[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 44 (Monday, March 8, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11286-11292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-5575]



[[Page 11285]]

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Part IX





Department of Housing and Urban Development





_______________________________________________________________________



Welfare-to-Work Section 8 Tenant-Based Assistance Program Set-Aside 
Sites for Fiscal Year 1999 Funding Availability; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 44 / Monday, March 8, 1999 / 
Notices  

[[Page 11286]]



DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4484-N-01]


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

AGENCY: Office of Public and Indian Housing, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).

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SUMMARY: Purpose of Program. To provide Section 8 Welfare-to-Work 
rental voucher program funding, as provided by the VA/HUD and 
Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999, (99 App. Act), 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.
    Available Funds. At least $4 million to each of the eight sites 
identified above.
    Eligible Applicants. Housing agencies (HAs) currently administering 
Section 8 rental certificate and voucher programs in any of the eight 
locations identified above in this NOFA and in the 99 App. Act.
    Application Deadline. The application deadline for Section 8 
Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers under this NOFA is May 7, 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 NOFA, please review carefully the following 
information:

I. Application Due Date, Application Kits and Technical Assistance

    Application Due Date: May 7, 1999.
    Address for Submitting Applications: The application and two copies 
must be submitted to your local HUD Field office HUB (Attention: HUB, 
Director of Public Housing) or local HUD Field Office Program Center 
(Attention: Program Center Coordinator). Throughout this NOFA, the 
Field Office HUBs and Program Centers will be referred to as the local 
HUD Field offices. Applicants should not submit the original or 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: 
When preparing applications under this NOFA, applicants must follow the 
instructions for completing and organizing their applications that are 
found in the application kit that has been developed for the Section 8 
Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher Program under the NOFA for the national 
competition for Section 8 Welfare-to-Work rental vouchers which was 
published in the Federal Register on January 28, 1999 (64 FR 4495). 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 
in your local HUD Office. Hearing-or speech-impaired individuals may 
call 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.

II. Amount Allocated

    Of the $283 million appropriated in Fiscal Year (FY) 1999 to fund 
Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers, at least $4 million each 
shall be made available under this NOFA 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.

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 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.
    Under this NOFA, at least $4 million will be available to fund 
Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers in each of the eight set-
aside sites identified in section II. of this NOFA, above, and in the 
99 App. Act. If more than one eligible HA that administers a tenant-
based Section 8 program at a set-

[[Page 11287]]

aside site applies, the number of rental vouchers each HA receives 
under this NOFA will be based on the percentage of the tenant-based 
Section 8 program each HA administers in the set-aside location.
    If you are an HA at a set-aside site that would receive fewer 
rental vouchers under this set-aside competition than would be 
available to you under the national competition for the Section 8 
Welfare-to-Work rental vouchers and you wish to apply for the maximum 
number of vouchers you could receive under the formula for the national 
competition, you must also apply under the January 28, 1999 NOFA for 
the national competition. The number of rental vouchers that you 
receive under this set-aside NOFA plus any vouchers funded through the 
national competition for Section 8 Welfare-to-Work rental vouchers may 
not exceed the maximum that would be available to you in the national 
competition.
    An HA seeking welfare-to-work rental 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 administering Section 8 rental 
certificates or rental vouchers at any of the eight set-aside sites 
identified in section II. of this NOFA, above, may apply. Each 
applicant HA must develop a program in consultation with the State or 
local 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 to administer a Section 8 Welfare-to Work rental voucher 
program in a set-aside site identified in section II of this NOFA, 
above. 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 Rental Voucher Program and of this NOFA. The specific 
requirements of the Section 8 Welfare-to-Work program are stated in 
section IV.(A) of this NOFA, below.

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.
    (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 provided in the 99 App. Act. 
In order to participate as a special evaluation site, you and your 
partners must:
    (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.
    (C) TANF and Welfare-to-Work Support. Your application must include 
certifications from the State or local 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

[[Page 11288]]

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.
    (G) Threshold Requirements--Compliance with Fair Housing and Civil 
Rights Laws. 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 an applicant: (a) has been charged with a 
systemic violation of the Fair Housing Act by the Secretary alleging 
ongoing discrimination; (b) is the defendant in a Fair Housing Act 
lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice alleging an ongoing pattern 
or practice of discrimination; or (c) has received a letter of 
noncompliance findings under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 
section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or section 109 of the 
Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, the applicant's 
application will not be evaluated under this NOFA if, prior to the 
application deadline, the charge, lawsuit, or letter of findings has 
not been resolved to the satisfaction of the Department. HUD's decision 
regarding whether a charge, lawsuit, or a letter of findings has been 
satisfactorily resolved will be based upon whether appropriate actions 
have been taken necessary to address allegations of ongoing 
discrimination in the policies or practices involved in the charge, 
lawsuit, or letter of findings.
    (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.
    (J) Forms, Certifications and Assurances. You, the applicant, are 
required to submit signed copies of the Funding Application, form HUD-
52515, which includes all the necessary certifications for Fair 
Housing, Drug-Free Workplace and Lobbying Activities 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) 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.
    (L) 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, HUD's Notice of Initial Guidance on the QHWRA, 
published on February 18, 1999 (64 FR 8192), provided the notice of 
immediate implementation of section 551 of QHWRA, as permitted by 
section 503 of QHWRA.

V. Application Selection Process

    (A) Overview of Process. Local HUD field offices will initially 
review applications to ensure that they are complete. When applications 
are complete, they will be forwarded to the Grants Management Center 
where they will be reviewed based on the criteria listed below in 
section V.(C). Although HUD expects to fund applications from all 
eligible HAs currently administering Section 8 rental certificate and 
rental voucher programs in any of the eight set-aside locations, an HA 
will not receive funding until its application receives a rating of at 
least 55 points. Scoring of applications using the five factors in 
section V.(C) of this NOFA will give HUD a method of ensuring that the 
HA has developed a workable plan for administering its Section 8 
Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher program.

[[Page 11289]]

    (B) Threshold Requirements. (1) The application is complete and 
contains all required certifications, including those described in 
section IV.(J), above, of this NOFA.
    (2) You meet the requirements of section IV.(G) of this NOFA, 
Compliance With Fair Housing and Civil Rights Laws.
    (3) The application designates a subcontractor in accordance with 
section IV.(E), above, of this NOFA, if necessary under that section.
    (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 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 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 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:

[[Page 11290]]

    (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 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 
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, 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; 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 
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

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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; 
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, 
local or private sources, including the appropriate local 
transportation entity (i.e., transit properties, metropolitan planning 
organizations, State 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 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)(1) through (3), 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 the 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 contact you to clarify an 
item in your application or to correct deficiencies.

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.
    (E) Section 102 of the HUD Reform Act; Documentation Requirements.
    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:
    (1) Assistance subject to section 102(a) of the HUD Reform Act; or
    (2) 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) 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.


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    Dated: March 3, 1999.
Harold Lucas,
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 99-5575 Filed 3-5-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-33-P