[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 147 (Tuesday, July 30, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39812-39813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-19238]



[[Page 39811]]


_______________________________________________________________________

Part VIII





Department of Housing and Urban Development





_______________________________________________________________________



24 CFR Chapter IX



_______________________________________________________________________



Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing; 
Strengthening the Role of Fathers in Public Housing Families, Advance 
Notice; Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 147 / Tuesday, July 30, 1996 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 39812]]



DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

24 CFR Chapter IX

[Docket No. FR-4087-N-01]
RIN 2577-AB68


Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing; 
Strengthening the Role of Fathers in Public Housing Families, Advance 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian 
Housing, HUD.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

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

SUMMARY: In his 1996 State of the Union Address, President Clinton said 
``Our first challenge is to cherish our children and strengthen 
America's families. Family is the foundation of American life. If we 
have stronger families, we will have a stronger America.
    HUD is committed to cooperating with other Federal agencies and 
with State and local entities to identify and pursue policies and to 
support activities that will encourage reuniting families and 
strengthen the role of fathers in American families.
    This notice announces HUD's intention (1) To develop a regulatory 
package concerning measures, practices, and authorizations to local 
public housing agencies and Indian Housing Authorities (hereinafter 
referenced collectively as HAs) in support of efforts to encourage 
husbands and/or fathers to play a more responsible role in the lives of 
families in HA-owned or assisted developments, and (2) to solicit 
public comment on this subject prior to publication of a proposed rule.
    Issues for which HUD specifically requests comment from the public 
are identified in Section II of the Supplementary Information portion 
of this Notice.

DATES: Comment Due Date: September 13, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
MaryAnn Russ, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Assisted 
Housing Operations, HUD, Room 4204, 451 Seventh Street SW., Washington, 
DC 20410-5000, telephone (202) 708-1380 (this is not a toll-free 
number). A telecommunications device for hearing- and speech-impaired 
persons (TTY) is available at 1-800-877-8339 (Federal Information Relay 
Services). (This is a toll-free number.)
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments in 
response to this notice to the Rules Docket Clerk, Office of the 
General Counsel, Room 10276, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410-0500. 
Comments should refer to the above docket number and title. A copy of 
each comment submitted will be available for public inspection and 
copying during regular business hours at the above address. Facsimile 
(FAX) comments are not acceptable.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In a June 1995 memorandum to the heads of all Executive Branch 
departments and agencies, President Clinton charged the Federal 
government to review every policy, program, and initiative that 
pertains to families, to

--Ensure, where appropriate, and consistent with program objectives, 
that these policies, programs and initiatives seek to engage and 
meaningfully include fathers;
--Proactively modify those programs that were designed to serve 
primarily mothers and children, where appropriate, and consistent with 
program objectives, to explicitly include fathers and strengthen their 
involvement with their children;
--Include evidence of father[s'] involvement and participation, where 
appropriate, in measuring the success of the program; and
--Involve fathers, where appropriate, in government initiated research 
regarding children and their families.

    HUD has demonstrated its commitment to strengthening families 
through its public and assisted housing programs, affordable housing 
and homeownership initiatives, and services for homeless people. For 
homeless women and children--America's fastest-growing homeless 
population--HUD has implemented a rental assistance certificate/voucher 
program to move women and children out of shelters and into safer, 
long-term transitional housing. HUD provides premiums to shelters that 
help keep families intact. Working families also find it more 
advantageous to stay together in public housing under new rent 
computation procedures that permit optional deductions from, or 
exemptions of, earned income. Additionally, HUD works to strengthen 
families through employment initiatives that incorporate conditions for 
participation, encouraging workers to adopt positive behaviors toward 
their families and their communities.
    HUD has undertaken two major pilot programs involving outreach to 
absent fathers, using a combination of job opportunities and housing 
benefits to encourage uniting or reuniting of families, and more active 
and positive participation of fathers in their families. These two 
pilot efforts were described in detail by the Secretary at the Vice 
President's May 3, 1996, ``Federal Conference on Strengthening the Role 
of Fathers in Families.''
    In Baltimore, Maryland, the housing authority has developed a 
Healthy Head Start Men's Service Program, which links employment in a 
housing rehabilitation project, including training in lead-based paint 
and asbestos removal, with requirements that participants accompany 
their families on obstetric and pediatric visits.
    In Hartford, Connecticut, a public housing Family Restoration 
Program at Charter Oak Terrace apartments is using a portion of a $20.8 
million project redevelopment grant to redevelop families. Absent 
fathers are eligible for on-site construction jobs paying up to $22/
hour, but qualification for employment is premised on the father's 
commitment to behavior that is positive for themselves and their 
families; such positive behaviors include agreeing to work on a high 
school diploma or equivalency certificate, participating in counseling 
on parenting and communications skills, and agreeing to become and/or 
remain free from substance abuse. At a very early stage of this 
initiative, there are twenty families participating; the Hartford 
Housing Authority has established a goal of reuniting 100 families.
    While these two pilot programs have concentrated on providing 
training and employment opportunities to absent fathers, HUD recognizes 
that an absent spouse or parent may be a mother as well. As a result 
any future programs of this type will be administered in a gender 
neutral fashion to permit these opportunities for women as well as men.

II. Solicitation of Public Comments

    HUD is requesting public comment in several areas to be addressed 
by the regulation. In developing this regulation, HUD will work closely 
with HAs and their associations and with residents and community 
organizations to ensure that HUD has heard as many viewpoints as 
possible.
    Based on the comments that HUD receives in response to this notice 
and any written guidance received from additional communications with 
industry groups and others, HUD will publish a proposed rule. Following 
careful consideration of the comments received on the proposed rule, 
HUD will issue a final regulation.

[[Page 39813]]

    The areas for which HUD specifically requests comment from the 
public include the following:
    1. The basic principle underlying this initiative is that families 
ought to be reunited. Fathers living apart from mothers and children, 
or living-in only intermittently, should be encouraged to rejoin their 
families and accept a role in the upbringing of the children. To the 
extent that it may be necessary to encourage such responsible behavior 
by an absent parent (who may also be mother, we acknowledge) HAs would 
be encouraged, but not necessarily required, to
    a. Provide a priority for transfer among HA properties;
    b. Offer a priority for a Section 8 certificate or voucher 
(consistent with the principles of the Family Unification program);
    c. Exempt from rent determinations the incremental income of the 
returning parent for a period of up to three years without adverse 
effect on the HA's eligibility for operating subsidy under the PFS.
    HUD is interested in public comments on whether such encouragements 
are necessary, or sufficient.
    2. To obtain any benefits or incentives offered by an HA program, a 
returning parent would be required to enter into a formal agreement or 
contract, binding him or her to comply with the requirements of the HA 
lease and to make and honor commitments to their family and to the HA 
community. HUD is interested in public comments on the nature of such 
an agreement, and on the range of obligations that could reasonably be 
demanded of a returning parent. Should HUD create a model form of 
agreement for this purpose? Are there certain minimum requirements that 
HUD could itemize, and permit HAs to make additions to reflect local 
interests? Or should HAs be given maximum latitude to develop their own 
standards and agreements?
    3. HUD's position is that participants must be subject to 
admissions screening, to assure the rest of the community that the new 
or re-joining family member would not constitute any special treat to 
the peace and quiet of the neighborhood.
    4. Returning parents, or a parent newly accepting a responsible 
role in a family, would be required to participate in a parenting and/
or counseling program. To the extent that some returning parents may 
have been involved in domestic violence or abuse, such counseling or 
training must have been completed before admission or re-admission to 
the HA housing. Parenting training or counseling would be allowable 
budget costs for the HA.
    5. The Hartford Family Reunification model includes an explicit 
requirement that returning parents be and remain drugfree, including 
provisions for pre-admission drug testing and subseqent random testing. 
Testing is at the expense of the housing authority. HUD is interested 
in public comments on drug abstinence and drug testing requirements and 
policies.
    6. HUD is soliciting public input on any other matters, ideas, 
recommendations, or any other form of comment relevant to the issue of 
re-integrating absent parents and strengthening the role of fathers and 
husbands in public housing families. In addition to comments, HUD is 
also requesting any reports, documents, or other material that will 
assist the Department in evaluating issues to be addressed in the 
regulation.
    HUD requests that, in submitting comments on any of the foregoing 
issues, the commenter please cite the item number of the issue 
addressed by the comment. HUD also welcomes comments on issues not 
specifically included in the foregoing list, but related to involving 
husbands and fathers, and strengthening the role of husbands and 
fathers in families living in public and assisted housing.

    Dated: July 15, 1996.
Michael B. Janis,
General Deputy, Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 96-19238 Filed 7-29-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-33-M