FEDERAL AGENCY:

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

AUTHORIZATION:

AIDS Housing Opportunity Act, Public Law 101-624.

OBJECTIVES:

To provide States and localities with the resources and incentives to devise long-term comprehensive strategies for meeting the housing needs of persons with AIDS or related diseases and their families.

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:

Formula Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition

Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition

USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:

Grantees and project sponsors may use HOPWA funds to provide for any of the following eligible activities, subject to certain standards and limitations provided in the regulations: (l) Housing information services including, but not limited to, counseling, information, and referral services to assist eligible individuals to locate, acquire, finance and maintain housing; (2) Resource identification to establish, coordinate and develop housing assistance resources; (3) Acquisition, rehabilitation, conversion, lease, and repair of facilities to provide housing and services; (4) New construction (for single room occupancy (SRO) dwellings and community residences only); (5) Project- or tenant-based rental assistance including assistance for shared housing arrangements; (6) Short-term rent, mortgage, and utility payments to prevent the homelessness of the tenant or mortgagor of a dwelling; (7) Supportive services including, but not limited to, health, mental health, assessment, permanent housing placement, drug and alcohol abuse treatment and counseling, day care, nutritional services, intensive care when required, and assistance in gaining access to local, State, and Federal government benefits and services except that health services may not be provided to family members (*); (8) Operating costs for housing including maintenance, security, operation, insurance, utilities, furnishings, equipment, supplies, and other incidental costs; (9) Technical assistance in establishing and operating a community residence, including planning and other pre-development or pre-construction expenses and including, but not limited to, costs relating to community outreach and educational activities regarding AIDS or related diseases; (10) Administrative expenses: 3 percent for grantees and 7 percent for project sponsors, including costs of staff necessary to carry out eligible activities; and (11) For competitive grants only any other activity proposed by the applicant and approved by HUD. Restrictions: Appropriate supportive services must be provided as part of any HOPWA assisted housing and may be provided independently of any housing assistance. General standards for housing activities are established, including minimum use periods for structures (10 years for new construction, substantial rehabilitation or acquisition and 3 years for other non-substantial rehabilitation or repair). Resident rent payments are required for rental assistance and for residing in rental housing. Additional standards for rental assistance, short-term supported housing, and community residences are provided. Under the fiscal year 2002 appropriation, $2 million of program funds will be available through a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) for HOPWA technical assistance. (*)Per the HOPWA regulations, health services may only be provided to an individual with HIV/AIDS (not family members) and payments for health-care costs are limited by 574.310(b) to items and services that are not made or reasonably expected to be made under compensation programs, insurance policy, or health benefits programs. HUD issued guidance on the restricted use of HOPWA funds for AIDS Drug Assistance and other Health-care Costs.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:   (1) Entitlement grants will be awarded by formula to States and qualifying cities for eligible metropolitan statistical areas (EMSAs) with the largest number of cases of AIDS. The most populous city will serve as the applicant/grantee for the EMSAs award; and (2) competitively awarded grants will be awarded to: (a) States, local governments and nonprofit organizations for special projects of national significance; and (b) projects submitted by States and localities in areas that do not qualify for HOPWA formula allocations. Nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply for projects of national significance, but may also serve as a project sponsor for other types of grants.

Beneficiary Eligibility:   Eligible beneficiaries are low income persons with HIV or AIDS and their families (* except as noted for health services). Regardless of income, persons with AIDS may receive housing information. Persons living near community residences may receive educational information.

Credentials/Documentation:   Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments and No. A-110 and A-122 section report to private nonprofit organizations. Governmental entities will certify to their eligibility.

Pre-application Coordination:   An environmental assessment is required for this program. Any activity provided in an application that HUD determines would have a significant adverse impact on the human environment would not be eligible for funding. All components of this program are excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure:   Government recipients must have submitted a Consolidated Plan, an annual action plan and certifications to HUD. The Consolidated Plan and annual action plan cover four major formula- distribution HUD community development programs, including HOPWA. The annual action plan must describe how funds will be used. Ten percent of HOPWA funds and the technical assistance funds are awarded on a competitive basis through a national competition, under the SuperNOFA, a Notice of Fund Availability . Application packages prescribing the specific information that applicants must submit will be available from HUD when the SuperNOFA is published in the Federal Register. The fiscal year 2002 appropriation act authorizes the Secretary to renew all expiring contracts for permanent supportive housing that were funded under section 854(c)(3) of AIDS Housing Act that meet all program requirements before awarding funds for new contracts and activities authorized under this section: Provided further, That the Secretary may use up to $2,000,000 of the funds under this heading for training, oversight, and technical assistance activities.

Award Procedure:   HUD reviews Consolidated Plan submissions and competitive applications under the SuperNOFA. HUD prepares a Grant Agreement for formula applicants and for those applications selected on a competitive basis.

Deadlines:   A Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for competitive grants announces deadlines for applications. For formula grants, action plans associated with the Consolidated Plan must be submitted based on the grantee's operating year, but no earlier than December 1 or no later than August 16 of the fiscal year for which funds are allocated.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:   Processing of Consolidated Plan submissions will take place in HUD Field Offices and selection of successful competitive applicants will take place in HUD Headquarters with post-selection technical submissions (if any) processed in HUD Field Offices. HUD will make its final selections and obligate funds as soon as the applications are processed.

Appeals:   None.

Renewals:   Not applicable.

ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:   The formula for entitlement grants is found at 24 CFR 574.130. Ninety percent of appropriated amounts are to be distributed by formula entitlement. Seventy-five percent of this 90 percent is distributed to qualifying cities for eligible metropolitan statistical areas (EMSA) and eligible States for areas outside of EMSAs, based on each metropolitan area's or State's proportionate share of the cumulative number of AIDS cases in all eligible metropolitan areas and eligible States. The remaining twenty- five percent is allocated among the qualifying cities in eligible metropolitan statistical areas, but not States, where the per capita incidence of AIDS for the year (April 1 to March 31) preceding the fiscal year of the appropriation is higher than the average for all metropolitan areas with more than 500,000 population. The EMSA's allocation is based on its proportionate share of the incidence of AIDS cases. The high incidence factor is computed by multiplying: (1) the population of the metropolitan area; and (2) the difference between its twelve-month-per-capita-incidence rate and the rate for all metropolitan areas with more than 500,000 population. HUD will use data collected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Infectious Diseases, Division of HIV/AIDS, and population data provided by the U.S. Census. The CDC data utilized will be as reported as of March 31 of the fiscal year immediately preceding the fiscal year of the appropriation.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:   Funds should be expended in a timely manner or may be subject to deobligation after 3 years from the date of the signing of the grant agreement.

POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:   Annual progress reports for competitive grants and performance reports for formula programs under the Consolidated Plan will describe the use of the amounts received, including the number of persons assisted, the types of assistance provided, and any other information that HUD may require. Recipients jurisdiction file a Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) are required and are due to HUD 90 days following the completion of the grantee's operating year along with data elements to be provided in HUD's information technology system for Consolidated Plan programs (IDIS). Reports are filed and reviewed by the area CPD office. Standard HOPWA grant agreements provide that formula grantees agree and will ensure that project sponsors agree to comply with requirements for record keeping, annual performance reports (to be submitted to HUD within 90 days after the close of the jurisdiction's program year, 24 CFR 91.520) and information to be collected periodically in the Department's Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS). Grantees must use IDIS to provide complete annual information on the use of program and other funds. The periodic collection of information in IDIS should be made, at a minimum, within 90 days of any disbursement request, on the completion of an activity, and on the completion of the program year. The information to be collected should include information on grant activities, project sponsors, sites and units of housing, and beneficiaries (which must include racial and ethnic data on participants) that is to be used for program monitoring and evaluation purposes. If the State grantee has not yet converted to the use of IDIS, the grantee should report to HUD on information collected in the Annual Progress Report, Form HUD-40110-C (11/97). For grantees that convert to the use of IDIS during an operating year, the grantee may use this form to report on activities for the full year, or for that part of the year prior to their conversion in conjunction with their IDIS reports, or use IDIS to combine such information with information being collected in IDIS.

Audits:   The financial management systems used by governmental entities that are grantees or project sponsors of other grantees must provide for audits in accordance with 24 CFR 85. A nonprofit organization serving as a grantee or project sponsor for a grantee is subject to the audit requirements set forth in 24 CFR part 84.

Records:   Grantees will ensure that records are maintained for a seven-year period to document compliance with the program. Grantees must maintain current and accurate data on the race and ethnicity of program participants.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

Account Identification:   86-0308-0-1-604.

Obligations:   (Grants) FY 01 $257,432,000; FY 02 est $277,432,000; FY 03 est $292,000,000. (NOTE: Amounts reported reflect allocation of new budget authority rather than obligation amounts.)

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:  
HOPWA formula grant awards: In FY2015, the 139 HOPWA formula grantees received an estimated average award amount of $2,410,071.

Fiscal Year 2015: In 2015, 49,063 households received housing assistance and 108,034 received supportive services. Fiscal Year 2016: It is estimated that 47,441 households will receive housing assistance and 101,390 will receive supportive services. Fiscal Year 2017: No Current Data Available

REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:

Final Rule at 24 CFR 574, as amended; and Consolidated Plan Final Rule at 24 CFR part 91.

INFORMATION CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:   None. Designated Community Planning and Development staff in HUD Headquarters and in local field offices as listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog.

Headquarters Office:   Rita Flegel 471 7th Street SW , Washington, District of Columbia 20410 Phone: 202-402-5374

Web Site Address:  
https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/hopwa/

EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:

Not Applicable.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:

For competitive grants, the Statute establishes rating criteria and further information will be published in a NOFA.