[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 105 (Thursday, June 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32470-32479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10959]



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Part III





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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Public Housing Graduation Incentive Bonus Program; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 105 / Thursday, June 2, 2005 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4984-N-01]


Public Housing Graduation Incentive Bonus Program

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

ACTION: Notice of funding availability.

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    Overview Information:
    A. Federal Agency Name: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, Office of Public and Indian Housing.
    B. Funding Opportunity Title: Graduation Incentive Bonus Program.
    C. Announcement Type: This is the initial announcement.
    D. Funding Opportunity Number: The Federal Register number for this 
NOFA is: FR-4984-N-01. The OMB approval number for this program is 
2577-0242.
    E. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): The 
CFDA number for the Graduation Incentive Bonus Program is 14.850.
    F. Dates: The application submission date is July 18, 2005. Grants 
will be made on a first come first served basis until all funds have 
been disbursed.
    Please be sure to read Section IV of this NOFA and the General 
Section of the SuperNOFA, published on March 21, 2005 (70 FR 13575) for 
more information regarding the required electronic application 
submission requirements.
    G. Optional, Additional Overview Content Information:
    1. Purpose of Program: The purpose of this NOFA is to invite public 
housing agencies (PHAs) to apply for a Graduation Incentive Bonus. The 
Graduation Incentive Bonus is granted to PHAs that can show their 
public housing residents are moving away from long-term dependence on 
housing assistance as evidenced by the proportion of households that 
leaves public housing and end their participation in assisted housing 
programs during calendar year 2004 as well as the average length of 
stay among public housing residents. In addition, HUD wants to 
encourage the timely submission of tenant household data, including End 
of Participation records.
    2. Funding Available: The Department expects to award up to $10 
million under the Graduation Incentive Bonus program in fiscal year 
2005.
    3. Award Amounts. Maximum awards will range from $12,275 to 
$207,209, based upon PHA low-rent size category. See section II (A) of 
this NOFA regarding the specific PHA size category and maximum award 
amounts.
    4. Eligible Applicants. All eligible applicants are listed in 
Appendix A. Eligible applicants are PHAs that operated a public housing 
program during calendar year 2004; have reported Public and Indian 
Housing Information Center (PIC) Family Household form HUD-50058 data 
for residents who ended their residency in public housing during 
calendar year 2004; have a minimum of 100 dwelling units in management 
status as reported in PIC as approved by the field office as of January 
15, 2005; have a minimum of twenty-five Family Household form HUD-50058 
records reported in PIC, and have met the minimum threshold criteria 
based upon its size category.
    5. Limitations. A PHA may submit only one application under this 
NOFA. This one application per PHA limit applies regardless of whether 
or not the PHA is a state or regional PHA, except in those instances 
where such a PHA has more than one PHA code number due to its operating 
under the jurisdiction of more than one HUD field office. In such an 
instance, a separate application under each code shall be considered 
for funding, with the cumulative total of awards not to exceed the 
maximum funds for which the PHA is eligible based on its size category.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Definition of Terms

    1. Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
    2. PHA size refers to the low-rent size category based upon the 
number of public housing dwelling units in management status as 
reported in PIC approved by the field office as of January 15, 2005. 
Size categories are defined as follows: Small is 100-249 units, Medium 
is 250-1,249 units, and Large is 1,250+ units.
    3. End of Participation (EOP) Records for the purpose of this award 
refers to the submission of a PIC Family Household form, HUD-50058 with 
a type of action code of ``6,'' codified as ``End Participation,'' for 
any household that was an active resident during the 2004 calendar year 
in public housing. In addition, a household, identified by the head of 
household social security number, may not reappear in a Section 8 
program to qualify as a valid EOP record.
    4. Length of Stay (LOS) is the tenure of residency in housing 
assistance programs. LOS is computed by converting dates to decimal 
years and using one of the following formulas: For residents who have 
left public housing, LOS = End of Participation Date--Date of 
Admission. For residents who were active public housing residents on 
December 31, 2004, LOS = December 31, 2004--Date of Admission. The 
average length of stay will only be calculated for PIC records with a 
valid admission date.

B. Program Description

    Authority for the up to $10,000,000 in one-year budget authority 
for the Graduation Incentive Bonus is found in the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2005 (Pub. L. 108-447, approved December 08, 2004).
    The Public Housing Graduation Incentive Bonus is granted to PHAs 
that can show their public housing residents are moving away from long-
term dependence on housing assistance as evidenced by the proportion of 
households that leave public housing and end their participation in 
assisted housing programs during calendar year 2004, as well as the 
average length of stay among public housing residents. HUD expects that 
a beneficial byproduct of this incentive will be to encourage the 
timely submission of tenant household data, including End of 
Participation (EOP) records.
    Minimum threshold eligibility will be based upon rank ordering PHAs 
according to their proportion of EOP records and average lengths of 
stay among all public housing residents as indicated via the form, HUD-
50058 Family Household data during 2004. PHA outcomes will be ranked 
against similar sized housing authorities. In addition, a PHA must have 
a minimum of twenty-five Family Household form HUD-50058 records 
reported in PIC. The overall objective is that PHAs will encourage 
economic self-sufficiency and a transition from assisted housing, among 
public housing residents, so that the benefit can be provided to other 
eligible low-income households who are currently awaiting assistance.

C. Eligible Activities

    Graduation Incentive Bonus funds can be used for any and all 
purposes and activities approved for the Public Housing Operating Fund 
under section 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 and 24 CFR 
part 990, including programs and activities designed to promote the 
economic self-sufficiency and management skills of public housing 
residents.

II. Award Information

    A. Total Funding. The Department expects to award up to $10 million 
under the Graduation Incentive Bonus

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program in fiscal year 2005. Awards will be made as follows:
    1. The size category designation is based on the number of dwelling 
units in management status as reported in PIC as approved by the field 
office as of January 15, 2005, to determine the maximum award amount 
they are eligible for in accordance with the categories listed below.
    2. Award dollars are allocated among size categories proportionate 
to the national population of public housing residents served by each 
category. Maximum award amounts will be as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Maximum award
                Number of dwelling units                      amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
100-249 units...........................................         $12,275
250-1,249 units.........................................          26,198
1,250 or more units.....................................         207,209
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    B. Period for the Use of Funds. Awards will be obligated no later 
than September 30, 2005. PHAs will have five years to draw down the 
funds.
    C. Grant Extensions. Extensions are not applicable under this 
program and will not be granted.
    D. Type of Award: Incentive bonus award via a grant agreement.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

    1. All eligible applicants are listed in Appendix A. Eligible 
applicants are PHAs that operated a public housing program during the 
2004 calendar year; have reported PIC Family Household form, HUD-50058 
EOP data during 2004; have a minimum of 100 dwelling units in 
management status as reported in PIC and approved by the field office 
as of January 15, 2005; have a minimum of twenty-five Family Household 
form HUD-50058 records reported in PIC, and have met the minimum 
threshold criteria based upon their size category.
    2. Ineligible Applicants. PHAs with a Troubled Designation are 
ineligible for funding consideration. Tribes/TDHEs, nonprofit 
organizations, and resident associations are also ineligible for 
funding. HUD will not consider an application from an ineligible 
applicant.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching

    Cost sharing and matching are not a requirement for the Graduation 
Incentive Bonus program.

C. Other

    Threshold Minimum Standard. Small and Medium PHAs in the first 30 
percent of the distribution of the proportion of EOP records arrayed 
from largest to smallest and the distribution of average lengths of 
stay arrayed from shortest to longest, based on size category, satisfy 
the minimum threshold criteria for eligibility. Large PHAs satisfy the 
minimum threshold criteria at the 40th percentile of the distributions 
of proportion of EOP records and average lengths of stay. The threshold 
criteria for proportion of EOP records and average lengths of stay for 
public housing residents by PHA size category are detailed below.
     Small: 21.0 percent EOP households and 4.9 years average 
length of stay;
     Medium: 22.7 percent EOP households and 5.3 years average 
length of stay;
     Large: 16.0 percent EOP households and 6.3 years average 
length of stay.
    Appendix A lists all eligible PHAs that satisfy the threshold 
criteria for their size category. Eligibility is determined after PHAs 
are rank ordered, within their size category, according to average 
proportion of EOP records and average length of stay for public housing 
residents and are determined to satisfy both criteria. At a minimum, 
PHAs have performed at or above both the proportion of EOP records and 
average length of stay for public housing residents requirements to be 
eligible for funding, and have a minimum of twenty-five Family 
Household form HUD-50058 records reported in PIC.
    1. Limitations. A PHA may submit only one application under this 
NOFA. This one application per PHA limit applies regardless of whether 
or not the PHA is a state or regional PHA, except in those instances 
where such a PHA has more than one PHA code number due to its operating 
under the jurisdiction of more than one HUD field office. In such an 
instance, a separate application under each code shall be considered 
for funding, with the cumulative total of awards not to exceed the 
maximum funds for which the PHA is eligible based on its size category. 
Applicants may submit only one application for an award under the 
Graduation Incentive Bonus program. HUD will not consider joint 
applications.
    2. Excess Funding Requests. Applicants that request funding in 
excess of the maximum award that they are eligible to receive will not 
receive funding consideration.
    3. Requirements Applicable to all NOFAs: Please see the General 
Section of the SuperNOFA, published on March 21, 2005 (70 FR 13575), 
under Threshold Requirements and Other Threshold Requirements for 
additional guidance.
    4. Labor Standards. Davis-Bacon wage rates or HUD-determined 
prevailing wage rates, as applicable, must be paid to laborers and 
mechanics employed in any physical improvements (including non-routine 
maintenance) carried out with assistance under this NOFA, in accordance 
with Section 12 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 and 24 CFR 968.110(e). 
In addition, laborers and mechanics employed in routine maintenance 
must be paid HUD-determined prevailing wage rates in accordance with 
Section 12.
    5. Environmental Requirements. Funds may not be released under this 
NOFA (except for activities that are excluded from environmental review 
under 24 CFR part 58 or 50) until the responsible entity, as defined in 
24 CFR 58.2(a)(7), completes an environmental review and you submit and 
obtain HUD approval of a request for release of funds and the 
responsible entity's environmental certification in accordance with 24 
CFR part 58 (or HUD has completed an environmental review under 24 CFR 
part 50 where HUD has determined to do the environmental review). If 
you are selected for funding, the responsible entity must assume the 
environmental review responsibilities for activities funded under this 
NOFA. For activities that generally would be subject to review under 24 
CFR part 58, HUD may make a finding in accordance with Sec.  58.11(d) 
and may itself perform the environmental review under 24 CFR part 50 if 
the PHA or the prospective responsible entity objects to the 
responsible entity conducting the environmental review under part 58. 
You must provide any documentation to the responsible entity (or HUD, 
where applicable) that is needed to perform the environmental review. 
You, and any participant in any physical development, may not undertake 
any actions with respect to the project that are choice-limiting or 
could have environmentally adverse effects, including physical 
improvements or nonroutine maintenance, funded under this NOFA, and you 
and any participant may not commit or expend HUD or local funds for 
these activities, until HUD has approved a Request for Release of Funds 
following a responsible entity's environmental review under 24 CFR part 
58, or until HUD has completed an environmental review and given 
approval for the action under 24 CFR part 50.

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IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address To Request Application Package

    Applicants may download copies of the published General Section of 
the SuperNOFA and this Program NOFA from the grants.gov Web site at 
http://www.grants.gov/FIND or if you have difficulty accessing the 
information you can call HUD's NOFA Information Center toll-free at 
800-HUD-8929. Persons with hearing and speech impairments may also call 
toll-free at 800-HUD-2209 (TTY) or the Grants.gov Help Desk at 800-518-
Grants. The operator will assist you in accessing the information.

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

    1. Application Preparation. a. Before preparing an application for 
funding under this program, applicants should carefully review Appendix 
A to determine their eligibility for the Graduation Incentive Bonus.
    b. Applicants should make sure to include all requested 
information, according to the instructions found in this NOFA. This 
will help ensure a fair and accurate review of your application.
    2. Content and Format for Submission. In order to be funded, 
applicants must make a timely submission of the application and satisfy 
minimum threshold criteria. Applicants are not asked to propose new 
activities or programs for receipt of Graduation Incentive Bonus 
grants.
    3. Content of Application. a. Applicants are required to submit 
form SF 424. Data regarding the change in EOP records will be pulled 
from the PIC data previously submitted by each PHA.
    b. An application submitted through grants.gov for the Graduation 
Incentive Bonus program constitutes the applicant's certification, 
acknowledgement and agreement that the intended use of any funds it may 
be awarded under the Graduation Incentive Bonus program will be used in 
accordance with the regulatory guidelines for the Operating Fund under 
24 CFR part 990.

C. Submission Dates and Times

    1. A complete application must be received electronically by the 
grants.gov portal no later than 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern time on or before 
July 18, 2005. Proof of timely submission is automatically recorded by 
grants.gov when the application is received. An electronic time stamp 
is generated within the system when an application is successfully 
received at grants.gov. All applications received by grants.gov after 
the established submission deadline will not be considered for funding 
by HUD. Please see Section IV.F. of the General Section of the 
SuperNOFA (70 FR 13575) for electronic application submission 
requirements.

D. Intergovernmental Review

    Not applicable.

E. Funding Restrictions

    1. Funds are restricted to activities as allowed under the 24 CFR 
part 990 regulations governing the Public Housing Operating Fund. By 
submitting an application for the Graduation Incentive Bonus Program, 
via Grants.gov, applicants are certifying that the intended use of 
funds received is allowable under 24 CFR part 990.

F. Other Submission Requirements

1. Application Submission and Receipt Procedures
    Electronic Delivery. HUD requires applicants to submit applications 
electronically through http://www.grants.gov/Apply. Applicants 
interested in applying for funding must submit their applications 
electronically via the Web site http://www.grants.gov/Apply. This site 
has easy to follow step-by-step instructions that will enable you to 
apply for HUD assistance. The http://www.grants.gov/Apply feature 
includes a simple, unified application process to enable applicants to 
apply for grants online.
    Please read the General Section of the SuperNOFA carefully and 
completely for the electronic submission procedures for all 
applications because failure to comply may disqualify your application.
    2. Waivers: Waivers of electronic submission requirements will not 
be granted for this NOFA.

V. Application Review Information

A. Criteria

    Factors for Award. Award of funds will not be based upon a point 
system. Rather, funds will be awarded to eligible applicants listed in 
Appendix A until all funds have been disbursed.

B. Review and Selection Process

    1. Review Process. Only one review will be conducted: a screening 
to determine whether your application submission is complete, meets 
minimum threshold, is on time and funds are available.
    Selection Process. Eligible PHAs are listed in Appendix A. These 
PHAs are invited to apply for award funds. The selection process is 
designed to achieve diversity of awards by PHA size categories based on 
the national proportion of public housing residents served by each size 
category. Awards will be distributed to all eligible applicants that 
apply.

C. Corrections to Deficient Applications

    After the application submission date, HUD may not, consistent with 
its regulations in 24 CFR part 4, subpart B, consider any unsolicited 
information you, the applicant, may want to provide. HUD may contact 
you to clarify an item in your application or to correct technical 
deficiencies. HUD may not seek clarification of items or responses that 
improves the substantive quality of your response to any rating 
factors. In order not to unreasonably exclude applications from being 
rated and ranked, HUD may contact applicants to ensure proper 
completion of the application and will do so on a uniform basis for all 
applicants.
    Examples of curable (correctable) technical deficiencies include 
inconsistencies in the funding request, a failure to submit the proper 
certifications or failure to submit an application that contains a 
signature by an official able to make a legally binding commitment on 
behalf of the applicant. In the case of an applicant that received a 
waiver, the technical deficiency may include failure to submit an 
application that contains an original signature. If HUD finds a curable 
deficiency in the application, HUD will notify you in writing by 
describing the clarification or technical deficiency. HUD will notify 
applicants by facsimile or by USPS, return receipt requested. 
Clarifications or corrections of technical deficiencies in accordance 
with the information provided by HUD must be submitted within 7 
calendar days of the date of receipt of the HUD notification. (If the 
due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday, your 
correction must be received by HUD on the next day that is not a 
Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday.) If the deficiency is not 
corrected within this time period, HUD will reject the application as 
incomplete and it will not be considered for funding. An applicant's 
response to a HUD notification of a curable deficiency should be 
submitted directly to HUD in accordance with the instructions provided 
in the notification.

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

    HUD will make announcements of awards after the application review 
process is completed. HUD will notify

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successful applicants via letter using the U.S. Postal Service. Funds 
will be disbursed in conjunction with the Operating Fund final 
allocation process. Unsuccessful applicants will also be notified via 
letters. All decisions are final. No appeals will be granted.

B. Debriefings

    Applicants that are not funded may request a debriefing. Applicants 
requesting to be debriefed must send a written request to: Iredia 
Hutchinson, Director, Grants Management Center, 501 School Street, SW., 
Suite 800, Washington, DC 20024. Please refer to the General Section 
(70 FR 13575) for additional information on debriefings.

C. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

    1. Applicable Requirements. Grantees are subject to the following 
regulations and requirements:
    a. 24 CFR part 85 Administrative Requirements for Grants and 
Cooperative Agreements to State, Local, and Federally Recognized Indian 
Tribal Governments;
    b. 24 CFR part 990 The Public Housing Operating Fund Program;
    c. 24 CFR part 968 Public Housing Modernization except that Section 
III.C.(5) of this NOFA governs environmental requirements under this 
NOFA;
    d. OMB Circular A-87 Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian 
Tribal Governments;
    e. OMB Circular A-122 Cost Principles for Nonprofit Organizations; 
and
    f. OMB Circular A-133 Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-
Profit Organizations.
    2. Economic Opportunities for Low- and Very Low-Income Persons 
(Section 3). Applicants and grantees must also comply with Section 3 of 
the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701u) and 
ensure that training, employment, and other economic opportunities 
shall, to the greatest extent feasible, be directed toward low and very 
low-income persons, particularly those who are recipients of government 
assistance for housing and to business concerns that provide economic 
opportunities to low- and very low-income persons.
    3. Executive Order 13202, Preservation of Open Competition and 
Government Neutrality Towards Government Contractors' Labor Relations 
on Federal and Federally Funded Construction Projects. For further 
information, see the General Section of the SuperNOFA.
    4. Fair Housing and Civil Rights Laws. Applicants and their 
subrecipients must comply with all Fair Housing and Civil Rights laws, 
statutes, regulations, and Executive Orders as enumerated in 24 CFR 
5.105(a), as applicable. Please see the General Section of the 
SuperNOFA for more information.
    5. Procurement of Recovered Materials. For further information, see 
the General Section of the SuperNOFA.

D. Reporting

    There are no reporting requirements for use of these Graduation 
Incentive Bonus funds.

VII. Agency Contact(s)

    For questions and technical assistance, applicants may call the 
Public and Indian Housing Information and Resource Center at 800-955-
2232. For the hearing or speech impaired, please call the Federal Relay 
Service at 800-877-8339. (These are toll-free numbers.)

VIII. Other Information

A. Transfer of Funds

    HUD does not have the discretion to transfer funds for the 
Graduation Incentive program to or from any other program.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The information collection requirements contained in this document 
have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520) and assigned 
OMB control number 2577-0242. In accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act, HUD may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, a collection of information unless the 
collection displays a currently valid OMB control number. Public 
reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to 
average 75 hours per annum per respondent for the application and grant 
administration. This includes the time for collecting, reviewing, and 
reporting the data for the application.

    Dated: May 26, 2005.
Paula O. Blunt,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
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[FR Doc. 05-10959 Filed 6-1-05; 8:45 am]
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