FEDERAL AGENCY:

OFFICE OF FAIR HOUSING AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

AUTHORIZATION:

Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3600 et seq.

OBJECTIVES:

To provide assistance to State and local fair housing enforcement agencies to support complaint processing, training, technical assistance, education and outreach, data and information systems and other activities that will further fair housing within the agency's jurisdiction. The intent of the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) is to build an intergovernmental enforcement effort to further fair housing and to assist State and local fair housing enforcement agencies to assume a greater share of the responsibility for administering fair housing laws.

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:

Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition

USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:

State and local fair housing enforcement agencies in the first three years of participation in the FHAP receive a fixed amount of capacity building funding. Agencies that are in their fourth year and beyond of participation in the FHAP are eligible to receive contributions funding which provides funds for complaint processing, administrative costs, training costs, and special enforcement effort.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:   State and local fair housing enforcement agencies administering State and local fair housing laws and ordinances which have been certified by HUD as providing substantially equivalent rights and remedies as those provided by the Fair Housing Act and which have executed formal written Agreements with HUD to process housing discrimination complaints.

Beneficiary Eligibility:   Any person or group of persons aggrieved by a discriminatory housing practice because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.

Credentials/Documentation:   Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-87 for State and local governments.

Pre-application Coordination:   This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure:   Not applicable.

Award Procedure:   Not applicable.

Deadlines:   Not applicable.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:   Not applicable.

Appeals:   Not applicable.

Renewals:   None.

ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:   This program has no statutory formula.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:   Cooperative agreements are executed for one year, they are non-competitive, and provide funding for complaint processing, administrative costs, special enforcement efforts, training, and capacity building. For detailed program information under each funding component, contact the Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Hub or Headquarters Office. Fixed price cooperative agreements are anticipated to be awarded with payments to be made in accordance with a schedule of dates set out in the cooperative agreements.

POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:   On-site review and evaluation and regular monitoring of agency complaint handling performance to assure HUD's substantial equivalency standards are met. Payment is in accordance with payment schedules established in the agency's cooperative agreements.

Audits:   In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133, (Revised, June 24, 1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for the year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.

Records:   State and local agencies are required to maintain housing complaint files for a period of one year after closure.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

Account Identification:   86-0144-0-1-751.

Obligations:   (Grants) FY 01 21,592,000; FY 02 est $25,649,500; and FY 03 est $25,649,000. (NOTE: Amounts reported reflect allocation of new budget authority rather than obligation amounts.)

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:  
Funding is provided for capacity building, complaint processing, training, and administrative costs. Funding may also be available for partnership efforts and special enforcement efforts.

Substantial increase in receipt and referral of housing discrimination complaints to State and local agencies. Since the passage of the strengthened Fair Housing Act in 1989, approximately 95 jurisdictions have amended their fair housing laws to make them substantially equivalent to the Act. In 2001, 95 jurisdictions received financial assistance under this program.

REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:

Certification and Funding of State and Local Fair Housing Enforcement Agencies, 24 CFR Part 115.

INFORMATION CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:   See Regional Agency Offices.

Headquarters Office:   Joseph Pelletier 451 7th Street, S.W., Washington, District of Columbia 20410 Email: Joseph.A.Pelletier@hud.gov Phone: 202-402-2126

Web Site Address:  
http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/partners/FHAP/index.cfm

EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:

Not applicable.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS:

Funding for capacity building will be based on a written statement of work within established limitations.