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

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 18 (Thursday, January 28, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4496-4503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1985]



[[Page 4495]]

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Part II





Department of Housing and Urban Development





_______________________________________________________________________



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

Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 18 / Thursday, January 28, 1999 / 
Notices

[[Page 4496]]



DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4448-N-01]


Notice of Funding Availability for the Welfare-to-Work Section 8 
Tenant-Based Assistance Program 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: The purpose of the Section 8 Welfare-to-
Work Rental Voucher program is to provide tenant-based rental 
assistance that will help eligible families make the transition from 
welfare to work.
    Available Funds: Approximately $248.2 million.
    Eligible Applicants: Housing agencies (HAs), Indian tribes, and 
tribally designated housing entities (TDHEs). Two or more HAs or Indian 
tribes and TDHEs may apply jointly.
    Application Deadline: The application deadline for Section 8 
Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers under this NOFA is April 28, 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 program, 
please review carefully the following information:

I. Application Due Date, Application Kits, and Technical Assistance

    Application Due Date: April 28, 1999.
    Address for Submitting Applications: The application and two copies 
must be submitted to the HA's local HUD Field Office HUB (Attention: 
HUB, Director of Public Housing) or local HUD Field Office Program 
Center (Attention: Program Center Coordinator) or for Indian tribes and 
their tribally designated housing entities, to the local Office of 
Native American Programs, (Attention: Administrator, Office of Native 
American Programs). Throughout this NOFA, the Field Office HUBs and 
Program Centers and the local Offices of Native American Programs will 
be referred to as the local HUD Field offices. Applicants should not 
submit 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

    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 
or the Office of Native American Program Administrator in your local 
HUD Office. Hearing-or speech-impaired individuals may call HUD's TTY 
number (202) 708-0770 or 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. Following selection, but prior to 
award, HUD staff will be available to assist in clarifying or 
confirming information that is a prerequisite to the offer of an award 
by HUD.

II. Amount Allocated

    Of the $283 million appropriated in Fiscal Year (FY) 1999 to fund 
Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers, approximately $248.2 million 
is made available to housing agencies through the national competition 
under this NOFA.
    Of the remainder, at least $4 million each shall be made available 
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 (99 App. Act). HUD will contact these set-aside sites to advise 
them of specific application submission requirements and deadlines. 
Each HA for a set-aside site must submit to HUD any application 
materials requested by HUD. Funding will not be made available to a 
set-aside site until the site has submitted all HUD-required materials 
and obtained HUD approval of the submission.
    In accordance with the 99 App. Act, $2.83 million of the $283 
million available for Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers may be 
used by HUD

[[Page 4497]]

to conduct a detailed evaluation of the effect of providing Section 8 
Welfare-to-Work Rental Voucher assistance, rather than be awarded under 
this NOFA.

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, 
tribe, or TDHE 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.
    The maximum number of Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental Vouchers 
that can be provided under this NOFA to an HA, tribe or TDHE is as 
follows: For an HA that is a State agency, (i.e., an agency with state-
wide jurisdiction)--the lesser of 2,000 or one-half of the total 
budgeted Section 8 rental certificates and vouchers in the HA's Section 
8 program for the HA's current Fiscal Year. If more than one HA applies 
as a State agency from the same State, only the highest-ranking one 
will be eligible for an award. For all other HAs, that are not set-
aside sites identified in section II. of this NOFA, above--the lesser 
of 700 or one-half of the total budgeted Section 8 rental certificates 
and vouchers in the HA's Section 8 program for the HA's current Fiscal 
Year, or for tribes or TDHEs, the number of rental certificates and 
vouchers the entity was administering as of September 30, 1997. If you 
are a set-aside site that would receive fewer units than would be 
available to you under the above formula, and you wish to apply for the 
maximum number of units under the formula, you must apply under the 
national competition in this NOFA. The number of units available to you 
under the set-aside plus any units requested under this NOFA may not 
exceed the maximum that would be available to you under this NOFA.
    An HA seeking welfare-to-work housing 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, including Indian tribes and their tribally designated housing 
entities, may apply. All applicant HAs, tribes and TDHEs must develop a 
program in consultation with the State, local or Tribal 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 for a Section 8 
Welfare-to-Work rental voucher program. 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 Voucher Program. 
These specific requirements are stated in section IV.(A) of this NOFA.

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. For Indian tribes and 
TDHEs only, to be eligible for this program, families must be on either 
the rental or homeownership waiting list of that entity.

(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 setaside in the 99 App. Act. 
In order to participate as a special evaluation site, you and your 
partners must:

[[Page 4498]]

    (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.
    If HUD does not receive sufficient voluntary applications to 
participate as evaluation sites for this Congressionally mandated 
study, HUD may require one or more sites receiving at least 450 units 
to cooperate with an evaluation based on random assignment as a 
condition of funding. If you submit an application for 450 or more 
units, your consent to cooperate with a random-assignment evaluation 
may be assumed by HUD, even if you do not explicitly volunteer.

(C) TANF and Welfare-to-Work Support

    Your application must include certifications from the State, local 
or Tribal 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 
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. HUD may reject an application from 
further funding consideration if the activities or projects proposed in 
the application are not eligible activities and projects, or HUD may 
eliminate the ineligible activities from funding consideration and 
reduce the grant amount accordingly.

(G) Threshold Requirements--Compliance with Fair Housing and Civil 
Rights Laws

    With the exception of Federally recognized Indian tribes, 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 you are a Federally recognized Indian tribe, you must 
comply with the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, section 504 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Indian Civil Rights Act. If you, 
the applicant,--
    (1) Have been charged with a violation of the Fair Housing Act by 
the Secretary;
    (2) Are a defendant in a Fair Housing Act lawsuit filed by the 
Department of Justice; or
    (3) Have received a letter of noncompliance findings under Title VI 
of the Civil Rights Act, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, or 
section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act--
    You are not eligible to apply for funding under this NOFA until you 
have resolved the charge, lawsuit, or letter of findings to the 
satisfaction of the Department.

(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.

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(J) Forms, Certifications and Assurances

    You, the applicant, are required to submit signed copies of the 
standard forms, certifications, and assurances, included in the HUD 
Section 8 application, form HUD-52515 (see section VI.(A), below, of 
this NOFA) 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) Conflicts of Interest

    If you are a consultant or expert who is assisting HUD in rating 
and ranking applicants for funding under this NOFA, you are subject to 
18 U.S.C. 208, the Federal criminal conflict of interest statute, and 
the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch 
regulation published at 5 CFR part 2635. As a result, if you have 
assisted or plan to assist applicants with preparing applications for 
this NOFA, you may not serve on a selection panel and you may not serve 
as a technical advisor to HUD for this NOFA. All individuals involved 
in rating and ranking this NOFA, including experts and consultants, 
must avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts. 
Individuals involved in the rating and ranking of applications must 
disclose to HUD's General Counsel or HUD's Ethic Law Division the 
following information if applicable: the selection or non-selection of 
any applicant under this NOFA will affect the individual's financial 
interests, as provided in 18 U.S.C. 208; or the application process 
involves a party with whom the individual has a covered relationship 
under 5 CFR 2635.502. The individual must disclose this information 
prior to participating in any matter regarding this NOFA. If you have 
questions regarding these provisions or if you have questions 
concerning a conflict of interest, you may call the Office of General 
Counsel, Ethics Law Division, at 202-708-3815 and ask to speak to one 
of HUD's attorneys in this division.

(L) 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.

(M) 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, this section of the NOFA provides the notice of 
implementation of section 551 of QHWRA as permitted by section 503 of 
QHWRA.

V. Application Selection Process

(A) Overview of Process

    Selections of applicants will be made on the basis of a national 
competition according to the criteria described in section V.(C), 
below, of this NOFA. Local HUD field offices will initially review 
applications to ensure that your applications are complete and on time 
and that you meet the threshold requirements found in section V.(B), 
below, of this NOFA. Based on your past experience and field office 
knowledge of your capacity to perform, the field office must also 
determine if the number of units you request can reasonably be placed 
under lease within 12 months. If the field office determines that you 
cannot enroll the number of Section 8 Welfare-to-Work families 
projected and place under lease the number of units requested, the 
field office will determine the number of units that can be expected to 
be placed under lease within 12 months.
    All eligible applications will then be forwarded to the Grants 
Management Center with the field office recommendation of the maximum 
number of units that should be considered for approval for each 
application based on its analysis of capacity. Applications will be 
rated and ranked by the Grants Management Center based on the criteria 
listed below in section V.(C). An application must meet all of the 
threshold requirements of this NOFA and receive a score of at least 55 
points to qualify for funding. In this national competition, HUD will 
fund applications from at least the two highest rated and ranked Indian 
tribes or their tribally designated housing entities that qualify for 
funding. All other awards will be made in rank order to qualifying 
applications.

(B) Threshold Requirements

    (1) The application is received on time.
    (2) The application is complete and all required certifications, 
including those described in section IV.(K), above, of this NOFA.
    (3) Any technical deficiencies have been corrected by the end of 
the 14-day correction period.
    (4) You meet the requirements of section IV.(G) of this NOFA, 
Compliance With Fair Housing and Civil Rights Laws.
    (5) The application designates a subcontractor in accordance with 
section IV.(E), above, of this NOFA, if necessary under that section.
    (6) Your leasing rate for your Section 8 rental certificate and 
rental voucher programs is at least 90 percent of the units in your 
HUD-approved budget for the last completed HA fiscal year prior to this 
application funding.

(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

[[Page 4500]]

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, tribal 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, tribal 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:
    (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

[[Page 4501]]

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, 
tribal, 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, tribal, 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; or the community's Indian Housing Plan 
process; 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 
and/or Indian tribe 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 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; or 
the community's Indian Housing Plan process; 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, 
tribal, local or private sources, including the appropriate local 
transportation entity (i.e., transit properties, metropolitan planning 
organizations, State and/or Indian tribe 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

[[Page 4502]]

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)(2) through (5), 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 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 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, however, to clarify an item in your application or to correct 
technical deficiencies. You should note, however, that HUD may not seek 
clarification of items or responses that improve the substantive 
quality of your response to any eligibility or selection factors. 
Examples of curable (correctable) technical deficiencies include your 
failure to submit the proper certifications or your failure to submit 
an application that contains an original signature by an authorized 
official. In each case, HUD will notify you in writing by describing 
the clarification or technical deficiency. HUD will notify applicants 
by facsimile or by return receipt requested. Applicants must submit 
clarifications or corrections of technical deficiencies in accordance 
with the information provided by HUD within 14 calendar days of the 
date of receipt of the HUD notification. If your deficiency is not 
corrected within this time period, HUD will reject your application as 
incomplete, and it will not be considered for funding.

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. Tribes and tribally designated housing entities (THDEs) 
established by an Indian tribe as a result of the exercise of the 
tribe's sovereign power are excluded from coverage of the Byrd 
Amendment, but tribes and TDHEs established under State law are not 
excluded from the statute's coverage.

(E) Section 102 of the HUD Reform Act; Documentation and Public Access 
Requirements

    Section 102 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 3545) (HUD Reform Act) and the 
regulations codified in 24 CFR part 4, subpart A, contain a number of 
provisions that are designed to ensure greater accountability and 
integrity in the provision of certain types of assistance administered 
by HUD. On January 14, 1992 (57 FR 1942), HUD published a notice that 
also provides information on the implementation of section 102. The 
documentation, public access, and disclosure requirements of section 
102 apply to assistance awarded under this NOFA as follows:

[[Page 4503]]

    (1) Documentation and public access requirements. HUD will ensure 
that documentation and other information regarding each application 
submitted pursuant to this NOFA are sufficient to indicate the basis 
upon which assistance was provided or denied. This material, including 
any letters of support, will be made available for public inspection 
for a 5-year period beginning not less than 30 days after the award of 
the assistance. Material will be made available in accordance with the 
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and HUD's implementing 
regulations in 24 CFR part 15.
    (2) Disclosures. HUD will make available to the public for 5 years 
all applicant disclosure reports (HUD Form 2880) submitted in 
connection with this NOFA. Update reports (also Form 2880) will be made 
available along with the applicant disclosure reports, but in no case 
for a period less than 3 years. All reports--both applicant disclosures 
and updates--will be made available in accordance with the Freedom of 
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and HUD's implementing regulations at 24 
CFR part 5.
    (3) 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:
    (i) Assistance subject to section 102(a) of the HUD Reform Act; or
    (ii) 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) Section 103 HUD Reform Act

    HUD's regulations implementing section 103 of the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 3537a), 
codified in 24 CFR part 4, apply to this funding competition. The 
regulations continue to apply until the announcement of the selection 
of successful applicants. HUD employees involved in the review of 
applications and in the making of funding decisions are limited by the 
regulations from providing advance information to any person (other 
than an authorized employee of HUD) concerning funding decisions, or 
from otherwise giving any applicant an unfair competitive advantage. 
Persons who apply for assistance in this competition should confine 
their inquiries to the subject areas permitted under 24 CFR part 4.
    Applicants or employees who have ethics related questions should 
contact the HUD Ethics Law Division at (202) 708-3815. (This is not a 
toll-free number.) For HUD employees who have specific program 
questions, the employee should contact the appropriate field office 
counsel, or Headquarters counsel for the program to which the question 
pertains.

(G) 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.

    Dated: January 25, 1999.
Harold Lucas,
Assistant, Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 99-1985 Filed 1-25-99; 2:46 pm]
BILLING CODE 4210-33-P