[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 115 (Thursday, June 16, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-14630]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 16, 1994]


_______________________________________________________________________

Part VIII





Department of Housing and Urban Development





_______________________________________________________________________



Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity



_______________________________________________________________________



Notice of Funding Availability for the Affirmative Fair Housing 
Marketing Reinvention Lab Project; Competitive Solicitation
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity
[Docket No. N-94-3765 ; FR-3650-N-01]

NOFA for the Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Reinvention Lab 
Project; Competitive Solicitation

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of funding availability (NOFA).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This NOFA announces the availability of up to $1.0 million of 
FY 1993 Fair Housing Initiatives Program funding for a special project 
to be carried out in the Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area. The 
purposes of this project, which is part of the overall effort to 
reinvent the way the Department carries out its civil rights mission, 
are (1) to test the effectiveness of a metropolitan areawide 
affirmative fair housing marketing plan and associated activities to be 
administered by a central clearinghouse, especially in terms of 
generating increased housing choice and opportunity for eligible 
assisted and insured housing applicants; (2) to determine the potential 
savings in administrative costs for both housing providers and the 
Department if the clearinghouse concept were to be implemented 
permanently; and (3) to determine whether eligible applicants for 
federally-assisted and/or insured private rental or sales housing would 
be better served by the clearinghouse in terms of the support services 
performed during the mortgage loan evaluation and rental application 
processes.
    In the body of this document is information concerning the purpose 
of the NOFA, eligibility, available amounts, selection criteria, how to 
apply for funding, and how selections will be made.

DATES: An application for funding under this Notice will be available 
following publication of the Notice. The actual application due date 
and time will be specified in the application kit. In no event, 
however, will the application be due before August 15, 1994.

ADDRESSES: To obtain a copy of the application kit, please write the 
Fair Housing Information Clearinghouse, Post Office Box 6091, 
Rockville, MD 20850 or call the toll-free number 1-800-343-3442.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurence D. Pearl, Director, Office of 
Program Standards and Evaluation, (202) 708-0288, or William Dudley 
Gregorie, Director, Program Standards Division, Office of Fair Housing 
and Equal Opportunity, room 5226, 451 Seventh Street SW., room 5224, 
Washington, DC 20410, (202) 708-2287. A telecommunications device (TDD) 
for hearing- and speech-impaired persons is available at (202) 708-
2287. (These are not toll-free numbers.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

    Application requirements associated with this program 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. 3504(h)), and 
assigned OMB control number 2529-0033.

I. Purpose and Substantive Description

(a) Authority

(1) The Fair Housing Act
    Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 
3601-19 (Fair Housing Act), charges the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development with responsibility to accept and investigate complaints 
alleging discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, 
familial status or national origin in the sale, rental, advertising or 
financing of housing. The Fair Housing Act also directs the Secretary 
to cooperate with State and local agencies administering fair housing 
laws, and to cooperate with and render technical assistance to State, 
local and other public or private entities carrying out programs to 
prevent and eliminate discriminatory housing practices. The Act also 
directs the Secretary to administer the Department's housing and urban 
development programs in a manner affirmatively to further the 
objectives of the Act.
    In addition to the Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing requirements 
described below, the Department has since 1971 attempted to translate 
the affirmatively furthering mandate through policy mechanisms such as 
the Site and Neighborhood Standards, Tenant Selection and Assignment 
and Equal Housing Opportunity Plans, and other program and project-
specific strategies. In recent months the Department has recognized 
that these project and program-specific mechanisms do not fully address 
the broad-based fair housing problems which actually exist. The 
Department has also identified the problem of concentration of persons 
by race and income as a major barrier to the achievement of the 
objectives of fair housing in the United States. The Department is in 
the process of formulating appropriate responses that will be tested in 
the near future through special demonstration projects similar to this 
lab, including the feasibility of implementing a metropolitan areawide 
affirmative fair housing marketing plan through a clearinghouse 
mechanism.
(2) The FHIP Program
    Section 561 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987, 
42 U.S.C. 3616 note, established as a demonstration program the Fair 
Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) to strengthen the Department's 
enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and to further fair housing. This 
program assists projects and activities designed to enforce and enhance 
compliance with the Fair Housing Act and substantially equivalent State 
and local fair housing laws. Implementing regulations are found at 24 
CFR part 125.
    Three general categories of activities were established at 24 CFR 
part 125 for FHIP funding under section 561 of the Housing and 
Community Development Act of 1987: The Administrative Enforcement 
Initiative, the Education and Outreach Initiative, and the Private 
Enforcement Initiative. Section 905 of the Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1992 (HCDA 1992) (Pub. L. 102-550, approved October 
28, 1992), amended section 561 by adding specific eligible applicants 
and activities to the Education and Outreach and Private Enforcement 
Initiatives, as well as an entirely new Fair Housing Organization 
Initiative. Section 905 also gave the program permanent status.
    The regulations at 24 CFR part 125, subpart C, describe the purpose 
and eligible activities under the Education and Outreach Initiative, 
the segment of the FHIP program under which the activity proposed in 
this NOFA is to be funded. Section 125.303(b) describes eligible 
outreach projects that may be funded under this initiative, including 
but not limited to the following:
    ``(1) Developing national, regional and local media campaigns;
    (2) Bringing housing industry and civic or fair housing groups 
together to identify illegal real estate practices and to determine how 
to correct them;
    (3) Designing specialized outreach projects to inform all persons 
of the availability of housing opportunities;
    (4) Developing and implementing a response to new or more 
sophisticated housing practices that may result in discriminatory 
housing practices; and
    (5) Developing mechanisms for the identification of and quick 
response to housing discrimination cases that involve physical harm.''
    The activities set forth in this NOFA are eligible activities under 
the Education and Outreach Initiative of the FHIP program, since they 
relate to various eligible activities of this initiative. Other 
sections of this NOFA will specifically illustrate how this 
relationship is facilitated.
(3) Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Requirements
    The Fair Housing Act states that it is the policy of the United 
States to provide, within constitutional limitations, for fair housing 
throughout the United States. The Act also states at Section 808(e)(5) 
that the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall administer 
its programs in a manner affirmatively to further the objectives of the 
Fair Housing Act. Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing has, since 1972, 
been one of the means by which the Department has carried out Section 
808(e)(5) of the Act through the programs it has administered. The 
purpose of Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing as stated in the 
regulations at 24 CFR 200.600, is to ``achieve a condition in which 
individuals of similar income levels in the same housing market area 
have a like range of housing choices available to them regardless of 
their race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national 
origin.'' These regulations also apply to all applicants for 
participation in HUD insured subsidized or unsubsidized housing 
programs whose applications are approved for:
    Multifamily projects and manufactured home parks of five or more 
lots, units or spaces, and initial submissions by a lender for an 
application for mortgage insurance on a single family property, where 
the property is located in a subdivision and the builder or developer 
intends to sell five or more properties in the subdivision;1 and 
dwelling units when the applicant's participation would exceed five or 
more HUD-insured single-family homes within the preceding twelve-month 
period. Such participants are required to develop an affirmative 
marketing program on a HUD-approved form. The regulations describe the 
specific components of an Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan 
(AFHM) at 24 CFR 200.620.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See the Federal Register of August 3, 1993, HUD Systems for 
Approval of Single-Family Subdivisions. This Final Rule included 
amendments to the Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Regulations 
that added handicap and familial status as protected classes under 
these Regulations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Department reviews and evaluates these affirmative marketing 
plans submitted on Form HUD-935.2 (see attachment) as part of an 
applicant's request for funding under a number of single-family and 
multifamily mortgage insurance and subsidy programs. These reviews and 
evaluations, as well as the monitoring of the implementation of these 
Affirmative Marketing Plans, are conducted under procedures outlined in 
HUD Handbook 8025.1 REV-2, Implementation of Affirmative Fair Housing 
Marketing Requirements. The Department also conducts compliance-related 
activities under the regulations at 24 CFR Part 108, Affirmative Fair 
Housing Marketing Compliance Regulations.
    A number of evaluations of both the administration of affirmative 
fair housing marketing and the underlying objectives of the policy 
conducted since 1974 have raised questions about AFHM's effectiveness 
and results, especially in terms of its effects on racial housing 
patterns within housing market areas. These evaluations and recent 
assessments of how the review of Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing 
(AFHM) Plans fits into the overall workload of the Field Office FHEO 
Divisions and Program Operations Divisions in the Regional Offices have 
also raised questions about the overall cost-effectiveness and 
efficiency of the review process itself. The 1990 evaluation of AFHM 
performed by the Office of Program Standards and Evaluation recommended 
that the Department pilot test the use of a third party to accept 
applications, check references, and provide an applicant a list of all 
available housing opportunities under HUD-assisted and insured single-
family and multifamily programs. The evaluation also recommended that 
the Department conduct studies of the manner in which various groups 
search for rental and sales housing and the costs and benefits of 
various marketing techniques. The activities described in this NOFA 
address these recommendations in large part.

(b) Allocation Amounts

    For FY 1993, the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and 
Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 
(approved October 6, 1992, Pub. L. 102-389), (93 Appropriations Act) 
appropriated $10.6 million for the FHIP program. Of this amount, $1 
million of Education and Outreach Initiative funds is made available 
under this NOFA to carry out an affirmative fair housing marketing 
``lab'' experiment. The balance of $9.6 million in FY 1993 funds was 
made available in a NOFA published on December 22, 1993 (58 FR 68000) 
and amended on February 25, 1994 (59 FR 9235).
    The Department estimates that the affirmative fair housing 
marketing lab project will function approximately 18 months at a cost 
to the federal government not to exceed $1.0 million dollars. The final 
cost will depend upon submissions from eligible applicants. In no case 
will the cost to the federal government for implementing the project 
under this NOFA exceed $1.0 million dollars. The continuing operation 
of the clearinghouse following completion of the lab will depend 
entirely on the income generated from fees and other funding sources.

(c) Project Objectives

    As a means of implementing the Department's strong commitment to 
administer its programs affirmatively to further fair housing, the 
Department seeks to implement an affirmative fair housing marketing 
lab. This lab will test an areawide affirmative marketing approach 
intended to expand affordable housing opportunities for those persons 
identified as least likely to apply for the housing because of where it 
is located. The specific objectives of this lab are:
    (1) To promote greater awareness and acceptance on the part of 
housing providers and the entire community of the need to market 
assisted housing on a nondiscriminatory basis throughout the 
metropolitan area to increase housing choice and advance equal housing 
opportunity;
    (2) To develop a model for the use of metropolitan areawide 
affirmative marketing as an effective tool to affirmatively further 
fair housing and provide greater affordable housing choice and 
opportunity throughout a metropolitan area;
    (3) To determine whether use of a clearinghouse is an effective 
method over the long-term for assisted and insured multifamily housing 
providers and builders and developers of HUD-insured single-family 
housing to carry out their responsibilities under the Affirmative Fair 
Housing Marketing Regulations; and
    (4) To test ways for metropolitan areawide affirmative marketing 
clearinghouses to become and remain financially self-supporting.

(d) Eligible Applicants

    The following entities, either individually or in combination, are 
eligible to apply for funding under this NOFA: Non-profit civil rights 
and housing organizations; organizations representing segments of the 
housing or mortgage lending industries; higher education institutions 
with expertise in civil rights and housing. While location within the 
Chicago metropolitan area would be highly desirable, it is not 
required.

(e) Project Components

    HUD seeks to implement a fair housing marketing lab to examine new 
methods for offering privately operated federally assisted and insured 
multifamily housing, within the Chicago metropolitan area to all 
eligible residents of the area. For the purpose of this NOFA, the 
Chicago metropolitan area includes the City of Chicago and Cook, 
DuPage, Will, Kane, McHenry and Lake Counties. This area was selected 
because of its extensive past experience in implementing areawide 
interjurisdictional programs to promote fair housing and increased 
housing choice and because of the existing infrastructure for carrying 
out such programs. It is hoped that a new approach to affirmative fair 
housing marketing will result in a breakdown of jurisdictional barriers 
to housing opportunities and promote initiatives that diminish 
residential segregation and encourage residential diversity. The $1 
million offered through this NOFA will be targeted toward affirmative 
fair housing marketing activities affecting either multifamily housing 
alone, single-family housing alone, or both simultaneously. In 
addition, an applicant may focus its proposed activities on either the 
entire metropolitan area or specific target areas which it may 
designate.
    The Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Lab involves three distinct 
elements:
    (1) The first element of the lab entails the establishment of a 
metropolitan areawide clearinghouse that will:
    (i) Develop and administer a metropolitan areawide affirmative fair 
housing marketing plan affecting participating privately-owned 
federally assisted and insured multifamily housing. A complete 
description of this Plan is found at Section IV (a)(2) of this NOFA. 
The plan would not include assisted housing owned by the public housing 
authorities in the Chicago metropolitan area, since at this time the 
Department's Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Regulations do not 
apply to PHA-operated housing. Furthermore, the Department plans to 
conduct similar, larger-scale experiments on metropolitan-wide 
strategies which will combine both privately-operated and PHA-operated 
housing.
    (ii) Develop and maintain the following databases:
    (A) A metropolitan areawide database of all families eligible for 
privately operated HUD-assisted (including insured) multifamily housing 
who have used the services offered by the clearinghouse. The database 
would be compiled through any of the following methods:
    (1) Encouraging families already on waiting lists of participating 
projects to take advantage of the housing opportunities offered by the 
clearinghouse. Under this concept, the project manager would notify in 
writing all families on his or her individual project waiting list of 
the existence of the clearinghouse and the availability of both the 
services and the expanded housing choices it will offer. The notice 
would also say that any family which was found to be eligible for any 
housing opportunity offered by the clearinghouse would not lose its 
position on the individual project's waiting list and would in fact be 
``crosslisted'' for all projects for which the family was eligible.

    Note: A participant may opt to continue to maintain its own 
project waiting list while using the other application intake 
services.

    (2) Recruiting families who respond to advertisements placed in 
various media as part of the proposer's metropolitan areawide 
affirmative marketing plan;
    (B) An areawide list of housing opportunities offered by managers 
of participating multifamily projects subject to AFHM requirements. 
These housing opportunities may be categorized by jurisdiction within 
the Chicago metropolitan area, by neighborhood within the City of 
Chicago, by assisted or insured housing program, and by bedroom size;
    (C) The demographics of each development and the neighborhoods in 
which the assisted and insured housing opportunities are located must 
be included and updated as turnover occurs. Information on the social 
services, transportation, schools, churches, employment opportunities 
and other facets of the community must also be included.
    (iii) Carry out a major effort to secure voluntary participation in 
the clearinghouse by a significant number of housing providers subject 
to AFHM requirements that do business within the area designated by the 
applicant. For purposes of this NOFA, housing providers include 
corporations, individuals, or other entities who own and/or operate 
apartment complexes of 10 or more units (including the Illinois Housing 
Development Authority which operates Section 8 Housing projects subject 
to AFHM requirements), realty companies and home builders who build, 
rehabilitate or sell 10 or more new single-family homes annually, and 
financial institutions involved in the making of loans on residential 
property. This effort shall include outreach and education programs 
targeted at apartment managers, real estate sales organizations and 
housing industry professionals, and shall describe the roles of the 
clearinghouse and the providers in helping individual families take 
advantage of expanding affordable housing choices throughout the 
Chicago metropolitan area. These outreach activities should be targeted 
especially toward those housing professionals that do business outside 
of racially-impacted, ethnically-impacted and lower-income impacted 
neighborhoods and are willing to attract applicants to those areas in 
which their race does not predominate. Such activities should also be 
targeted to housing professionals who do business in predominantly 
minority areas and are willing to attempt to attract non-minority 
applicants.
    The clearinghouse operator will have to explain the financial 
benefits and obligations of participating in the clearinghouse, which 
can include the participants' being relieved of their AFHM and 
eligibility determination responsibilities. To encourage participation 
by housing providers, HUD will waive the AFHM requirements and, as 
necessary to permit participation, other regulatory and contractual 
requirements pertaining to tenant selection and assignment that are not 
required by statute throughout the period of the lab. These waivers 
would affect those who would otherwise be subject to the waived 
programmatic requirements (i.e., all persons approved for the 
development or rehabilitation of single-family subdivisions, 
multifamily projects of 10 or more units, and all other persons subject 
to AFHM Plan requirements in Departmental programs). This affirmative 
fair housing marketing lab will not alter in any way the requirement 
for Public Housing Authorities to develop and submit an Equal Housing 
Opportunity Plan (EHOP) for Section 8 existing housing.
    (iv) Operate a one-stop metropolitan areawide housing center which 
shall perform the following services:
    (A) Processing applications for participating federally-assisted 
and/or insured privately-owned and operated multifamily housing 
submitted by families who desire to investigate housing opportunities 
offered by participating owners, managers and real estate brokers. 
While making applicants aware of all housing opportunities in the area 
designated by the applicant, the office shall emphasize housing 
opportunities within areas in which the applicant is least likely to 
apply for the housing without special outreach activities, because of 
where the housing is located, and offer additional fair housing 
counseling for those persons desiring to relocate within such areas. 
The clearinghouse shall also encourage the creation of housing 
opportunities within predominantly minority sections of the lab area, 
so that applicants regardless of race or ethnicity may take advantage 
of them. The clearinghouse shall also make available information on 
transportation, schools, social services, employment opportunities and 
other facets of living in the area selected by the applicant.
    For all families that have not previously been on an assisted 
project's waiting list, the clearinghouse could review for eligibility, 
perform income and employment verification, secure all information 
necessary to determine federal or local preferences, and automatically 
crosslist the applicant for each type of housing project within the 
program for which he or she is eligible. For example, if a family were 
to apply for a Section 221(d)(3) unit and were to be found eligible 
under that program, the family would be crosslisted for all of that 
program's projects which were participating in the clearinghouse.
    (B) Conduct testing and other related activities, particularly in 
the event that an applicant served by the clearinghouse appears to have 
encountered discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, 
national origin, handicap or familial status or other prohibited 
conduct that may violate the Fair Housing Act or Executive Order 11063. 
However, testing for enforcement purposes may be funded only from 
sources other than this NOFA, and the proposer shall indicate clearly 
the purpose of any testing and the source and amount of funding devoted 
to this purpose. Testing, if carried out for educational purposes only, 
may be funded through this NOFA.
    (C) Provide escort and other services to families willing to 
explore housing opportunities in neighborhoods where their race or 
ethnic group does not predominate and where they would have been least 
likely to apply without special outreach.
    (v) The applicant can also propose any of the following activities 
affecting FHA-insured, VA or conventionally financed single-family 
housing which is affordable for low-income families. These activities 
may be funded either exclusively from this NOFA, exclusively from 
sources other than this NOFA or from both federal and non-federal 
sources:
    (A) An areawide affirmative fair housing marketing plan which 
emphasizes the single-family market;
    (B) An areawide list of single-family homeownership opportunities 
generated from financial institutions, realty companies and local 
governments. These entities may refer prospective home purchasers to 
the clearinghouse upon request, so that such purchasers can avail 
themselves of the homeownership opportunities listed by the 
clearinghouse; and
    (C) A campaign that targets: (1) Realty companies and home builders 
who build, rehabilitate or sell 10 or more new single-family homes 
annually, and
    (2) financial institutions involved in the making of loans on 
residential property through the outreach program to housing providers 
contained in the proposed areawide affirmative marketing plan.
    (2) The second element of the lab consists of an evaluation of the 
clearinghouse concept. The evaluation shall address:
    (i) How the clearinghouse concept compares with the present system 
of HUD review of individual affirmative marketing plans and with the 
participation by local affiliates of the National Association of 
Realtors, the National Association of Homebuilders, the National 
Association of Real Estate Brokers and several other major national 
real estate industry organizations in the Voluntary Affirmative 
Marketing Agreement Program, in terms of cost-effectiveness; and
    (ii) How effective the clearinghouse is in creating greater housing 
choice and opportunity and in affecting change in a community's housing 
occupancy and homeownership patterns.
    The Department has decided that the evaluation of the activities 
conducted under this NOFA will be conducted by an independent 
contractor prior to the end of the project.
    (3) The third element of the lab requires the development of new 
ways to:
    (i) Identify groups within the eligible population that are less 
likely to apply for housing without special outreach;
    (ii) Encourage those groups to take advantage of housing 
opportunities in nontraditional areas;
    (iii) Identify effective advertising methods;
    (iv) Increase awareness of nondiscriminatory tenant selection and 
application processing; and
    (v) Test other ways to implement affirmative fair housing 
marketing.

(f) Selection Criteria/Ranking Factors

(1) Selection Criteria for Ranking Applications for Assistance
    All proposals submitted in response to this NOFA will be ranked on 
the basis of the following selection criteria:
    (i) The anticipated impact of the proposal on the concerns 
identified in the application. (25 points). In determining the 
anticipated impact of each proposal, HUD will evaluate whether the 
proposal is well-conceived and likely to be successful if implemented, 
and will consider the degree to which the proposal addresses the 
significant fair housing issues affecting the Chicago metropolitan area 
which had been identified in the fair housing analysis required under 
this NOFA. Particular emphasis will be placed on how the proposer 
describes the potential impact of the proposed plan on the fair housing 
environment. This criterion will be judged on the basis of the 
applicant's submissions in response to Paragraphs IV (a)(1), (a)(2) and 
(a)(6) of this NOFA under the heading ``Checklist of Application 
Submission Requirements''.
    (ii) The extent to which the proposal will provide benefits in 
support of fair housing after the lab has been completed. (25 points) 
In determining the extent to which the proposal will continue providing 
benefits after funded activities have been completed, HUD will consider 
the degree to which the concept can be used as a model for similar 
metropolitan areawide affirmative marketing clearinghouses in other 
parts of the country. HUD will also evaluate how the applicant plans to 
insure the long-term financial viability of the clearinghouse 
fundraising from public and private sources or other means. This 
criterion will be judged on the basis of the applicant's submissions in 
response to Paragraphs IV (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(5), and (a)(8) of this 
NOFA under the heading ``Checklist of Application Submission 
Requirements''.
    (iii) The extent to which the project will provide the maximum 
benefits in a cost-effective manner (20 points). In determining the 
extent to which the proposal will provide the maximum benefit for the 
metropolitan area covered by this NOFA in a cost-effective manner, HUD 
will consider the quality and reasonableness of the proposed statement 
of work, and the timeline and budget for implementation and completion 
of the lab.
    HUD will consider as well the adequacy and clarity of proposed 
procedures to be used by the proposer for monitoring the progress of 
the lab and ensuring its timely completion. These procedures may 
consist of a system for checking whether or not the milestones 
established are being met.
    The applicant's capability in handling financial resources (e.g., 
adequate financial control and accounting procedures) demonstrated 
through previous project management experience will be taken into 
account as part of the assessment. HUD will also consider the degree to 
which the applicant proposes to use funds for program costs as opposed 
to administrative costs. This criterion will be judged on the basis of 
the proposer's submissions in response to Paragraphs IV(a)(3), (a)(5) 
and (a)(7) of this NOFA under the heading ``Checklist of Application 
Submission Requirements''.
    (iv) The extent to which the applicant's professional and 
organizational experience will further the achievement of the 
proposal's goals (20 points). In determining the extent to which the 
applicant's professional and organizational experience are likely to 
further the achievement of the proposal's goals, HUD will consider the 
applicant's experience in formulating and carrying out programs to 
prevent or eliminate discriminatory practices, including the 
applicant's management of past or current projects, including projects 
that have addressed the problem of providing housing on a 
nondiscriminatory basis to minorities, women, the disabled and other 
protected classes.
    HUD will also consider these qualifications in the context of the 
applicant's overall knowledge of the fair housing environment in the 
Chicago metropolitan area. It will also consider the experience and 
qualifications of existing personnel identified for key positions, or a 
description of the qualifications of new staff that will be hired, 
including subcontractors and consultants. This criterion will be judged 
on the basis of the proposer's submissions in response to Paragraph 
IV(a)(3) of this NOFA under the heading ``Checklist of Application 
Submission Requirements''.
    (v) The extent to which the project will utilize other public or 
private resources that may be available (10 points). The applicant 
shall describe whether in addition to the $1.0 million provided by this 
NOFA it plans to use other public or private resources. The other 
resources must be clearly and specifically targeted for this project 
and must be over and above the resources available to the applicant as 
part of its present, non-project operations for such expenses as 
salaries, equipment, supplies and rent. This criterion will be judged 
on the basis of the applicant's response to Paragraph IV (a)(4) of this 
NOFA under the heading ``Checklist of Application Submission 
Requirements''.
    (vi) Minority Business Enterprise/Women-Owned Business Enterprise 
(5 points). The applicant shall also describe its experience in 
Minority Business Enterprise/Women-Owned Business Enterprise 
contracting. The applicant shall provide a summary of the total amount 
awarded in each of the two categories for the previous three years and 
the percentage that amount represents of the total contracts awarded by 
the applicant in the relevant time period.
    (2) Selection Process. Each application for funding will be 
evaluated competitively and awarded points based on the General 
Selection Criteria identified in the previous section. The final 
decision rests with the Assistant Secretary or her designee. After 
eligible applications are evaluated against the factors for award and 
assigned a score, they will be organized by rank order.
    (3) Cost factors. The Department expects to fund one proposal as a 
result of this NOFA. It is possible, however, that two or more complete 
and eligible applications, after evaluation against the Selection 
Criteria, may be considered equal in technical merit. Should that 
occur, their relative evaluated cost will become the deciding factor. 
Furthermore, an applicant's proposal will not be funded whose costs are 
determined to be unrealistically low or unreasonably high.

(f) Applicant Notification and Award Procedures

(1) Notification
    No information will be available to applicants during the period of 
HUD evaluation, except for notification in writing to those applicants 
that are determined to be ineligible or that have technical 
deficiencies in their applications that may be corrected. The Selectee 
will be announced by HUD upon completion of the evaluation process, 
subject to final negotiations and award.
(2) Negotiations
    After HUD has ranked the applications and made an initial 
determination of applicants whose scores are within the funding range 
(but before the actual award), HUD may require that applicants in this 
group participate in negotiations to determine the specific terms of 
the grant agreement. In cases where it is not possible to conclude the 
necessary negotiations successfully, awards will not be made. If an 
award is not made to an applicant whose application is in the initial 
funding ranking because of an inability to complete successful 
negotiations, and if funds are available to fund any applications that 
may have fallen outside the initial funding ranking, HUD will select 
the next highest ranking applicant and proceed as described in the 
preceding paragraph.
(3) Funding Instrument
    HUD expects to award a cost reimbursable or fixed-price cooperative 
agreement to the successful applicant. HUD reserves the right, however, 
to use the form of assistance agreement determined to be appropriate 
after negotiations with the applicant.
(4) Reduction of Requested Grant Amounts and Special Conditions
    HUD may approve an application for an amount lower than the amount 
requested, withhold funds after approval, and/or the grantee will be 
required to comply with special conditions added to the grant 
agreement, in accordance with 24 CFR 85.12, the requirements of this 
NOFA, or where:
    (i) HUD determines the amount requested for one or more of the 
components of the proposal is unreasonable or unnecessary.
    (ii) The applicant has demonstrated an inability to manage HUD 
grants;
    (iii) For any other reason where good cause exists.
(5) Performance Sanctions
    A recipient failing to comply with the procedures set forth in its 
grant agreement will be liable for such sanctions as may be authorized 
by law, including repayment of improperly used funds, termination of 
further participation in FHIP, and denial of further participation in 
programs of the Department or of any federal agency.

III. Application Process

    An application kit is required as the formal submission to apply 
for funding. The kit includes information on the Statement of Work and 
Budget for activities proposed by the applicant. An application may be 
obtained by writing the Fair Housing Information Clearinghouse, Post 
Office Box 6091, Rockville, MD 20850, or by calling the toll-free 
number 1-800-343-3442. To ensure a prompt response, it is suggested 
that requests for application kits be made by telephone.
    Completed applications are to be submitted to Laurence D. Pearl, 
Director, Office of Program Standards and Evaluation, Office of Fair 
Housing and Equal Opportunity, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, room 5224, 451 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 20410. 
The application due date and time will be specified in the application 
kit. In no event, however, will the application be due before August 
15, 1994. The application deadline is firm as to date and hour. In the 
interest of fairness to all competing applicants, the Department will 
treat as ineligible for consideration any application that is received 
after the deadline. Applicants should take this practice into account 
and make early submission of their materials to avoid any risk of loss 
of eligibility brought about by unanticipated delays or other delivery-
related problems. A transmission by facsimile machine (``FAX'') will 
not constitute delivery.

IV. Checklist of Application Submission Requirements

    (a) General Requirements
    The application kit will contain a checklist of application 
submission requirements to complete the application process. Each 
proposal submitted under this NOFA must contain the following items:
    (1) A metropolitan areawide analysis of the impediments to fair 
housing choice faced by individual homeseekers within the Chicago 
metropolitan area, taking into account any of the institutional 
problems involving the major segments of the real estate and lending 
industries. This analysis must include a discussion of the problems 
which specifically relate to the marketing of single-family and 
multifamily housing to all segments of the population, with particular 
emphasis on marketing to persons considered protected under the Fair 
Housing Act and other statutes. The analysis must also discuss the 
connections between the effectiveness of marketing and the processes of 
selecting tenants for multifamily projects and evaluating the 
creditworthiness of applicants for home mortgages. The analysis must 
also address how its proposed clearinghouse concept will (i) address 
any and all impediments identified, (ii) help effect change in the 
current racial and income related housing patterns within the Chicago 
metropolitan area affected by this NOFA, and (iii) help increase the 
awareness of all participants in the housing process, especially 
participants from the real estate industry, of their obligations under 
fair housing statutes.
    (2) A metropolitan areawide affirmative fair housing marketing plan 
with the following components:
    (i) A description of an overall advertising campaign targeted 
toward groups identified as least likely to apply for assisted housing 
located within areas for reasons such as the race or national origin of 
the persons in the area, the lack of units that are accessible to 
physically disabled persons in the area and the absence of significant 
numbers of families with children in the area. The campaign may be 
organized to reach the entire area affected by this NOFA or may be 
segmented to reach particular jurisdictions, sections within individual 
jurisdictions or particular segments of the eligible population. The 
plan shall describe the media to be used, including minority media, 
community organizations and contacts, referral services that assist 
disabled persons, and other tactics. The objective of this part of the 
plan is to encourage prospective renters and home purchasers to use the 
services of the clearinghouse in their housing searches, especially 
those services that will support their searches within non-traditional 
areas.
    (ii) A campaign to involve the various provider communities in the 
clearinghouse on a voluntary basis, e.g., assisted multifamily housing 
managers, local boards of realtors, home builders associations and 
individual home builders. The plan shall describe the methods to be 
used to recruit within the provider community, and how it plans to 
describe the incentives and obligations (both financial and otherwise) 
for participation in the clearinghouse. All such financial and other 
incentives and obligations shall be reviewed and approved by the 
Department prior to the implementation of this lab. The plan shall also 
describe any and all training programs to be presented to clearinghouse 
participants on their obligations under federal, state and local fair 
housing laws.
    (iii) A fair housing counseling program to be given all prospective 
renters and homebuyers who use the clearinghouse's services to search 
for dwellings located within areas in which their race or ethnic group 
does not predominate and in areas where they would be otherwise least 
likely to apply for housing without special outreach activities due to 
factors pertaining to the racial or ethnic composition of the 
neighborhood.
    (iv) A goals statement on ensuring increased housing choice and 
causing deconcentration by race and income in different sections of the 
community. These goals may be stated in terms of achieving socio-
economic changes, e.g., in the racial/ethnic composition of particular 
neighborhoods or projects, or of getting individual homeseekers to feel 
that their housing options were increased by availing themselves of the 
services offered by the clearinghouse. The goals can also be stated in 
terms of bringing about changes in the attitudes and practices of 
financial institutions, real estate offices, apartment management 
companies and other entities that make decisions about their customers' 
housing choices.
    (v) Description of the structure of a consolidated areawide 
database for multifamily housing units offered by the clearinghouse's 
fair housing center. This database can be generated from applicants who 
avail themselves of the services offered by the fair housing center 
after it opens, or from the waiting lists maintained by the individual 
participating private owners or management companies prior to the 
center's opening. The proposer shall also describe the mechanics of 
actual tenant selection, e.g., selection by the fair housing center 
staff or by the individual apartment management company or landlord; 
the procedures to be used by the clearinghouse in processing 
applications from individual apartment seekers and the arrangements to 
be made with participating multifamily project managers with respect to 
referrals from the clearinghouse and the actual selection of tenants;
    (vi) Descriptions of activities appropriate to the single-family 
market, to be included by applicants who wish to emphasize marketing to 
the prospective home purchaser. Such activities may include:
    (A) Testing appropriate methods of involving local financial 
institutions under the aegis of the fair housing center in activities 
which will increase the sensitivity and awareness of such institutions 
and their professional staff about the impact of their lending and 
mortgage credit review practices upon properties and individuals 
located in lower-income and racially and ethnically impacted 
neighborhoods;
    (B) Testing new methods of marketing to nontraditional home 
purchasers, e.g., low-income families, persons with disabilities, and 
first-time home purchasers who desire to increase their knowledge of 
the responsibilities of homeownership;
    (C) Testing a clearinghouse system geared toward referring 
prospective home purchasers to real estate professionals who will 
assist them in navigating the home purchase process.
    (3) A statement of work, a budget--which must include a realistic 
amount, not to exceed $2,000, in travel costs for financial management 
training sponsored by the Department--and a timeline for the 
implementation of the proposed activities, consisting of a description 
of the specific activities to be conducted with these funds, the 
geographic areas to be served by the activities, the cost of each 
proposed activity and a schedule for the implementation and completion 
of the activities.
    (4) A description of the applicant's experience in formulating or 
carrying out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing 
practices or in implementing other civil rights programs, the 
experience and qualifications of existing personnel identified for key 
positions, or a description of the qualifications of new staff to be 
hired, including subcontractors/consultants.
    (5) A description of the financial mechanisms to be used by the 
clearinghouse operator in addition to the federal funds to make the 
clearinghouse self-sustaining. Such a mechanism shall be reviewed and 
approved by the Department prior to the implementation of this lab.
    (6) A description of the procedures to be used by the applicant for 
monitoring the progress of the proposed activities.
    (7) A description of the fair housing benefits that successful 
completion of the project will produce, and the indicators by which 
these benefits are to be measured. These possible benefits can include 
changes in racial, ethnic and income-related housing patterns that may 
have taken place during the testing period, increases in awareness and 
changes in lending, or sales and rental practices which result in 
fairer treatment for persons protected by civil rights statutes. 
Particular emphasis must be placed on measuring and comparing the costs 
and the benefits of the present system of HUD AFHM Plan processing and 
the clearinghouse concept being tested under this NOFA.
    (8) A description of how the clearinghouse will be of continuing 
use in dealing with housing discrimination after the completion of the 
demonstration. In this section, the proposer shall explain how the 
clearinghouse plans to continue its existence after the expiration of 
this grant, describing the public and private sources of financing and 
the services which are both similar to and different from the services 
to be offered during the period of this grant.
    (9) HUD Form 2880, Applicant Disclosures.
    (10) The applicant must submit a certification and disclosure in 
accordance with the requirements of section 319 of the Department of 
the Interior Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 101-121, approved October 23, 
1989), as implemented in HUD's interim final rule at 24 CFR part 87, 
published in the Federal Register on February 26, 1990 (55 FR 6736). 
This statute generally prohibits recipients and subrecipients of 
federal contracts, grants, cooperative agreements and loans from using 
appropriated funds for lobbying the Executive and Legislative Branches 
of the federal government in connection with a specific contract, 
grant, or loan. If warranted, the applicant should include the 
Disclosure of Lobbying Activities Form (SF-LLL).

V. Corrections to Deficient Applications

    Applicants will not be disqualified from being considered for 
funding because of technical deficiencies in their application 
submission, e.g., an omission of information such as regulatory/program 
certifications, inadequate budget data, or incomplete signatory 
requirements for application submission.
    HUD will notify an applicant in writing of any technical 
deficiencies in the application. The applicant must submit corrections 
within 14 calendar days from the date of HUD's letter notifying the 
applicant of any technical deficiency.
    The 14-day correction period pertains only to non-substantive, 
technical deficiencies or errors. Technical deficiencies relate to 
items that:
    (a) Are not necessary for HUD review under selection criteria/
ranking factors; and
    (b) Would not improve the substantive quality of the proposal.

VI. Other Matters

Section 504  Requirements

    Recipients will be expected to comply with the requirements of 
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794, and 24 
CFR part 8. Section 504 prohibits discrimination based on handicap in 
federally assisted programs.

Prohibition Against Lobbying

    On February 26, 1990, at 55 FR 6736, the Department joined in the 
issuance of a government-wide interim rule advising recipients and 
subrecipients of federal contracts, grants, cooperative agreements and 
loans exceeding $100,000 of a new prohibition against use of 
appropriated funds for lobbying the Executive or Legislative Branches 
of the federal government in connection with a specific contract, 
grant, or loan. In general, this rule prohibits the awarding of 
contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or loans unless the 
recipient has made an acceptable certification regarding lobbying. In 
addition, the recipient must file a disclosure if it has made or has 
agreed to make any payment with nonappropriated funds that would be 
prohibited if paid with appropriated funds. The law provides 
substantial monetary penalties for failure to file the required 
certification or disclosure.

Environmental Impact

    A Finding of No Significant Impact with respect to the environment 
has been made in accordance with the Department's regulations at 24 CFR 
part 50 which implement Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). The Finding of No Significant 
Impact is available for public inspection between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 
p.m. weekdays at the Office of the Rules Docket Clerk, room 10276, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20410.

Executive Order 12606, The Family

    The General Counsel, as the Designated Official under Executive 
Order 12606, The Family, has determined that the policies announced in 
this Notice would not have a significant impact on the formation, 
maintenance, and general well-being of families except indirectly to 
the extent of the social and other benefits expected from this program 
of assistance.

Executive Order 12612, Federalism

    The General Counsel has determined, as the Designated Official for 
HUD under section 6(a) of Executive Order 12612, Federalism, that the 
policies contained in this Notice will not have federalism implications 
and, thus, are not subject to review under the Order. The promotion of 
fair housing policies is a recognized goal of general benefit without 
direct implications on the relationship between the national government 
and the states or on the distribution of power and responsibilities 
among various levels of government.

Drug-Free Workplace Certification

    The Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 requires grantees of federal 
agencies to certify that they will provide drug-free workplaces. Thus, 
each applicant must certify that it will comply with drug-free 
workplace requirements in accordance with 24 CFR part 24, subpart F.

Section 102 HUD Reform Act Documentation and Public Access 
Requirements; Applicant/Recipient disclosures

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 five-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 at 24 CFR part 15. In addition, HUD will 
include the recipients of assistance pursuant to this NOFA in its 
quarterly Federal Register notice of all recipients of HUD assistance 
awarded on a competitive basis. (See 24 CFR 12.14(a) and 12.16(b), and 
the notice published in the Federal Register on January 16, 1992 (57 FR 
1942), for further information on these documentation and public access 
requirements.)
Disclosures
    HUD will make available to the public for five 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 generally for a period 
of less than three 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 15. (See 24 CFR subpart C, and the notice published in the 
Federal Register on January 16, 1992 (57 FR 1942), for further 
information on these disclosure requirements.)

Section 103  HUD Reform Act

    HUD's regulation implementing section 103 of the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 was published May 13, 
1991 (56 FR 22088) and became effective on June 12, 1991. That 
regulation, codified as 24 CFR part 4, applies to the funding 
competition announced today. The requirements of the rule 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 part 4 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 who have questions should contact the HUD Office of 
Ethics (202) 708-3815 (TDD/Voice). (This is not a toll-free number.) 
The Office of Ethics can provide information of a general nature to HUD 
employees, as well. However, a HUD employee who has specific program 
questions, such as whether particular subject matter can be discussed 
with persons outside the Department, should contact his or her Regional 
or Field Office Counsel, or Headquarters counsel for the program to 
which the question pertains.

Section 112  HUD Reform Act

    Section 13 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act 
contains two provisions dealing with efforts to influence HUD's 
decisions with respect to financial assistance. The first imposes 
disclosure requirements on those who are typically involved in these 
efforts--those who pay others to influence the award of assistance or 
the taking of a management action by the Department and those who are 
paid to provide the influence. The second restricts the payment of fees 
to those who are paid to influence the award of HUD assistance, if the 
fees are tied to the number of housing units received or are based on 
the amount of assistance received, or if they are contingent upon the 
receipt of assistance.
    Section 13 was implemented by final rule published in the Federal 
Register on May 17, 1991 (56 FR 22912). If readers are involved in any 
efforts to influence the Department in these ways, they are urged to 
read the final rule, particularly the examples contained in Appendix A 
of the rule.

    Authority: Section 561 of the Housing and Community Development 
Act of 1987 (42 U.S.C. 3616 note); Title VIII, Civil Rights Act of 
1968, as amended (42 U.S.C. 3601-3619); Sec. 7(d), Department of 
Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(d)).

    Dated: June 10, 1994.
Paul Williams,
General Deputy, Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity.
BILLING CODE 4210-28-P

TN16JN94.000


TN16JN94.001


[FR Doc. 94-14688 Filed 6-15-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-28-C
_______________________________________________________________________

Part X





Department of the Interior





_______________________________________________________________________



Bureau of Indian Affairs



_______________________________________________________________________



Plan for the Use of the Gila River Indian Community Indian Judgment 
Funds in Docket No. 236-N Before the United States Court of Federal 
Claims; Notice
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

 
Plan for the Use of the Gila River Indian Community Indian 
Judgment Funds in Docket No. 236-N Before the United States Court of 
Federal Claims

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

EFFECTIVE DATE: This plan was effective as of May 9, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Lamb, Historian, Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, Division of Tribal Government Services, 2611 MS/MIB, 
1849 C Street NW., Washington, DC 20240.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Act of October 19, 1973 (Pub. L. 93-134, 
87 Stat. 466), as amended, requires that a plan be prepared and 
submitted to Congress for the use and distribution of funds 
appropriated to pay a judgment of the Indian Claims Commission or Court 
of Claims to any Indian tribe. Funds were appropriated on January 25, 
1993 in satisfaction of the award granted to the Gila River Indian 
Community before the United States Court of Federal Claims in Docket 
236-N. The plan for the use of the funds was submitted to Congress with 
a letter dated January 24, 1994 and was received (as recorded in the 
Congressional Record) by the Senate on February 7, 1994 and by the 
House of Representatives on January 25, 1994. The plan became effective 
May 9, 1994 as provided by the 1973 Act, as amended by Pub. L. 97-458, 
since a joint resolution disapproving it was not enacted. The plan 
reads as follows:

Plan

for the Use of the Gila River Indian Community Judgment Funds in Docket 
No. 236-N before the United States Claims Court

    The funds appropriated January 25, 1993 in satisfaction of the 
award granted in Docket No. 236-N to the Gila River Indian Community 
before the U.S. Claims Court, less attorney fees and litigation 
expenses, and including all interest and investment income accrued, 
shall be used and distributed as follows:

Per Capita Aspect

    The Secretary of the Interior (``Secretary'') shall make a per 
capita distribution of eighty percent (80%) of the principal, interest, 
and investment income accrued, in a sum as equal as possible, to each 
member of the Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, born on or 
prior to and living on the effective date of this plan. Any remaining 
amount, after the per capita payment to the members, shall revert to 
the tribe for use in the programming aspect of this plan.

Programming Aspect

    Twenty percent (20%) of the principal, interest and investment 
income accrued shall continue to be invested with the interest to be 
available to the community's general fund on an annual budgetary basis 
to be used for operation of community programs.
    If at some future date, the Gila River Indian Community decides to 
amend this Plan, the Plan may be amended with the approval of the 
Secretary.

General Provisions

    The per capita shares of living, competent adults shall be paid 
directly to them. The per capita shares of deceased individual 
beneficiaries shall be determined and distributed in accordance with 43 
CFR part 4, subpart D. Per capita shares of legal incompetents and 
minors shall be handled as provided in the Act of October 19, 1973, 87 
Stat. 466, as amended January 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2512.
    None of the funds made available under this plan for programming or 
per capita distribution shall be subject to Federal or State income 
taxes, nor shall such funds nor their availability be considered as 
income or resources, nor otherwise utilized as the basis for denying or 
reducing the financial assistance or other benefits to which such 
household or member would otherwise be entitled under the Social 
Security Act or, except for any per capita shares in excess of $2,000, 
any Federal or federally assisted programs.
Hilda A. Manuel,
Acting Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 94-14630 Filed 6-15-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-02-M