Notice of Funding Availability for the Welfare-to-Work Section 8 Tenant-Based Assistance Program for Fiscal Year 1999

SUMMARY: Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Section 8 Welfare-to-

Work Rental Voucher program is to provide tenant-based rental

assistance that will help eligible families make the transition from

welfare to work.

Available Funds: Approximately $248.2 million.

Eligible Applicants: Housing agencies (HAs), Indian tribes, and

tribally designated housing entities (TDHEs). Two or more HAs or Indian

tribes and TDHEs may apply jointly.

Application Deadline: The application deadline for Section 8

Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers under this NOFA is April 28, 1999, at

the time described in section I. of this NOFA, below.

Match: None.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

If you are interested in applying for funding under this program,

please review carefully the following information:

I. Application Due Date, Application Kits, and Technical Assistance

Application Due Date: April 28, 1999.

Address for Submitting Applications: The application and two copies

must be submitted to the HA's local HUD Field Office HUB (Attention:

HUB, Director of Public Housing) or local HUD Field Office Program

Center (Attention: Program Center Coordinator) or for Indian tribes and

their tribally designated housing entities, to the local Office of

Native American Programs, (Attention: Administrator, Office of Native

American Programs). Throughout this NOFA, the Field Office HUBs and

Program Centers and the local Offices of Native American Programs will

be referred to as the local HUD Field offices. Applicants should not

submit any copies of their applications to HUD Headquarters.

(1) Mailed Applications (Other than Overnight or Express Mail

Delivery). Your application will be considered timely filed if

postmarked before midnight, local time, on the application due date and

received by the appropriate local HUD Field Office on or within ten

(10) days of the application due date.

(2) Applications Sent by Overnight/Express Mail Delivery.

Applications sent by overnight delivery or express mail will be

considered timely filed if received by the appropriate local HUD Field

Office before or on the application due date, or upon submission of

documentary evidence that they were placed in transit with the

overnight delivery service by no later than the specified application

due date.

(3) Hand Carried Applications. Applications must be delivered to

the appropriate local HUD Field Office by 6:00 pm local time on the due

date. Hand carried applications will be accepted during normal business

hours before the application due date. On the application due date,

business hours will be extended to 6:00 pm.

For Application Kits, Further Information and Technical Assistance

For an application kit and any supplemental information, please

call the Public and Indian Housing Information and Resource Center at

1-800-955-2232. An application kit will also be available on the

Internet through the HUD web site at http://www.hud.gov. When

requesting an application kit, please refer to the Section 8 Welfare-

to-Work Rental Voucher Program, and provide your name, address

(including zip code) and telephone number (including area code).

For answers to your questions, you may also contact the Public and

Indian Housing Information and Resource Center at 1-800-955-2232, or

contact the Director of Public Housing, the Program Center Coordinator

or the Office of Native American Program Administrator in your local

HUD Office. Hearing-or speech-impaired individuals may call HUD's TTY

number (202) 708-0770 or 1 800-877-8339 (the Federal Information Relay

Service TTY). (Other than the ``800'' number, these numbers are not

toll-free.) Information can also be accessed via the Internet through

the HUD web site at http://www.hud.gov.

The HUD web site will also provide a text link to HUD's Welfare-to-

Work home page, and the Welfare-to-Work related websites of the

Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Transportation, to

assist you in coordinating your proposed program with the efforts

sponsored by these Departments.

Prior to the application deadline, staff at the numbers given above

will be available to provide general guidance, but not guidance in

actually preparing the application. Following selection, but prior to

award, HUD staff will be available to assist in clarifying or

confirming information that is a prerequisite to the offer of an award

by HUD.

II. Amount Allocated

Of the $283 million appropriated in Fiscal Year (FY) 1999 to fund

Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers, approximately $248.2 million

is made available to housing agencies through the national competition

under this NOFA.

Of the remainder, at least $4 million each shall be made available

for local self-sufficiency/welfare-to-work initiatives in San

Bernardino County California; Cleveland, Ohio; Kansas City, Missouri;

Charlotte, North Carolina; Miami/Dade County, Florida; Prince Georges

County Maryland; New York City, New York; and Anchorage, Alaska as

provided by the VA/HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act,

1999 (99 App. Act). HUD will contact these set-aside sites to advise

them of specific application submission requirements and deadlines.

Each HA for a set-aside site must submit to HUD any application

materials requested by HUD. Funding will not be made available to a

set-aside site until the site has submitted all HUD-required materials

and obtained HUD approval of the submission.

In accordance with the 99 App. Act, $2.83 million of the $283

million available for Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers may be

used by HUD

[[Page 4497]]

to conduct a detailed evaluation of the effect of providing Section 8

Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher assistance, rather than be awarded under

this NOFA.

III. Program Description; Eligible Applicants; Eligible Activities

(A) Program Description

The Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher program provides

tenant-based Section 8 rental assistance to help eligible families make

the transition from welfare to work. Tenant-based Section 8 rental

assistance is to be provided in connection with programs where the HA,

tribe, or TDHE has demonstrated that tenant-based rental assistance is

critical to the success of eligible families to obtain or retain

employment. No additional funding is provided under this NOFA for

welfare-to-work services for families. Funding is only for Section 8

Welfare-to-Work rental voucher housing assistance and regular Section 8

administrative fees for administration of such housing assistance. If

appropriate, HAs may project base a portion of the funding following

the applicable Section 8 Project-Based Certificate (PBC) program

regulations (24 CFR part 983). The Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental

Voucher program must take into account the particular circumstances of

the local community. The rental assistance provided to families through

the Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher program must be

coordinated with other welfare reform and welfare-to-work initiatives.

The maximum number of Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers

that can be provided under this NOFA to an HA, tribe or TDHE is as

follows: For an HA that is a State agency, (i.e., an agency with state-

wide jurisdiction)--the lesser of 2,000 or one-half of the total

budgeted Section 8 rental certificates and vouchers in the HA's Section

8 program for the HA's current Fiscal Year. If more than one HA applies

as a State agency from the same State, only the highest-ranking one

will be eligible for an award. For all other HAs, that are not set-

aside sites identified in section II. of this NOFA, above--the lesser

of 700 or one-half of the total budgeted Section 8 rental certificates

and vouchers in the HA's Section 8 program for the HA's current Fiscal

Year, or for tribes or TDHEs, the number of rental certificates and

vouchers the entity was administering as of September 30, 1997. If you

are a set-aside site that would receive fewer units than would be

available to you under the above formula, and you wish to apply for the

maximum number of units under the formula, you must apply under the

national competition in this NOFA. The number of units available to you

under the set-aside plus any units requested under this NOFA may not

exceed the maximum that would be available to you under this NOFA.

An HA seeking welfare-to-work housing vouchers under this NOFA may

use some of its current pool of other Section 8 voucher funding to

augment the welfare-to-work vouchers in order to enlarge the pool of

vouchers available to those families qualifying for its approved

welfare-to-work program.

(B) Eligible Applicants

HAs, including Indian tribes and their tribally designated housing

entities, may apply. All applicant HAs, tribes and TDHEs must develop a

program in consultation with the State, local or Tribal entity

administering the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program

and the entity, if any, administering the Welfare-to-Work formula and/

or competitive grants allocated by the United States Department of

Labor.

(C) Eligible Activities

You may only use funds available under this NOFA for a Section 8

Welfare-to-Work rental voucher program. In the Section 8 Welfare-to-

Work Rental Voucher Program, you will perform all normal rental voucher

program activities, but you may only provide rental assistance to

families that meet all normal Section 8 program requirements and also

meet the specific requirements of the Welfare-to-Work Voucher Program.

These specific requirements are stated in section IV.(A) of this NOFA.

IV. Program Requirements

(A) Eligibility of Families

(1) Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher eligible families. The

term ``Section 8 Welfare-to-Work rental voucher program eligible

family'' means a family that, in addition to meeting the eligibility

requirements of the normal tenant-based Section 8 assistance program,

also meets the following additional requirements:

(a) When initially selected for welfare-to-work rental voucher

assistance, families must be eligible to receive, be currently

receiving, or shall have received within the preceding two years,

assistance or services funded under the TANF program;

(b) Tenant-based housing assistance must be determined to be

critical to the family's ability to successfully obtain or retain

employment; and

(c) The family shall not already be receiving tenant-based

assistance under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937

(1937 Act--42 U.S.C. 1473f).

(2) To be eligible for selection for the Section 8 Welfare-to-Work

Rental Voucher Program, families must be on the waiting list used by

the HA for its tenant-based Section 8 program. For Indian tribes and

TDHEs only, to be eligible for this program, families must be on either

the rental or homeownership waiting list of that entity.

(B) HA Responsibilities

If your application is funded:

(1) You must modify your selection system to require the selection

of Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher program eligible families

for the program;

(2) Families on your Section 8 waiting list must be selected in

accordance with the established selection policies in your HA's

administrative plan;

(3) If you have a closed Section 8 waiting list and do not have a

sufficient number of welfare-to-work eligible families on your waiting

list, you must reopen the waiting list to accept an application from

any Section 8 Welfare-to-Work eligible applicant family that is not

currently on your waiting list for your tenant-based Section 8 program;

(4) You must administer the rental assistance in accordance with

applicable voucher program regulations and requirements and your

Section 8 administrative plan;

(5) During the term of this welfare-to-work funding, if Section 8

rental assistance for a family under this program is terminated,

available welfare-to-work rental assistance must be provided to another

Section 8 Welfare-to-Work eligible family selected from your tenant-

based Section 8 program waiting list. The term of welfare-to-work

funding is the term of the welfare-to-work ACC funding increment.

(6) Welfare-to-Work Evaluation Participation. HUD is seeking 5 to 9

HAs to participate, on a voluntary basis, in the evaluation that HUD

intends to conduct on the Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher

Program. HAs who volunteer to participate as a special evaluation site

for purposes of this evaluation, if they are selected for an award

under this NOFA, will be compensated for any additional administrative

burden from the $2.83 million evaluation setaside in the 99 App. Act.

In order to participate as a special evaluation site, you and your

partners must:

[[Page 4498]]

(a) Be awarded at least 450 units under this NOFA.

(b) Fully cooperate with random assignment of your welfare-to-work

applicants to treatment and control groups. You will be required to

follow an established protocol for determining that some eligible

families receive and some eligible families do not receive welfare-to-

work vouchers on a random basis.

(c) Assist in data collection and retrieval for the evaluation

through administration of special forms and extraction of data from

management systems.

(d) Submit a budget with reasonable and necessary costs once HUD

specifies the required activities for the evaluation.

If HUD does not receive sufficient voluntary applications to

participate as evaluation sites for this Congressionally mandated

study, HUD may require one or more sites receiving at least 450 units

to cooperate with an evaluation based on random assignment as a

condition of funding. If you submit an application for 450 or more

units, your consent to cooperate with a random-assignment evaluation

may be assumed by HUD, even if you do not explicitly volunteer.

(C) TANF and Welfare-to-Work Support

Your application must include certifications from the State, local

or Tribal entity administering assistance under the TANF program and

from the entity, if any, administering the Welfare-to-Work formula and/

or competitive grants allocated by the United States Department of

Labor that these entities support your proposed Section 8 Welfare-to-

Work program and will cooperate with you, as the administrator of the

housing assistance, to assure that the rental assistance is coordinated

with other welfare reform and welfare-to-work initiatives. If any of

these entities does not respond to your request for this certification

within a reasonable time period, its concurrence shall be assumed but

you will be required to submit a copy of your request for this

certification with your application. If any of these entities objects

to the application, their concerns must accompany the application when

it is submitted to HUD so that HUD can take the concerns into account

in its funding decision.

(D) Waiver Requests

Your proposed Section 8 Welfare-to-Work program must be workable

without any waivers, and will be rated and ranked without the waiver of

any requirements. Statutory waivers will not be granted. However, your

application may include requests for waivers of any regulatory,

handbook or directive requirements along with an explanation of how the

waivers would improve your program. If you are selected for an award,

HUD will consider whether or not to grant your waiver request. Among

other considerations, waivers will not be granted if they have an

adverse impact on fair housing and civil rights.

(E) Program Compliance and Designation of Subcontractor

Immediately after the publication of this NOFA, the local HUD field

office will notify, in writing, those HAs that are not eligible to

apply without a subcontractor acceptable to HUD or a proposal for

management improvements acceptable to HUD, as explained in this

section.

(1) Program compliance. Your application must designate a

subcontractor acceptable to HUD to administer the new funding increment

on your behalf, in accordance with paragraph (2) of this section, if

you have:

(a) Material weaknesses or reportable conditions outstanding from

Inspector General audit findings, or HUD management review findings for

one or more of your Section 8 rental voucher, rental certificate or

moderate rehabilitation programs;

(b) Serious underutilization evidenced by fewer than 85 percent of

budgeted rental certificates or vouchers under lease; or

(c) Significant findings in program compliance reviews.

(2) Designation of Subcontractor. If you have any of the compliance

problems listed in paragraph (1) of this section, you must designate a

subcontractor acceptable to HUD to administer the new funding increment

under this NOFA on your behalf. In such instances, your application

must include:

(a) An agreement by the subcontractor to administer the new funding

increment; and

(b) A statement that outlines the steps you are taking to resolve

the compliance problems, which may be a proposal for management

improvements that you will implement to remedy the problems.

(F) Statutory Requirements

To be eligible for funding under this NOFA, you, the applicant,

must meet all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. If you

need copies of regulations, they are available at the HUD web site

located at http://www.HUD.gov. HUD may reject an application from

further funding consideration if the activities or projects proposed in

the application are not eligible activities and projects, or HUD may

eliminate the ineligible activities from funding consideration and

reduce the grant amount accordingly.

(G) Threshold Requirements--Compliance with Fair Housing and Civil

Rights Laws

With the exception of Federally recognized Indian tribes, all

applicants must comply with all Fair Housing and civil rights laws,

statutes, regulations and executive orders as enumerated in 24 CFR

5.105(a). If you are a Federally recognized Indian tribe, you must

comply with the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, section 504 of the

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Indian Civil Rights Act. If you,

the applicant,--

(1) Have been charged with a violation of the Fair Housing Act by

the Secretary;

(2) Are a defendant in a Fair Housing Act lawsuit filed by the

Department of Justice; or

(3) Have received a letter of noncompliance findings under Title VI

of the Civil Rights Act, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, or

section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act--

You are not eligible to apply for funding under this NOFA until you

have resolved the charge, lawsuit, or letter of findings to the

satisfaction of the Department.

(H) Additional Nondiscrimination Requirements

You, the applicant, must comply with the Americans with

Disabilities Act, and Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972.

(I) Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing

If you are a successful applicant, you will have a duty to

affirmatively further fair housing. You, the applicant, should include

in your application or work plan the specific steps that you will take

to:

(1) Address the elimination of impediments to fair housing that

were identified in the jurisdiction's Analysis of Impediments (AI) to

Fair Housing Choice;

(2) Remedy discrimination in housing; or

(3) Promote fair housing rights and fair housing choice.

Further, you, the applicant, have a duty to carry out the specific

activities provided in your responses to the NOFA rating factors that

address affirmatively furthering fair housing.

[[Page 4499]]

(J) Forms, Certifications and Assurances

You, the applicant, are required to submit signed copies of the

standard forms, certifications, and assurances, included in the HUD

Section 8 application, form HUD-52515 (see section VI.(A), below, of

this NOFA) and the certification required by 24 CFR 24.510. (The

provisions of 24 CFR part 24 apply to the employment, engagement of

services, awarding of contracts, subgrants, or funding of any

recipients, or contractors or subcontractors, during any period of

debarment, suspension, or placement in ineligibility status, and a

certification is required.)

(K) Conflicts of Interest

If you are a consultant or expert who is assisting HUD in rating

and ranking applicants for funding under this NOFA, you are subject to

18 U.S.C. 208, the Federal criminal conflict of interest statute, and

the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch

regulation published at 5 CFR part 2635. As a result, if you have

assisted or plan to assist applicants with preparing applications for

this NOFA, you may not serve on a selection panel and you may not serve

as a technical advisor to HUD for this NOFA. All individuals involved

in rating and ranking this NOFA, including experts and consultants,

must avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts.

Individuals involved in the rating and ranking of applications must

disclose to HUD's General Counsel or HUD's Ethic Law Division the

following information if applicable: the selection or non-selection of

any applicant under this NOFA will affect the individual's financial

interests, as provided in 18 U.S.C. 208; or the application process

involves a party with whom the individual has a covered relationship

under 5 CFR 2635.502. The individual must disclose this information

prior to participating in any matter regarding this NOFA. If you have

questions regarding these provisions or if you have questions

concerning a conflict of interest, you may call the Office of General

Counsel, Ethics Law Division, at 202-708-3815 and ask to speak to one

of HUD's attorneys in this division.

(L) Environmental Requirements

In accordance with 24 CFR 50.19(b)(11) of the HUD regulations,

tenant-based activities assisted under this program are categorically

excluded from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act

and are not subject to environmental review under the related laws and

authorities. In accordance with 24 CFR 983.11(b), you must have a

responsible entity complete an environmental review and obtain a HUD

release of funds before entering into any agreement to provide project-

based assistance.

(M) Notice of Repeal of Local Government Comment Requirements

Local government comments that HUD was previously required to

obtain from the unit of general local government on HA applications for

Section 8 rental assistance under Section 213(c) of the Housing and

Community Development Act of 1974 are no longer required. Section 551

of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (Pub.L. 105-

276, 112 Stat. 2461, approved October 21, 1998) (QHWRA) repealed the

provisions of Section 213(c) of the Housing and Community Development

Act of 1974. Although section 503 of QHWRA establishes an effective

date of October 1, 1999, for its provisions unless otherwise

specifically provided, section 503 also permits any QHWRA provision or

amendment to be implemented by notice, unless otherwise specifically

provided. Accordingly, this section of the NOFA provides the notice of

implementation of section 551 of QHWRA as permitted by section 503 of

QHWRA.

V. Application Selection Process

(A) Overview of Process

Selections of applicants will be made on the basis of a national

competition according to the criteria described in section V.(C),

below, of this NOFA. Local HUD field offices will initially review

applications to ensure that your applications are complete and on time

and that you meet the threshold requirements found in section V.(B),

below, of this NOFA. Based on your past experience and field office

knowledge of your capacity to perform, the field office must also

determine if the number of units you request can reasonably be placed

under lease within 12 months. If the field office determines that you

cannot enroll the number of Section 8 Welfare-to-Work families

projected and place under lease the number of units requested, the

field office will determine the number of units that can be expected to

be placed under lease within 12 months.

All eligible applications will then be forwarded to the Grants

Management Center with the field office recommendation of the maximum

number of units that should be considered for approval for each

application based on its analysis of capacity. Applications will be

rated and ranked by the Grants Management Center based on the criteria

listed below in section V.(C). An application must meet all of the

threshold requirements of this NOFA and receive a score of at least 55

points to qualify for funding. In this national competition, HUD will

fund applications from at least the two highest rated and ranked Indian

tribes or their tribally designated housing entities that qualify for

funding. All other awards will be made in rank order to qualifying

applications.

(B) Threshold Requirements

(1) The application is received on time.

(2) The application is complete and all required certifications,

including those described in section IV.(K), above, of this NOFA.

(3) Any technical deficiencies have been corrected by the end of

the 14-day correction period.

(4) You meet the requirements of section IV.(G) of this NOFA,

Compliance With Fair Housing and Civil Rights Laws.

(5) The application designates a subcontractor in accordance with

section IV.(E), above, of this NOFA, if necessary under that section.

(6) Your leasing rate for your Section 8 rental certificate and

rental voucher programs is at least 90 percent of the units in your

HUD-approved budget for the last completed HA fiscal year prior to this

application funding.

(C) Rating Factors

(1) Factor 1: Need for Welfare-to-Work Voucher Program (20 points)

(a) Description: This factor examines the extent to which you

identify the community need that your proposed activities will target

and the urgency of meeting this need. You must provide evidence of the

housing need of the eligible population that will be served by this

program and demonstrate that tenant-based assistance is essential to

assist these families obtain/retain employment. If the HA plans to

project-base any of the Welfare-to-Work rental voucher funding, the HA

must explain how this would benefit the HA's Welfare-to-Work rental

voucher program. Applicants with jurisdiction outside of metropolitan

areas must address the needs of rural areas.

(b) Submission Requirements for Factor 1: You must submit a

narrative that documents that tenant-based rental assistance for which

you are applying is necessary to assist Welfare-to-Work eligible

families to obtain/retain employment. If you plan to project-base a

portion of the Welfare-to-Work rental

[[Page 4500]]

voucher funding, the need to develop project-based units must be

explained and how this would best meet the needs of welfare-to-work

eligible families, and you must provide an estimate of the time to

occupancy.

(2) Factor 2: Soundness of Approach (20 Points).

(a) Description: This factor examines the quality of your Welfare-

to-Work voucher program. You must describe in narrative form the

proposed program developed in coordination with the TANF program and

other welfare-to-work programs. And how the proposed program design

encourages and aids Welfare-to-Work eligible families to move from

welfare to work. In evaluating this factor, HUD will consider the

extent to which your application demonstrates that tenant-based

assistance is critical to the success of assisting eligible families to

obtain or retain employment. HUD will also consider the extent to which

your application lays out an effective plan, with a fully developed

strategy of outreach to eligible families to ensure that all Welfare-

to-Work vouchers are under lease within a year of award, including how

your analysis of need in Factor 1 affects your outreach to families and

targeting of assistance. You should describe any innovative approaches

that will be included in your proposed program. You must address your

strategy for tenant counseling, housing search, and landlord outreach,

and specify the criteria for selecting among eligible families.

HUD will also consider the extent to which, and how well, your plan

of proposed activities is described in detail in your application;

addresses the goals and purposes of the Welfare-to-Work voucher

program; addresses the need for a Welfare-to-Work program that was

identified under Factor 1, above; will be carried out in a timely

manner, conducted in a manner that will reach and benefit members of

the target group, and will make use of services and materials that are

accessible to all persons, including persons with disabilities; and

will yield long-term results and innovative strategies or ``best

practices'' that can be readily disseminated to other organizations and

State, tribal and local governments.

(b) Submission Requirements for Factor 2:

(i) A detailed narrative describing your proposed Welfare-to-Work

voucher program developed in coordination with the TANF program and

other welfare-to-work programs; the specific tasks and subtasks to be

performed, including innovative approaches and plans for tenant

counseling, housing search and landlord outreach.

(ii) A discussion of how your application demonstrates that tenant-

based assistance is critical to the success of assisting eligible

families to obtain or retain employment.

(iii) A discussion of how your proposed activities address the

goals and purposes of the Welfare-to-Work voucher program including how

the program design encourages and aids the move to self-sufficiency,

and the criteria for selecting among eligible families.

(iv) A discussion of how your application lays out a fully

developed and effective plan with outreach to eligible families to

ensure that all Welfare-to-Work vouchers are under lease within a year

of award. Your discussion must specify how your analysis of need in

Factor 1 affects your outreach to families and targeting of assistance,

including families in rural areas if your jurisdiction includes rural

areas, unless you provide justification for not addressing rural areas.

(v) A description of the immediate benefits of your proposed

activities and how the benefits will be measured. You must describe the

methods you will use to determine the effectiveness of Welfare-to-Work

program activities.

(vi) A Section 8 Leasing Schedule.

(vii) A discussion of how the activities will reach and benefit

members of the target group and will make use of services and materials

that are accessible to all persons, including persons with

disabilities;

(viii) A description of how the proposed activities will yield

long-term results and innovative strategies or ``best practices'' that

can be readily disseminated to other organizations, communities, and

State, tribal and local governments.

(3) Factor 3: Capacity of Applicant and Relevant Organizational

Experience (20 Points)

(a) Description: This factor examines the extent to which your

organization (including individuals or organizations, such as

subcontractors or consultants, if any, that will be your partners in

carrying out the proposed activities) have the organizational resources

necessary to carry out your proposed activities in a timely manner. In

evaluating this factor, HUD will consider the extent to which you

demonstrate recent and relevant experience in, and knowledge about,

carrying out the same or similar activities as those proposed. The

overall quality of your staff, administrative ability, and fiscal

management ability will be evaluated by HUD. HUD may also rely on

information from performance reports, financial status information,

monitoring reports, audit reports and other information available to

HUD in making its determination under this factor.

Your overall administrative ability is evidenced by factors such as

leasing rates, MTCS reporting, correct administration of housing

quality standards, compliance with fair housing and equal opportunity

program requirements, assistance computation and rent reasonableness

and, if you have a mandatory Family Self-Sufficiency Program,

implementation of an FSS program of at least the minimum program size

or a smaller program size approved by HUD. Your relevant organization

experience would be evidence of a successful implementation of an FSS

program, Family Unification program, or other program that involved

coordination with other agencies and/or coordination of services for

families.

(b) Submission Requirements for Factor 3:

(i) Narrative description of past performance in carrying out

activities that are the same as, or similar to, the activities proposed

for funding, and demonstrate reasonable success in carrying out those

activities. You may demonstrate such reasonable success by showing that

your previous activities have been carried out as proposed and in a

timely manner. You must show that benchmarks in operation were met and

performance reports were prepared as required. You must also describe

any delays that were encountered, and the actions you took to overcome

such delays.

(ii) You must submit the proposed number of staff years necessary

to carry out the proposed activities, identifying the employees and

partners, such as co-applicants, subgrantees, contractors, consultants,

and volunteers, to be allocated to the project; the titles and relevant

professional background and experience of each employee and partner

proposed to be assigned to the project; and the roles to be performed

by each identified employee and partner. If you do not presently have

the employees and partners necessary to carry out all of the proposed

activities, you must identify the gaps in your current staffing and

describe in detail your proposed method for securing the necessary

employees and partners to carry out the project in a timely manner.

(iii) You must provide a comprehensive description of the project's

management structure. You must also describe how staff and partners

relate to the project's administrator or manager, including the

[[Page 4501]]

lines of authority and accountability for all the proposed activities.

(iv) You must demonstrate ability in handling financial resources

with adequate financial control procedures and accounting procedures by

providing a comprehensive description of the fiscal management

structure for the proposed project, including budgeting, fiscal

controls and accounting. HUD will also consider findings identified in

your most recent audits; internal consistency in the application of

numeric quantities; accuracy of mathematical calculations; and other

available information on financial management ability.

(4) Factor 4: Leveraging Resources. (20 Points)

(a) Description: This factor addresses the commitment of public and

private resources that will support your Welfare-to-Work voucher

program. HUD will consider the extent to which you can document firm,

written commitments of resources from the local TANF agency, and, if

applicable, from the entity administering the Department of Labor

Welfare-to-Work formula and/or competitive grant; other Federal, State,

tribal, and local sources; and from other entities, such as private

industry, and for-profit and not-for-profit organizations to provide

services and assistance in the form of cash funding, in-kind

contributions, services or personnel. Such commitments may include, but

are not limited to: child care, transportation necessary to receive

services or maintain employment, remedial education, education for

completion of secondary or post-secondary schooling, job training,

preparation and counseling; substance abuse treatment and counseling;

training in homemaking and parenting skills; training in money

management; counseling in homeownership responsibilities and

opportunities available for rental and homeownership in the private

housing market; and job development and placement.

(b) Submission Requirements for Factor 4:

(i) Describe all firm commitments to the Welfare-to-Work voucher

program including cash funding, in-kind contributions, services or

personnel from other Federal, State, tribal, local and private sources.

(ii) Provide evidence of leveraging/partnerships by including in

the application, letters of firm commitments, memoranda of

understanding, or agreements to participate from those entities

identified as partners. To be firmly committed, there must be a written

agreement to provide the resources. The written agreement may be

contingent upon an application receiving funding under this NOFA. Each

letter of commitment, memorandum of understanding, or agreement to

participate should include the partner organization's or individual's

name, proposed level of commitment and responsibilities as they relate

to the proposed activities. The commitment must also be signed by an

official legally able to make commitments on behalf of the

organization.

(5) Factor 5: Comprehensiveness and Coordination (20 Points)

(a) Description: This factor addresses the extent to which your

proposal reflects a coordinated, comprehensive process of identifying

needs and building a system to address needs on an ongoing basis by

using available HUD funding and other resources. You must describe the

extent to which assistance under your proposed Welfare-to-Work program

will be coordinated with welfare reform and with other welfare-to-work

initiatives, including the U.S. Department of Transportation's Job

Access program. The application must include certifications from the

TANF agency and the entity, if any, administering the Welfare-to-Work

formula and/or competitive grants of the Department of Labor agency of

their cooperation and support of the proposed program or evidence of

your request for the certification of those agencies and of their

failure to respond within a reasonable time, or, if either agency

objects to your proposed Welfare-to-Work program, the objections must

be included in your application.

In evaluating this factor, HUD will consider:

(i) The extent to which you demonstrate the support and

participation of the TANF agency and the entity, if any, administering

the Department of Labor Welfare-to-Work formula and/or competitive

grant and the commitment of other public and private organizations in

the community.

(ii) The specific steps you will take to share with others

information on solutions and outcomes resulting from the Welfare-to-

Work voucher program, if funded.

(iii) The specific steps you have taken or will take to become

active in the community's Consolidated Plan process; Analysis of

Impediments to Fair Housing Choice process; Continuum of Care Homeless

Assistance planning process, if homeless persons are to be served by

the proposed activities; or the community's Indian Housing Plan

process; and to address, through these processes, the needs that are

the focus of the Welfare-to-Work voucher program.

(iv) The specific steps you have taken or will take to coordinate,

through meetings, information networks, planning processes, or other

mechanisms, your activities with other welfare-to-work activities in

the community, including the appropriate local transportation entity

(i.e., transit properties, metropolitan planning organizations, State

and/or Indian tribe departments of transportation).

(b) Submission Requirements for Factor 5:

(i) Describe what role families, community leaders and

organizations and government and private entities in communities you

serve have had in planning the activities described in your application

and what role they will have in carrying out such activities.

(ii) Describe how you will share with others information on

solutions and outcomes resulting from the Section 8 Welfare-to-Work

voucher program, if funded.

(iii) Describe specific steps you have taken or will take to become

active in the community's Consolidated Plan process; or the process for

the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice; or the community's

Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance planning process, if homeless

persons are to be served by the proposed welfare-to-work activities; or

the community's Indian Housing Plan process; and to address, through

these processes, the needs that are the focus of your proposed

activities.

(iv) Describe the specific steps you have taken or will take to

coordinate, through meetings, information networks, planning processes,

or other mechanisms, your activities with other proposed or on-going

activities in the community funded by HUD or other Federal, State,

tribal, local or private sources, including the appropriate local

transportation entity (i.e., transit properties, metropolitan planning

organizations, State and/or Indian tribe departments of transportation.

VI. Application Submission Requirements

(A) Form HUD-52515

Funding Application, form HUD-52515, must be completed and

submitted for the Section 8 Welfare-to-Work voucher program. This form

includes all the necessary certifications for Fair Housing, Drug-Free

Workplace and Lobbying Activities. An application must include the

information in Section C, Average Monthly Adjusted Income of form HUD-

52515 in order for HUD to calculate the amount of Section 8

[[Page 4502]]

budget authority necessary to fund the requested number of voucher

units. You may obtain a copy of form HUD-52515 from the local HUD Field

Office or may download it from the HUD Home page on the internet's

world wide web (http://www.HUD.gov).

(B) Response to Threshold Requirements

Your application must respond to the threshold requirements that

apply to you in paragraphs V.(B)(2) through (5), above, in this NOFA.

(C) Narrative response to Factors for Award

Your application package must include the narrative description and

any letters, certifications or other materials required for each of the

ranking and rating factors from Section V.(C) of this NOFA.

(D) Waiver Requests

Your application may include requests for waivers of any

administrative requirements in HUD regulations or directives (handbooks

and notices). Statutory waivers will not be granted. Waiver requests

must include an explanation of how the waivers would improve your

program. Your proposed program must be workable without any waivers,

and waiver requests will not be considered in rating and ranking your

application. Your waiver requests will only be considered if you

receive an award under this NOFA.

(E) Program Evaluation Participation

If you would like to participate in HUD's Welfare-to-Work program

evaluation, your application should also include a statement that you

are willing to participate as a special evaluation site in accordance

with the conditions described in section IV.(B)(6) of this NOFA, above.

VII. Corrections to Deficient Applications

After the application due date, HUD may not, consistent with its

regulations in 24 CFR part 4, subpart B, consider any unsolicited

information you, the applicant, may want to provide. HUD may contact

you, however, to clarify an item in your application or to correct

technical deficiencies. You should note, however, that HUD may not seek

clarification of items or responses that improve the substantive

quality of your response to any eligibility or selection factors.

Examples of curable (correctable) technical deficiencies include your

failure to submit the proper certifications or your 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. HUD will notify applicants

by facsimile or by return receipt requested. Applicants must submit

clarifications or corrections of technical deficiencies in accordance

with the information provided by HUD within 14 calendar days of the

date of receipt of the HUD notification. If your deficiency is not

corrected within this time period, HUD will reject your application as

incomplete, and it will not be considered for funding.

VIII. Findings and Certifications

(A) Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

The information collection requirements related to this program

have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in

accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-

3520), and have been assigned OMB approval number 2577-0169. An agency

may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to,

a collection of information unless the collection displays a valid

control number.

(B) Environmental Impact

Except to the extent that recipients may project base assistance

provided under this NOFA, this NOFA does not direct, provide for

assistance or loan and mortgage insurance for, or otherwise govern or

regulate, real property acquisition, disposition, leasing (other than

tenant-based rental assistance), rehabilitation, alteration,

demolition, or new construction, or establish, revise or provide for

standards for construction or construction materials, manufactured

housing, or occupancy. To the extent that recipients project base

assistance provided under this NOFA, that assistance is subject to 24

CFR part 983, including the environmental review provisions set out at

24 CFR 983.11. Accordingly, under 24 CFR 50.19(c) (1) and (5), this

NOFA is categorically excluded from environmental review under the

National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321).

(C) Federalism, Executive Order 12612

The General Counsel, as the Designated Official under section 6(a)

of Executive Order 12612, Federalism, has determined that the policies

contained in this NOFA will not have substantial direct effects on

States or their political subdivisions, or on the relationship between

the Federal Government and the States, or on the distribution of power

and responsibilities among the various levels of government.

Specifically, the NOFA solicits applicants to help eligible families

make the transition from welfare to work, and does not impinge upon the

relationships between the Federal government and State and local

governments. As a result, the NOFA is not subject to review under the

Order.

(D) Prohibition Against Lobbying Activities

You, the applicant, are subject to the provisions of section 319 of

the Department of Interior and Related Agencies Appropriation Act for

Fiscal Year 1991, 31 U.S.C. 1352 (the Byrd Amendment), which prohibits

recipients of Federal contracts, grants, or loans from using

appropriated funds for lobbying the executive or legislative branches

of the Federal Government in connection with a specific contract,

grant, or loan. You are required to certify, using the certification

found at Appendix A to 24 CFR part 87, that they will not, and have

not, used appropriated funds for any prohibited lobbying activities. In

addition, you must disclose, using Standard Form LLL, ``Disclosure of

Lobbying Activities,'' any funds, other than Federally appropriated

funds, that will be or have been used to influence Federal employees,

members of Congress, and congressional staff regarding specific grants

or contracts. Tribes and tribally designated housing entities (THDEs)

established by an Indian tribe as a result of the exercise of the

tribe's sovereign power are excluded from coverage of the Byrd

Amendment, but tribes and TDHEs established under State law are not

excluded from the statute's coverage.

(E) Section 102 of the HUD Reform Act; Documentation and Public Access

Requirements

Section 102 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development

Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 3545) (HUD Reform Act) and the

regulations codified in 24 CFR part 4, subpart A, contain a number of

provisions that are designed to ensure greater accountability and

integrity in the provision of certain types of assistance administered

by HUD. On January 14, 1992 (57 FR 1942), HUD published a notice that

also provides information on the implementation of section 102. The

documentation, public access, and disclosure requirements of section

102 apply to assistance awarded under this NOFA as follows:

[[Page 4503]]

(1) Documentation and public access requirements. HUD will ensure

that documentation and other information regarding each application

submitted pursuant to this NOFA are sufficient to indicate the basis

upon which assistance was provided or denied. This material, including

any letters of support, will be made available for public inspection

for a 5-year period beginning not less than 30 days after the award of

the assistance. Material will be made available in accordance with the

Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and HUD's implementing

regulations in 24 CFR part 15.

(2) Disclosures. HUD will make available to the public for 5 years

all applicant disclosure reports (HUD Form 2880) submitted in

connection with this NOFA. Update reports (also Form 2880) will be made

available along with the applicant disclosure reports, but in no case

for a period less than 3 years. All reports--both applicant disclosures

and updates--will be made available in accordance with the Freedom of

Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and HUD's implementing regulations at 24

CFR part 5.

(3) Publication of Recipients of HUD Funding. HUD's regulations at

24 CFR 4.7 provide that HUD will publish a notice in the Federal

Register on at least a quarterly basis to notify the public of all

decisions made by the Department to provide:

(i) Assistance subject to section 102(a) of the HUD Reform Act; or

(ii) Assistance that is provided through grants or cooperative

agreements on a discretionary (non-formula, non-demand) basis, but that

is not provided on the basis of a competition.

(F) Section 103 HUD Reform Act

HUD's regulations implementing section 103 of the Department of

Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 3537a),

codified in 24 CFR part 4, apply to this funding competition. The

regulations continue to apply until the announcement of the selection

of successful applicants. HUD employees involved in the review of

applications and in the making of funding decisions are limited by the

regulations from providing advance information to any person (other

than an authorized employee of HUD) concerning funding decisions, or

from otherwise giving any applicant an unfair competitive advantage.

Persons who apply for assistance in this competition should confine

their inquiries to the subject areas permitted under 24 CFR part 4.

Applicants or employees who have ethics related questions should

contact the HUD Ethics Law Division at (202) 708-3815. (This is not a

toll-free number.) For HUD employees who have specific program

questions, the employee should contact the appropriate field office

counsel, or Headquarters counsel for the program to which the question

pertains.

(G) Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers

The Federal Domestic Assistance numbers for this program are

14.855 and 14.857.

IX. Authority

The VA/HUD and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999

appropriated $283 million for the Welfare-to-Work Tenant-Based

Assistance Program.

Dated: January 25, 1999.

Harold Lucas,

Assistant, Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.

[FR Doc. 99-1985 Filed 1-25-99; 2:46 pm]

BILLING CODE 4210-33-P