[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13413-13415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05764]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5853-N-01]


Notice of Intent To Conduct a Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) 
and Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) Project 
Demonstration

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and 
Development, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Conduct a VAWA/HOPWA Project Demonstration.

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SUMMARY: Through this notice, HUD solicits comment on a proposed 
demonstration through which HUD will award grant funds to successful 
applicants to provide transitional and other temporary housing 
assistance and supportive services to low-income persons living with 
Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/
AIDS) who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual 
assault, or stalking. Grantees of the VAWA/HOPWA Project Demonstration 
will be required to partner with local domestic violence and sexual 
assault service providers for client outreach and

[[Page 13414]]

engagement and for comprehensive supportive services to ensure client 
success in the program. The VAWA/HOPWA Project Demonstration will 
explore the effectiveness of coordinating the expertise and resources 
of HIV/AIDS housing providers with domestic violence and sexual assault 
service providers in addressing the needs of this vulnerable 
population.

DATES: Comments Due Date: April 13, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments responsive 
to this notice to the Office of General Counsel, Regulations Division, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room 
10276, Washington, DC 20410-0001. All submissions should refer to the 
above docket number and title. Submission of public comments may be 
carried out by hard copy or electronic submission.
    Submission of Hard Copy Comments. Comments may be submitted by mail 
or hand delivery. Each commenter submitting hard copy comments, by mail 
or hand delivery, should submit comments to the address above, 
addressed to the attention of the Regulations Division. Due to security 
measures at all federal agencies, submission of comments by mail often 
results in delayed delivery. To ensure timely receipt of comments, HUD 
recommends that any comments submitted by mail be submitted at least 2 
weeks in advance of the public comment deadline. All hard copy comments 
received by mail or hand delivery are a part of the public record and 
will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change.
    Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit 
comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to 
submit comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments 
allows the commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a comment, 
ensures timely receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make comments 
immediately available to the public. Comments submitted electronically 
through the http://www.regulations.gov Web site can be viewed by other 
commenters and interested members of the public. Commenters should 
follow instructions provided on that site to submit comments 
electronically.
    No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable.
    Public Inspection of Comments. All comments submitted to HUD 
regarding this notice will be available, without charge, for public 
inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Eastern Time, 
weekdays at the above address. Due to security measures at the HUD 
Headquarters building, an advance appointment to review the public 
comments must be scheduled by calling the Regulations Division at 202-
708-3055 (this is not a toll-free number). Individuals with speech or 
hearing impairments may access this number through TTY by calling the 
Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339 (this is a toll-free number). 
Copies of all comments submitted are available for inspection and 
downloading at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Palilonis, Office of HIV/AIDS 
Housing, Office of Community Planning and Development, U.S. Department 
of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW., Room 7212, 
Washington, DC 20410-7000, telephone number 202-402-5916 (this is not a 
toll-free number). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may 
access this number through TTY by calling the Federal Relay Service at 
800-877-8339 (this is a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On March 30, 2012, President Obama issued a Memorandum that 
established a Federal Interagency Working Group (Working Group) to 
explore the intersection of HIV/AIDS, violence against women and girls, 
and gender-related health disparities. The Working Group prioritized 
addressing intimate partner violence (IPV) because of its high overall 
prevalence among women and girls, especially among women living with 
HIV. Studies indicate that over half (55 percent) of U.S. women living 
with HIV have experienced IPV, considerably higher than the national 
prevalence among women overall (36 percent). Among women living with 
HIV/AIDS, trauma, abuse and violence are associated with less use of 
antiretroviral medication, decreased medication adherence, and 
increased risk of death.
    While multiple factors contribute to violence and HIV risk among 
women and girls, the Working Group highlighted the lack of stable, 
affordable housing as particularly crucial. Women living with HIV/AIDS 
and experiencing violence are often dependent on an abusive partner for 
resources, including housing. These barriers often prevent women from 
attaining the economic independence needed to escape their abusers. 
Studies show that women who experience IPV are four times more likely 
to report housing instability than women without histories of abuse by 
an intimate partner.\1\
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    \1\ ``Addressing the Intersection of HIV/AIDS, Violence against 
Women and Girls and Gender-Related Health Disparities: Interagency 
Federal Working Group Report'' (Sept. 6, 2013), available at: http:/
/www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/vaw-
hiv_working_group_report_final_-_9-6_2013.pdf.
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    The Working Group recommended enhancing Federal efforts to address 
HIV and IPV among homeless and marginally housed women and girls. In 
response to this recommendation, the U.S. Department of Justice's 
Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and U.S. Department of Housing 
and Urban Development's Office of HIV/AIDS Housing (OHH) collaborated 
to identify available resources to competitively award grant funding 
aimed at addressing the housing and supportive service needs of low-
income persons living with HIV/AIDS who are victims of domestic 
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Although the 
Working Group focused on women and girls, the VAWA/HOPWA Project 
Demonstration will cover all victims regardless of sex, gender 
identity, sexual orientation, familial status, marital status, race, 
color, religion, national origin, disability, or age.
    OVW identified $1,490,000 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 funding from the 
Transitional Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Domestic 
Violence, Dating Violence, Stalking or Sexual Assault Program 
(hereinafter ``Transitional Housing Assistance Program''). To support 
this demonstration, OVW and OHH executed an Interagency Agreement 
assigning HUD to administer the Transitional Housing Assistance Program 
grant funds. OHH will also identify HOPWA competitive funding, to the 
extent available, that can be used to fund Special Projects of National 
Significance pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 12903(c)(3).

II. Proposed Demonstration

    Under the VAWA/HOPWA Project Demonstration, HUD will use the 
Transitional Housing Assistance Program and HOPWA competitive funds to 
award grants to eligible applicants. Eligible applicants are those 
applicants that are eligible to apply for grants for Special Projects 
of National Significance under the HOPWA program (that is, States, 
units of general local government, and nonprofit organizations). 
Grantees will be required to use the grant funds received under the 
VAWA/HOPWA Project Demonstration to provide transitional

[[Page 13415]]

housing and/or temporary housing assistance (excluding emergency 
shelters), and supportive services to low-income persons living with 
HIV/AIDS who are also victims of domestic violence, dating violence, 
sexual assault, or stalking, including any minors and dependents living 
with such persons.
    Each successful applicant under this demonstration program will 
receive two separate grants from HUD: (1) A HOPWA grant, and (2) a 
Transitional Housing Assistance Program grant. Grantees must ensure 
that the grant funds are used to fund transitional housing or other 
temporary housing assistance, and supportive services for all program 
clients. The HOPWA grant amounts will be used to fund transitional and 
other temporary housing assistance for program clients, coordination 
and planning activities, and grant management and administration. The 
Transitional Housing Assistance Program grant amounts will be used to 
provide supportive services to clients.
    HUD will publish a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) in FY 2015 
that will explain requirements for the VAWA/HOPWA Project 
Demonstration, detail project selection criteria and solicit 
applications. HUD expects to make awards to 7 to 9 applicants depending 
on the amount of total funding that will be available for the 
demonstration. Funds will be awarded on a one-time-only, non-renewable 
basis for a 3-year operating period. Generally, a program client may be 
assisted under this demonstration for not more than 24 months. This 
period may be extended up to an additional six months with respect to a 
client that has made a good-faith effort to acquire permanent housing 
and has been unable to do so. Grantees must transition assisted 
households to permanent housing, or other housing assistance, by the 
end of the operating period. Grantees will be required to partner with 
local domestic violence and sexual assault service providers for client 
outreach and engagement and for comprehensive supportive services to 
ensure client success in the program.
    Grantees must ensure that HOPWA funds will be used to carry out 
eligible activities under the HOPWA program. All HOPWA funds must be 
spent in accordance with the authorizing HOPWA statute (42 U.S.C. 12901 
et seq.), program regulations at 24 CFR part 574, and all NOFA 
requirements. Grantees must also ensure that Transitional Housing 
Assistance Program funds will be spent in accordance with the 
authorizing statute of the Transitional Housing Assistance Program (42 
U.S.C. 13975) and all NOFA requirements. Projects must comply with all 
applicable federal, state, and local fair housing and civil rights 
laws, including, but not limited to, the Fair Housing Act, Title VI of 
the Civil Rights Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the 
Americans with Disabilities Act.

III. Evaluating the Demonstration

    OHH and OVW intend to build on the outcomes of the VAWA/HOPWA 
Project Demonstration, and potentially use it as a model for future 
interagency collaboration. Grantees will be expected to participate in 
any technical assistance efforts designed to identify and share best 
practices from the demonstration with the broader HIV/AIDS housing and 
domestic violence and sexual assault service provider networks. In 
addition, grantees will be required to measure and report on outcomes 
related to housing stability and health outcomes for VAWA/HOPWA Project 
Demonstration clients.
    Grantees will also be required to comply with all reporting 
requirements under both HOPWA and the Transitional Housing Assistance 
Program. This will include the submission of a HOPWA Annual Performance 
Report (APR) and an annual report that will describe the number of 
minors, adults, and dependents assisted with a Transitional Housing 
Assistance Grant and the number of months of assistance that each 
received. OHH and OVW will use this information to evaluate the program 
and make policy recommendations in the future.

IV. Solicitation of Public Comment

    In accordance with section 470 of the Housing and Urban-Rural 
Recovery Act of 1983 (42 U.S.C. 3542), HUD is seeking comment on the 
demonstration for a period of 30 days. Section 470 provides that HUD 
may not begin a demonstration program not explicitly authorized by 
statute until a description of the demonstration program is published 
in the Federal Register and a 60-day period expires following the date 
of publication, during which time HUD solicits public comment and 
considers the comments submitted. A public comment period of 30 days is 
being provided so that HUD may receive public comments and have the 
opportunity to consider those comments during the 60-day period. After 
the close of the public comment period, and following full 
consideration of comments submitted, HUD will publish the NOFA that 
will detail project selection criteria and solicit applications for 
funding under the VAWA/HOPWA Project Demonstration.

    Dated: March 6, 2015.
Clifford Taffet,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.
[FR Doc. 2015-05764 Filed 3-12-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P