Public Housing Family Investment Centers After-School Program: Notice of Demonstration

SUMMARY: This Notice announces the Department's intention to contribute

up to $3.5 million from the Family Investment Center (FIC) program to

assist in developing and expanding effective after-school programs that

provide safe environments that help children to develop their full

potential while permitting their parents to receive education or

training or go to work. These programs will be located at housing

authorities in Los Angeles, CA; Oakland, CA; Philadelphia, PA; and

Kansas City, MO. The purpose of this effort is to demonstrate ways to

promote, through supervised activities and joint community and private

sector collaboration, the long-term welfare of children ages 7 to 13

living in public housing communities. This demonstration will create

safe havens where children can develop skills, knowledge, and

competencies, while simultaneously exposing the children to different

lifestyle choices that will assist in their positive development. These

intervention programs will pull together public and private resources

to link adults who work with children to build self-confidence, provide

homework counseling, tutoring, mentoring, and support as an alternative

to gang-related activities that exist in and around public housing

communities. This demonstration will also improve accessibility and

supportive service coordination efforts among public housing

authorities, local schools systems, the colleges and universities

system, and the public and private sectors. This notice provides

guidelines for the use of these funds and invites comments on the

proposed demonstration.

DATES: Comment due date: April 13, 1995. Applications will be due May

30, 1995, unless as a result of significant changes made in the

application requirements upon consideration of public comments, the

Department publishes a separate notice changing that deadline.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding

this rule to the Rules Docket Clerk, Office of General Counsel, Room

10276, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street,

SW, Washington, DC 20410-0500. Communications should refer to the above

docket number and title. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable. A

copy of each communication submitted will be available for public

inspection and copying between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. weekdays at the

above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beverly Hardy, Housing Management

Specialist, Office of Community Relations and Involvement, Department

of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW, Room 4112,

Washington, DC 20410; telephone number (202) 708-4214 (TDD users may

call the Federal Information Relay Service at (202) 708-9300 or 1-800-

877-8339). (Other than the ``800'' number, telephone numbers are not

toll free.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

The information collection requirements contained in this notice

have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget, under

section 3504(h) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C. 3501-

3520), and assigned OMB control number 2577-0189.

Authority

Section 22 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.

1437t) provides for the establishment of Family Investment Centers

(FICs). As indicated in the FIC NOFA published on February 15, 1995 (60

FR 8900), the Department intends to use $3.5 million of the funds

available for the FIC program in FY 1995 for purposes of demonstrating

ways for families living in public and Indian housing in a neighborhood

undergoing a concentrated effort of local revitalization to gain access

to 4-H After-School programs for children to develop the self-

confidence needed to reach their full potential and achieve success.

The demonstration will enable housing authorities to create after-

school programs for children who may otherwise have no supervised place

to go during non-school hours. These funds will be used to: (1) Cover

administrative costs and other eligible activities; (2) mobilize public

and private resources to expand and improve delivery of supportive

services; (3) improve the capacity of management to assess the

supportive services and training needs; and (4) provide for supportive

services and related training that cannot otherwise be funded. The

Department expects that this funding will demonstrate the importance of

comprehensive support services in contributing to the local

neighborhood revitalization.

The FIC, as described in Section 22 of the Housing Act of 1937 and

the FIC NOFA published on February 15, is to ``provide families living

in public and Indian housing with better access to education and job

opportunities to achieve self-sufficiency and independence.''

Appropriately, the FIC After-School Program provides safe havens for

children that will help their parents to take better advantage of

education, job opportunities and social services to achieve self-

sufficiency and independence, as well as directly helping the children

to develop similar skills, knowledge, and competencies, while

simultaneously exposing them to different lifestyle choices that will

assist in their positive development. This demonstration will be a part

of a comprehensive strategy to bring together resources among housing

authorities, local school systems, the colleges and universities

system, and the public/private sector.

In accordance with the requirements of section 470(a) of the

Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act of 1983 (42 U.S.C. 3542), this

notice describes the proposed demonstration and invites public comment.

Any changes made in this demonstration as a result of the Department's

consideration of public comments, and any extension of time for the

commitment of funds necessary because of these changes, also will be

published in the Federal Register. The Department will not commit funds

for the proposed demonstration until after the latest of: (1) The date

the Department has considered any comments received in response to this

notice; (2) May 15, 1995, which is 60 days after today's publication

date; and (3) the date the Department has received and approved

proposals that meet the requirements imposed in this notice and any

subsequent notice announcing changes in the demonstration. Applications

will be due May 30, 1995, unless as a result of significant changes

made in the application requirements upon consideration of public

comments, the Department publishes a separate notice changing that

deadline.

Background of Demonstration

The 4-H After-School program is a partnership between the public

and [[Page 13851]] private sector to bring organized, after-school

activities to children ages 7-13 who live in public housing communities

with strong private sector support. The funds will be used to expand

the Los Angeles model and replicate the program in Oakland, CA;

Philadelphia, PA; and Kansas City, MO. The Los Angeles model is a

strong partnership among the private sector; HUD; Extension Service,

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); University of

California Cooperative Extension Service; and the National 4-H Council.

The program is coordinated by the UNOCAL Petroleum Corporation and the

Los Angeles 4-H Council, is backed by the Los Angeles City Council, and

draws on the resources of VISTA, the University of California, the

Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Unified

School District, and HUD.

Inner cities are experiencing a serious crisis with youth gangs.

The demonstration will involve joint investment by the public and

private sectors to provide counseling, tutoring, mentoring, and other

supportive services designed to reduce gang-related activities. HUD

expects that this funding will demonstrate the success of public/

private partnerships and commitments in public housing communities that

address specific, long-term counseling needs, thereby resulting in

reduced gang-related activities and enhanced lifestyle choices. This

demonstration serves ``at-risk'' children living in public housing

communities, 2-5 times per week on a year-round basis. The program is

intended to create a nurturing environment that offers a positive

alternative to unstructured, unsupervised free time in neighborhoods

where gang-related activities are prevalent.

The system of services and outreach planned by the community will

not only increase the intensity and variety of youth activities and

supportive services available to neighborhood residents, it will also

establish a delivery system involving residents who will work with

neighbors to ensure progression towards resolving gang-related

activities. Residents will work with trained coordinators to manage the

program. Together with service providers, the public and private sector

will form ``Community Vision Teams'' at the community level to bring

together the multiple supportive service programs and financial

supporters.

As a result of this demonstration, HUD expects that the children

participating will be more likely to avoid the lure of the gangs and

instead choose to stay in school with a goal of employment and economic

independence. HUD also expects that the parents of participating

children will be encouraged to pursue training, education, and

employment opportunities leading to self-sufficiency, because their

children will be in secure environments while the parents are away from

home.

Because of the working partnership taking place at the local level

in Los Angeles, there is an ideal demonstration environment for service

delivery integrated across existing Federal and private sector program

lines. Too often the requirements of Federal programs have dictated

institutional structures at the local level that stand in the way of

comprehensive delivery of housing and services to those who need these

services to achieve self-sufficiency. This coordination creates a rare

opportunity for the Department to test the capacity of its existing

programs to serve in the context of a truly integrated and

comprehensive transformation effort.

HUD has chosen four public housing agencies that already have

partnerships in place to develop a comprehensive strategy to provide

safe environments for children ages 7-13 living in public housing

communities. This will happen through cooperative arrangements among

housing authorities, local school systems, the colleges and

universities system, the active involvement of supportive service

agencies, and strong private sector support. The strategy must provide

activities that link adults who work with children to build self-

confidence, provide homework counseling, tutoring, mentoring, and

supportive services during non-school hours.

The key factors that make Oakland, CA; Philadelphia, PA; and Kansas

City, MO, unique have been the strong interest of the housing

authorities of those cities, USDA, the University Cooperative Extension

Service, the National 4-H Council, and the private sector to form

Community Vision Teams that bring together educational and other public

and private resources for the benefit of public housing children who

otherwise have no safe place to go during non-school hours.

Funding

For purposes of this demonstration, the Department will make up to

$3.5 million available to the Los Angeles, Oakland, Philadelphia, and

Kansas City Housing Authorities for use in establishing and expanding

FIC 4-H After-School programs in the public housing neighborhoods. The

funding will be used in accordance with the statutory requirements of

the FIC program, and as established in this notice and any subsequent

notice issued after the comment period has closed, to contribute to an

integrated network of supportive services for public housing and other

neighborhood residents.

Most of the funding provided under this demonstration will be used

for administration and service coordination by the Community Vision

Team and for core support services. The 4-H After-School activities and

supportive services will help children to overcome personal

difficulties that inhibit their readiness to learn and be successful in

school. Core support services and Community Vision Team activities

supported by FIC funding provided under this demonstration will be

targeted to ensure that a proportionate number of public housing

families are served.

In addition to the FIC funding proposed under this demonstration,

public and private organizations will support the demonstration

project. This network will deliver necessary services to public housing

children as part of the larger community, through the community-wide

system developed by the housing authorities, the University Extension

provider, and the private sector. The Department believes that the

institutional integration--of which this demonstration will be one

part--will enhance the quality, continuity, and impact of support

provided to public housing children and their families. The private

sector entity must have committed funding and in-kind donations to the

project. The Department expects that this demonstration will leverage

more public and private funding as the effort progresses, with private

funding ultimately being responsible for contributing total financial

support.

Eligible Activities

Funds may be used for the following activities:

(1) The provision of not more than 15 percent of the total cost of

supportive services (which may be provided directly to eligible

residents by the HA or by contract or lease through other appropriate

agencies or providers), but only if the HA demonstrates that:

(a) The supportive services are appropriate to improve the access

of eligible residents to educational opportunities; and

(b) The HA has made diligent efforts to use or obtain other

available resources to fund or provide such services; and

(2) The employment of service coordinators. [[Page 13852]]

Eligible Costs

Activities that may be funded and carried out by an HA include, but

are not limited to, the following:

(1) Administrative costs. Costs that are reasonable and include

maintenance, utility costs (telephone, fax, light, gas), postage,

printing, copier, building leasing/rent costs, Service Coordinator/Case

Manager, accounting staff, initial equipment purchase (i.e., desks,

chairs, computer equipment, tools, etc.).

(2) Other program costs. Costs that include advertisement,

reimbursement for participant travel costs, travel stipends, vehicle

lease (to transport participants to program-related activities),

insurance liability costs (personal property/property off HA site) and

technical assistance (T/A contractor fees, etc.).

Applicable Requirements

The PHA will be required to meet the applicable programmatic and

application requirements set out in the NOFA for Public and Indian

Housing Family Investment Centers (published at 60 FR 8900, February

15, 1995) and any subsequent notice that is published after the comment

period for this notice has closed. When applicable, recipients of

funding under this demonstration also are subject to the

certifications, findings, determinations, and requirements listed in

the ``Other Matters'' section of the FIC NOFA.

In order to receive the funding proposed in this notice, each

housing authority must submit an original and one copy of a proposal

describing its program in detail. Proposals must be prepared in

accordance with instructions in the FIC Application Kit (available by

contacting the person listed in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above)

and must include:

(1) A brief summary of the proposed program (not to exceed 150

words), including a brief description of the key program components;

(2) A copy of the signed agreement(s) between the PHA, 4-H

Extension Service, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the

private sector entity, and the community vision team members for each

demonstration site;

(3) A description of how the eligible participants will be

recruited, with an accompanying implementation schedule;

(4) A description of supervised activities and joint community and

private sector youth intervention projects;

(5) A description of resident (including parents) involvement in

the program's planning and implementation;

(6) A description (based on projected needs) of the type of

supportive services that are to be provided over at least a 5-year

period after the initial receipt of funding under this program;

(7) A description of efforts to use or obtain other available

resources to fund or provide supportive services that enhance

educational opportunities;

(8) A description of efforts to improve accessibility and provide

supportive services coordination efforts among public housing

authorities, local schools systems, the college and university system,

and the public and private sectors;

(9) A description of how the program will be evaluated, describing

the baseline indicators against which success will be measured and

replicated;

(10) A description of plans for continuing operation of the program

and the provision of services to residents after completion of the

demonstration phase;

(11) A narrative on the location and accessibility of the 4-H

After-School facility; and

(12) A narrative, budget, timetable, and list of milestones for the

5-year period. Milestones shall include number of families to be

served, types of services, and dollar amounts to be allocated over the

5-year period.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1437t and 3535(d).

Dated: March 3, 1995.

Joseph Shuldiner,

Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.

[FR Doc. 95-6156 Filed 3-13-95; 8:45 am]

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