. A copy of the Form HUD-52515,
which is not included among the forms in the General Section of the
SuperNOFA, is attached to this funding announcement.
c. Letter of Intent and Narrative. In the letter of intent and
narrative, the applicant must indicate the number of vouchers being
requested, whether it will accept a reduction in the number of
vouchers, and the minimum number of vouchers the applicant will accept,
since the funding is limited and HUD may only have enough funds to
approve an amount smaller than the number of vouchers requested. The
maximum number of vouchers that an applicant may apply for under this
announcement is limited to 20, and the minimum number of vouchers an
applicant may apply for is 10.
The letter of intent and narrative should also include information
addressing how the applicant meets the selection criteria in section
V.A. of this NOFA. Failure of the applicant to provide information in
connection with selection criterion 1 shall result in the GMC scoring
the applicant solely on the basis of information HUD already has on-
hand. An applicant (with the exception of a Block Grant MTW PHA) is not
required to submit any information with its application relative to
selection criterion 2, as HUD will determine the applicant's percentage
of allocated budget authority that has been expended for its voucher
program based upon information already available within HUD's data
systems. Failure of the applicant to provide the information called for
under selection criterion 3, selection criterion 4, or selection
criterion 5 shall be considered not curable, but shall not make the
application ineligible for processing. Failure to provide the
information shall simply mean that the applicant is ineligible for the
points under the categories for which it failed to provide the
information requested in this funding announcement. An applicant must
submit the monitoring and evaluation plan required under selection
criterion 6 if the applicant sought to be rated under selection
criteria 3, 4, or 5. Failure to provide the monitoring and evaluation
plan shall be considered not curable and shall make the application
ineligible for processing.
d. Description of Need for Mainstream Program Vouchers. The PHA's
and nonprofit organization's application must demonstrate a need for
Mainstream Program vouchers by providing information documenting that
the demand for housing for non-elderly and elderly persons with
disabilities would equal or exceed the requested number of vouchers.
The applicant must assess and document the housing need for elderly and
non-elderly persons with disabilities using a range of sources
including, but not limited to: Census data, information from the
applicant's waiting list (both public housing and housing choice
voucher), statistics on recent public housing admissions and housing
choice voucher use, data from local advocacy groups and local public
and private service agencies familiar with the housing needs of elderly
and non-elderly persons with disabilities, and pertinent information
from the Consolidated Plan [including the Analysis of Impediments to
Fair Housing Choice (AI)] applicable to the applicant's jurisdiction.
(See 24 CFR 91.205(d).) Failure of the applicant to provide the
information required under this section (d) shall be determined not
curable and the application deemed ineligible for processing.
e. Mainstream Program Operating Plan. The application must include
a plan for operating a program to serve eligible disabled families.
This Mainstream Program Operating Plan must, at a minimum, address the
following:
(1) How the applicant will carry out its responsibilities under 24
CFR 8.28 to assist recipients in locating units with needed
accessibility features;
(2) How the applicant will identify private or public funding
sources to help participants cover the costs of modifications that need
to be made to their units as reasonable accommodations to their
disabilities; and
(3) How the applicant will use a nonprofit organization or PHA
under a contract to administer the Mainstream Program vouchers or to
otherwise provide services. (This area needs to be
[[Page 66729]]
addressed only if the applicant intends to partner with a PHA or
nonprofit organization as part of its efforts to serve eligible
disabled families receiving Mainstream vouchers.)
Failure of the applicant to provide the information required under
this section (e) shall be determined not curable and the application
deemed ineligible for processing.
f. Statement Regarding the Steps the PHA and Nonprofit Organization
Will Take to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing. The statement must
include specific steps to address the categories outlined in Section
III. C. 4. b. in the General Section of the HUD SuperNOFA.
g. Block Grant Moving to Work (MTW) PHA Certification. Block Grant
MTW agencies must submit a certification with their application
certifying to HUD that their voucher program funds have been used to
meet the commitments of their MTW Agreement. Block Grant MTW PHAs that
cannot rightfully submit such a certification shall submit a statement
with their application explaining specifically why such a certification
would not be accurate. (MTW PHAs in this latter category will have the
number of Mainstream vouchers they are requesting evaluated by HUD on a
case-by-case basis.) Failure of a Block Grant MTW PHA to provide the
certification or statement required under this section g. shall be
determined not curable and the application deemed ineligible for
processing.
h. Form HUD-2993. Applicants that have received a waiver of the
requirement to submit an electronic application are required to
complete and submit Form HUD-2993, Acknowledgment of Application
Receipt. In addition to the applicant's entering its name and address
on the form, the full title of the program under which the applicant is
seeking funding must also be entered. This form is located in the
General Section of the SuperNOFA (70 FR 13575), published March 21,
2005, and is also available at the following Web site: www.grants.gov/
Apply.
i. Identification of Primary Market Area. Each applicant must
specify in the application its primary market area, i.e., the
geographic area in which it is legally authorized to operate and where
the vouchers will be issued. This information may be different from
that entered by such an applicant on the Form HUD-52515, as the form
calls for the applicant to identify its ``legal area of operation,''
which may be far more geographically expansive than the specific city,
county, or area within a state where a PHA (particularly a regional or
state PHA) or nonprofit organization intends to issue the vouchers.
This information is critical because, as indicated in section V. A. 2.
a. of this funding announcement, the geographic area in which the
vouchers are intended to be issued and in which the applicant is
legally authorized to operate a Housing Choice Voucher Program will be
used by the applicant (and subsequently by the GMC during the review of
applications) to determine the percentage of the nation's housing needs
for disabled persons at or below the poverty level that are within the
applicant's primary market area. For example, although an applicant may
be legally authorized to operate throughout the entire county in which
it is located, if the vouchers will be issued only in two cities within
that county then the primary market area is those two cities and not
the entire county. Conversely, if the applicant is planning to issue
vouchers to all cities within a county, then the applicant must list
the county only and not list the individual cities within that county
(the county is the sum of all housing needs for cities within a
county). If, in addition to the county, there are individual cities
outside the county where the applicant also will be issuing vouchers,
the PHA then also must list these cities. A state PHA or nonprofit
organization legally authorized to operate throughout the entire state,
but which intends to issue the Mainstream vouchers in only one county,
must list solely that county as its primary market area. In addition,
the primary market area shall not include a geographic area in which
the applicant is issuing vouchers, outside its normal, legally
authorized area of operation, based upon an agreement with another
agency/PHA to issue vouchers in the other agency's/PHA's jurisdiction.
2. SF-424 Supplement, Survey on Ensuring Equal Opportunity for
Applicants. Non-profit applicants are invited to respond to a survey
questionnaire. This survey is designed to help HUD assess the interest
in its funding opportunities to grassroots community-based
organizations, including faith-based organizations. A copy of the
survey form can be found in the General Section of the SuperNOFA (70 FR
13575), published March 21, 2005, and is also available as part of the
application package at www.grants.gov/Apply.
C. Submission Date and Time
Applications submitted through www.grants.gov/Apply must be
received by no later than 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 3,
2006. Applicants receiving a waiver of the electronic submission
requirement must submit their application to the United States Postal
Service no later than 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 3, 2006.
This application submission date is firm. In the interest of fairness
to all competing PHAs and nonprofit organizations, HUD will not
consider any application that is submitted after the application
submission date. Applicants should take this practice into account and
submit their materials early to avoid any risk of loss of eligibility
brought about by submission problems, unanticipated delays, weather
conditions, or other delivery-related problems. See paragraph IV.
titled ``Application and Submission Information'' in the General
Section of the SuperNOFA (70 FR 13575), published March 21, 2005,
regarding HUD's procedures pertinent to the submission of your
application. Applicants applying electronically will receive a
confirmation of receipt, and then 24 to 48 hours later will receive a
validation receipt that indicates the application was accepted for
processing by www.grants.gov for transfer to the offering agency (HUD).
Applicants are advised to submit electronically at least 72 hours prior
to the due date and time to allow themselves time to correct any
deficiencies noted in the electronic application during the Grants.gov
validation process. The validation process does not check for content.
It only accepts applications where the applicant is registered and
authorized to submit an application on behalf of the organization, if
the electronic file is free from viruses, and if all mandatory forms
and mandatory data elements in the forms have been completed. With
early submission, if an application is rejected for using the wrong
DUNS, the applicant will be able to correct the problem prior to the
due date and time.
D. Intergovernmental Review
Applicants submitting an application under this funding
announcement are not subject to intergovernmental review; i.e.,
Executive Order (EO) 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal
Programs.
E. Funding Restrictions
There is a limit on the minimum and maximum number of vouchers that
may be requested. An eligible applicant may apply for not less than 10
vouchers and no more than a maximum of 20 vouchers. No less than 10
vouchers and no more than 20 vouchers will be awarded to any applicant
under the FY 2005 Mainstream Program. Any application incorrectly
requesting more than 20 vouchers shall have its voucher
[[Page 66730]]
request reduced by HUD to 20 vouchers. Likewise, because an applicant
is not to request less than 10 vouchers under this NOFA, any applicant
requesting less than 10 vouchers shall have that voucher request
increased by HUD to 10 vouchers.
F. Waivers of the Electronic Submission Requirement; Other Submission
Requirements
HUD regulations at 24 CFR 5.110 permit waivers of regulatory
requirements to be granted for cause. If you are unable to submit your
application electronically, you may request a waiver from this
requirement. Your waiver request must be in writing and state the basis
for the request and explain why electronic submission is not possible.
The waiver request should also include an e-mail and/or name and
mailing address where responses can be directed. Applicants must submit
waiver requests to the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public
and Indian Housing, Attn: Paula O. Blunt, General Deputy Assistant
Secretary for the Office of Public and Indian Housing, Department of
Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 4100,
Washington, DC 20410, with a facsimile copy to the Housing Voucher
Management and Operations Division at (202) 401-7974. Waiver requests
will be accepted beginning on the date of publication of this NOFA and
no later than 30 days prior to the application submission date. HUD
will not consider a waiver request that does not conform to the above
requirement. If a waiver to the electronic application submission
requirements is granted, HUD requires one original and two copies of a
paper application to be sent to the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, Central Processing Unit, Room 7152, 451 Seventh Street,
SW., Washington, DC 20410, Attn: Mainstream Program (Mainstream). A
copy of the application is not required to be submitted to the local
HUD field office. For ease of reference, the term ``local HUD field
office'' will be used in this announcement to mean the local HUD field
office Hub or the local HUD field office program center. A listing of
HUD field offices is attached to the General Section of the SuperNOFA.
V. Application Review Information
A. Criteria
1. Rating and Ranking. After the Grants Management Center has
screened and disapproved any applications found unacceptable for
further processing, it will review all acceptable applications to
ensure they are technically adequate and responsive to the requirements
of this announcement. HUD Headquarters will fund all applications from
PHAs and nonprofit organizations that are recommended for funding by
the Grants Management Center unless HUD receives approvable
applications for more funds than are available. HUD will select
applicants to be funded based upon the methodology indicated in section
V. B. 1. of this NOFA. Applications meeting all the application
submission requirements of section IV. B. of this NOFA will be rated
and ranked on the basis of their score under the selection criteria in
section V. A. of this NOFA. The maximum score under the selection
criteria is 100 points.
2. Selection Criteria. a. Selection Criterion 1, Disabled Persons
at or Below the Poverty Level (40 points).
(1) Description: This criterion assesses the number of disabled
persons at or below the poverty level in the primary market area served
by the applicant, as a percentage of such disabled persons on a
national basis using 2000 census data. The primary market area is
defined as the geographic area in which the applicant is legally
authorized to operate and where the vouchers will be issued. (See
section IV. B. 1. i. of this NOFA regarding the description of the
primary market area required to be included in each PHA's/nonprofit
organization's application.) A table listing all the cities and
counties with a population of 10,000 or more persons within the nation
states and territories) will be listed with this funding announcement
on HUD's Web site at: www.grants.gov/Apply. Also indicated on the table
will be the number of disabled persons/percentage of such disabled
persons at or below the poverty level within each city or county, as a
percentage of the number of disabled persons at or below the poverty
level within the nation. An applicant (and the GMC during the review of
applications) will use the table to determine the percentage of
disabled persons at or below the poverty level that is in the
applicant's primary market area. The percentage will determine the
number of points that the applicant is eligible for under Selection
Criterion 1.
(2) Rating and Assessment: Points will be assigned based on the
number of disabled persons at or below the poverty level in the
applicant's primary market area, as a percentage of such persons within
the nation. For each tenth of one percent (.001) within the applicant's
primary market area, the applicant will receive 5 points. Percentages
of .0015, .0025, etc. or higher but less than the next whole tenth of
one percent, i.e., .002, .003, etc. shall be rounded to the next whole
tenth of a percentage point. An applicant having a primary market area
with less than one-tenth of one percent for disabled persons, or a
population of 10,000 or fewer, or for which disability percentages are
not listed on the table, will receive 5 points under Selection
Criterion 1. Likewise, an applicant having a primary market area
comprised of more than one community with a population of 10,000 or
fewer shall receive a total of 5 points for all such communities
combined. In addition, an applicant with a primary market area
comprised of one or more cities and/or counties, for which the total
combined percentage is equal to or less than .00149, shall receive 5
points. A maximum of 40 points is available under Selection Criterion 1
regardless of how high a percentage of disabled persons at or below the
poverty level is located within the applicant's primary market area.
b. Selection Criterion 2, Percentage of Allocated Budget Authority
Expended (PABAE) (20 points).
(1) Description: This criterion focuses on PABAE; i.e., the
percentage of allocated budget authority (ABA) that a PHA or nonprofit
organization has expended for its housing choice voucher program. While
a PHA or nonprofit organization must have an expenditure rate of at
least 97 percent under section III. C. 1. c. of this NOFA in order to
have an acceptable application, Selection Criterion 2 provides for the
award of selection points to those PHAs and nonprofit organizations
having a PABAE of 99 percent or higher. The PABAE for a PHA's or
nonprofit organization's voucher program will be calculated by HUD
Headquarters' Housing Voucher Financial Management Division based upon
the ABA expenditure information submitted electronically to HUD's
voucher management system (VMS) on a quarterly basis for the most
recent 12-month period (prior to the Mainstream application due date).
The PABAE will be determined by HUD dividing the amount of housing
assistance payments (HAP) by the ABA. If data in the VMS is not
available or cannot be relied upon, HUD will use other sources of
available information such as the HUD Central Accounting System
(HUDCAPS), up to December 31, 2004, or financial statement information
submitted to the Real Estate Assessment Center through the Financial
Assessment Sub-System. (Note: A PABAE of a half or more of one
percentage point will be rounded to the next highest percentage point
for purposes of qualifying for the points available under Selection
Criterion 2
[[Page 66731]]
(for example, 98.5 percent will be rounded up to 99 percent).
See section IV. B. 1. g. of this NOFA regarding the certification
requirement applicable to Block Grant MTW PHAs in connection with
qualifying for the points available under Selection Criterion 2.
(2) Rating and Assessment: The GMC will assign point values as
follows:
* 20 points: The PHA or nonprofit organization has a PABAE of 99
percent for its voucher program.
c. Selection Criterion 3, Homeownership Option Under Housing Choice
Voucher Program (10 points). (Note: Selection Criterion 3 addresses
HUD's homeownership policy priority.)
(1) Description: Applicants are encouraged, consistent with 24 CFR
982.625-982.643, to establish a homeownership component or to expand
upon an existing component within their housing choice voucher program.
Points will be awarded under this NOFA to applicants that are able to
meet the rating and assessment criteria listed below.
(2) Rating and Assessment: The GMC will assign points under
Selection Criterion 3 as follows:
* 3 points: The applicant has established a housing choice voucher
homeownership program as evidenced by its submission with its
application of a copy of the Board resolution approving changes to its
administrative plan for the implementation of the homeownership option
under its housing choice voucher program.
* 7 points: The applicant qualifies for the three points under the
paragraph immediately above and has had one or more closings under its
homeownership program, as evidenced by the applicant's submission of
information to HUD's Public and Indian Housing Information Center (PIC)
on Form HUD-50058, Family Report, indicating at least one homeownership
unit has completed the closing process; i.e., has qualified the PHA for
the $1,000 administrative fee associated with each homeownership
voucher closing, as described in Notice PIH 2005-14 (HA) and the
predecessor to this Notice issued ``To All Section 8 Housing
Authorities'' on October 27, 2004. (Note: The applicant can only
qualify for the seven points under this paragraph if it has first
qualified for the three points under the paragraph immediately above.)
d. Selection Criterion 4, Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Slots
Filled (10 points).
(1) Description: PHAs are encouraged, consistent with 24 CFR Part
984, to fill the slots required under a mandatory FSS program, and to
establish a voluntary FSS program and fill slots under that program
where a mandatory FSS program is not required. Points will be awarded
under this NOFA to PHAs submitting a certification with their
application certifying that they have filled one or more of their slots
with persons with disabilities, and that these slots have been reported
to HUD's PIC on the Form HUD-50058. (Note: Nonprofit organizations may
also qualify for points under this selection criterion, but the basis
upon which they may do so is different than for PHAs, as indicated
below.)
(2) Rating and Assessment for PHAs: The GMC will assign rating
points under Selection Criterion 4 as follows:
* 10 points: 20 or more of the applicant's FSS slots have been
filled by persons with disabilities.
* 5 points: 10 to 19 of the applicant's FSS slots have been filled
by persons with disabilities.
* 3 points: 1 to 9 of the applicant's FSS slots have been filled by
persons with disabilities.
* 0 points: None of the applicant's FSS slots have been filled by
persons with disabilities.
(3) Rating and Assessment for Nonprofit Organizations: In order to
receive any points under this criterion, a nonprofit must submit a
certification statement indicating that it currently assists persons
with disabilities either directly, or indirectly through referrals to
other agencies, with such needs as child care, transportation,
educational and job training opportunities, employment, money
management, and such other similar needs as are necessary to assist
these families in achieving economic independence and self-sufficiency.
The GMC will assign rating points under Selection Criterion 4 when the
application is accompanied by the certification statement indicated
immediately above and also accompanied by one of the certifications
indicated below, as follows:
* 10 points: A certification is submitted with the application
certifying that the nonprofit organization will assist 80 percent or
more of its Mainstream voucher families either directly, or indirectly
through referrals to other agencies, with such needs as child care,
transportation, educational and job training opportunities, employment,
money management, and such other similar needs as are necessary to
assist these families in achieving economic independence and self-
sufficiency.
* 5 points: A certification is submitted with the application
certifying that the nonprofit organization will assist 50 to 79 percent
of its Mainstream voucher families either directly, or indirectly
through referrals to other agencies, with such needs as child care,
transportation, educational and job training opportunities, employment,
money management, and such other similar needs as are necessary to
assist these families in achieving economic independence and self-
sufficiency.
* 3 points: A certification is submitted with the application
certifying that the nonprofit organization will assist 25 to 49 percent
of its Mainstream voucher families either directly, or indirectly
through referrals to other agencies, with such needs as child care,
transportation, educational and job training opportunities, employment,
money management, and such other similar needs as are necessary to
assist these families in achieving economic independence and self-
sufficiency.
* 0 points: The nonprofit organization does not submit any of the
certification statements indicated immediately above.
e. Selection Criterion 5, Commitments from Outside Agencies (15
points).
(Note: Selection Criterion 5's category for 15 points addresses
HUD's grassroots faith-based and other community-based organizations
policy priority.)
(1) Description: The applicant provides documentation that it has
entered into agreements with one or more organizations to assist
disabled families with moving costs, security deposits, utility hook-up
fees, utility deposits, medical care, transportation, educational
opportunities, employment, and child care.
(2) Rating and Assessment: The GMC will assign points as follows:
* 15 points: The applicant provides copies of the agreements that
it has entered into with three or more organizations to assist disabled
families with any one or more of the following: moving costs, security
deposits, utility hook-up fees, utility deposits, medical care,
transportation, educational opportunities, employment, and child care.
The applicant must also provide information indicating it has
undertaken one or more of the activities to promote the participation
of grass roots faith-based and other community-based organizations
indicated in section V. b. 1. f. of the General Section of the
SuperNOFA, as relates to the aforementioned agreements. The applicant's
provision of the former, but not the latter information, shall result
in the application receiving no more than 9 points under this Selection
Criterion 5, as indicated below.
[[Page 66732]]
* 9 points: The applicant provides copies of the agreements that it
has entered into with three or more organizations to assist disabled
families with any one or more of the following: moving costs, security
deposits, utility hook-up fees, utility deposits, medical care,
transportation, educational opportunities, employment, and child care.
* 6 points: The applicant provides copies of the agreements it has
entered into with two organizations to assist disabled families with
any one or more of the following: moving costs, security deposits,
utility hook-up fees, utility deposits, medical care, transportation,
educational opportunities, employment, and child care.
* 3 points: The applicant provides copies of the agreements it has
entered into with one organization to assist disabled families with any
one or more of the following: moving costs, security deposits, utility
hook-up fees, utility deposits, medical care, transportation,
educational opportunities, employment, and child care.
f. Selection Criterion 6, Achieving Results and Program Evaluation
(5 points). (Note: Selection Criterion 6 addresses HUD's Achieving
Results and Program Evaluation policy priority. This rating criterion
is mandatory; i.e., applicants must provide information in their
application responding to this rating criterion.)
(1) Description: This criterion emphasizes HUD's determination to
ensure that applicants meet commitments made in their applications and
assess their performance in meeting performance goals. HUD requires
Mainstream Program applicants to develop an effective, quantifiable,
outcome-oriented monitoring and evaluation plan for measuring
performance and determining that goals have been met. This monitoring
and evaluation plan requirement is applicable to Selection Criterion 3
(Homeownership Option Under Housing Choice Voucher Program), Selection
Criterion 4 (FSS Slots Filled), and Selection Criterion 5 (Commitments
from Outside Agencies). The plan is to be set forth on the Form HUD-
96010, Logic Model, and shall address solely those selection criteria
(3, 4, and 5) under which the applicant sought to be rated in its
application. The Form HUD-96010 must be submitted with the applicant's
application. See section VI. C., Reporting, of this NOFA regarding the
reporting requirements pertaining to the goals identified by the
applicant on the Form HUD-96010.
(2) Rating and Assessment: The GMC will assign points as follows:
* 5 points: The applicant submits a monitoring and evaluation plan
meeting the descriptive requirements outlined immediately above.
B. Reviews and Selection Process
1. Selection for Funding. HUD will select applications for funding
that meet all of the application submission requirements in section IV.
B. of this NOFA and that score a sufficient number of points under the
selection criteria listed in section V. A. of this NOFA. Applications
will be ranked from highest to lowest score in descending order, with
the highest ranked application selected first for funding, and so
forth. Where two or more applicants have exactly the same score under
the selection criteria in section V. A. of this NOFA and insufficient
funding remains to fund all of them, applicants will be funded in the
order of the exact percentage of disabled persons at or below the
poverty level that is in each applicant's primary market area. The
applicant with the highest percentage will be funded first, etc. HUD
will limit the number of applications selected for funding from any
state to 10 percent of the budget authority available for the
Mainstream Program. If establishing this geographic limit would result,
however, in unreserved budget authority, HUD may modify this limit to
assure that all available funds are used. When remaining budget
authority is insufficient to fund the last selected application in
full, the application will be funded to the extent of the funding
available, unless the applicant indicates that it will only accept a
higher number of units. In that event, the next selected application
shall be the one indicating a willingness to accept the lesser amount
of funding for the units available.
2. Deficient Applications. The application must include all of the
information specified in section IV. B. 1., Content of Application, of
this announcement. Examp
