PART A - JUSTIFICATION
Information Collection: Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) Grant Application and Monitoring Reports.
A1. Circumstances Making Information Collection Necessary
The Fair Housing Initiatives Program Support Division in HUD Headquarters will use the information provided in FHIP grant applications to objectively evaluate applicants on how well they meet the selection factors set out in the NOFA. It also serves to monitor selected applicants or grantees to assess compliance and effectiveness.
The Fair Housing Act-Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 3601-19, charges the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development with responsibility to accept and investigate complaints alleging discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin in the sale, rental, or financing of most housing, and in other real estate-related transactions. The Act also requires the Secretary to coordinate with State and local agencies administering fair housing laws, and to cooperate with and render technical assistance to public or private entities carrying out programs to prevent and eliminate discriminatory housing practices.
Section 561 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 (1987 Act), 42 U.S.C. 3616, as amended, established the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) to strengthen the Department's enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and to further fair housing. The law, as amended, authorized funding for the Administrative Enforcement, Education and Outreach, Private Enforcement and Fair Housing Organizations Initiatives to eligible applicants. Eligible applicants include: State and local governments or their agencies, public and private non-profit organizations, faith-based organizations, or other public and private entities that are carrying out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices. Eligible organizations will conduct investigations of violations of the rights guaranteed by the Act and to carry out a range of enforcement and investigative activities to remedy violations, as appropriate; to build or to continue to build the capacity of current organizations in fair housing and/or to establish, organize and build the capacity of new fair housing enforcement organizations, particularly in those areas of the country which are currently underserved by fair housing enforcement organizations as well as those areas where large concentrations of protected classes exist; and, to provide education and outreach programs at the national, regional, local and community-based areas, to instruct the general public regarding their rights and responsibilities provided under the Act.
The Department is also required by the Act to prepare and submit to Congress, a comprehensive, report on a fiscal year basis, of the progress made in accomplishing program objectives to prevent and eliminate discriminatory housing, mortgage lending and other practices in the Nation covered by the Act. Additional reporting areas include a summary of all private enforcement initiative activities carried out, all programs funded as well as a summary of the use of funds under all program initiatives and any findings, conclusions, or recommendations as a result of the funded activities.
A2. How and By Whom the Data will be Used
The information is to assess the qualifications of applicants for funding under the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) to carry out fair housing enforcement and/or education and outreach activities under the following initiatives: Education and Outreach and the Private Enforcement Initiatives, or as further determined under the appropriate notices of funding availability. Information is also collected to monitor grants and grant funds.
Eligible applicants will submit electronic applications (unless waived in accordance with established NOFA procedures) to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Office of Programs, Fair Housing Initiatives Program Support Division in accordance with the Initiatives and requirements described in the Notice of Funds Availability. Application information is available from www.grants.gov. The NOFA will discuss the requirements and weighted factors for selection and solicit individual applications for each of the three specific Initiatives, in accordance with funding availability. Funding continues to be awarded on a competitive basis for each of the initiatives.
In FY 2007 those factors are 1) Capacity of the Applicant and Relevant Organizational Experience, 2) Need/Distress/Extent of the Problem, 3) Soundness of Approach, 4) Leveraging Resources, and 5) Achieving Results and Program Evaluation. Applicants will be rated and ranked on these factors, and selections made accordingly.
Modifications to existing application submission and or reporting requirements include: A change in the title of the Information Collection from Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) Grant Application to Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) Grant Application and Monitoring Reports. Other changes encompass changing the application process from a paper submission process to electronic submission via www.grants.gov. Inherent in this change is OMB approval of forms under the application process within the SuperNOFA process and covers reporting requirements for submission of Forms.
A3. The Extent of the Collection of Information Involving the Use of Automated, Electronic, or Other Forms of Information Technological
As indicated above, electronic forms were implemented for the 2005 fiscal year under the E-Grants initiatives and will be continued, and improved, in the future. The FHIP developed supplemental forms to capture enforcement activity outcomes.
A4. Efforts to Identify Duplication
There is no duplication of information. The Department must obtain information relating to proposals for addressing fair housing needs from applicants and progress made in carrying out projects, activities and tasks of funded proposals from grantees.
A5. Efforts to Minimize the Burden on Small Entities
The collection of information involves Qualified Fair Housing Organizations (QFHOs); Fair Housing Organizations (FHOs); public or private non-profit organizations or institutions and other public or private entities that are working to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices; State and local governments; and Fair Housing Assistance Program agencies. Typically, public and private non-profit fair housing organizations are small entities. Therefore, we have attempted to minimize the burden by limiting the information requested necessary for evaluating and certifying that FHIP funds will not be used to settle a claim, satisfy a judgment, or fulfill a court order in any defensive litigation. This collection of information continues: the same application process to reduce paperwork burdens by including a ten page limit on narrative responses for each of the 5 Selection Criteria (exclusive of minimal forms or documents required under each criteria); the same request that applicants not include resumes, brochures, news articles, or documents). The suggested formats for quarterly, semiannual and/or final reports and enforcement logs continues the reduction of the amount of narrative information, and the reduction of the duplication of previous submissions.
A6. Consequences of Less Frequent Data Collection
Without benefit of the information requested and certified from applicants, the Department would have no means for distinguishing proposals with a high probability for success in carrying out projects, activities and tasks to increase compliance with the Fair Housing Act and with substantially equivalent State and local fair housing laws from those which may prove to be troublesome. In addition, the Department could not ensure a fair competition for funding or certify that FHIP funds are used in accordance with statutes and regulation.
Without record-keeping, progress and financial reports, the Department would have no means to measure how successful individual organizations are in carrying out their projects and managing FHIP funds, and the performance of the program overall in delivering services to enforce fair housing law and provide education and outreach on fair housing rights and responsibilities.
A7. Circumstances Requiring Deviation from Guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.6
Applicants must submit their grant proposals to the Department via the Federal Government’s electronic portal. This is the third year for this requirement and does not require manual submission of an original and copies as previously required. Electronic submissions are protected but are accessible to each reader on the Technical Evaluation Panels (TEPs). TEPs are responsible for evaluating proposals under the various initiatives.
A8. Federal Register Publication
This information is collected in a manner consistent with guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.8(d). The agency notice announcing this collection of information appeared in the Federal Register on August 25, 2006 (Vol. 71, No 165. No comments were received.
A09. Incentive Payments and Gifts
This information collection does not involve any payment or gift to respondents.
A10. Arrangements and Assurances Regarding Confidentiality
Applicants are advised in the Notice of Funding Availability that their proposals are subject to disclosure under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and as such may be released in whole or in part, depending on the Department's determination of what information must be released. Applicants are permitted to indicate which portions of an application they believe should not be released and the basis for that belief, but the Department retains the right to make an independent evaluation as to releasing the requested information.
Al1. Sensitive Questions
This information collection does not contain requests for information of a sensitive nature.
Al2. Estimate of Record-keeping and Reporting Hour Burden on Respondents
The Department estimates that application development, logic model, quarterly report, enforcement
log, semi-annual and/or final report, are anticipated to have the following reporting burdens:
Number of Frequency of
Respondents Response Hours/Response Burden Hours
Application
Development 400 1 86.50 34,600
Quarterly Report 104 4 19 7,904
Semi-Annual Report 1 2 32 64
Enforcement Log 59 4 7 1,652
Final Report 102 1 20 2,040
Record-keeping 104 1 21 2,184
The number of respondents continues to be an estimate based upon the average of the number of submissions for NOFA years 2000 to current. The NOFA requirements upon applicant submission of multiple applications varies per individual NOFA and although the frequency of responses reflects 1, should an applicant submit more than 1 application per given funding round, when permitted, other requirements remain the same for each separate submission. However, the monitoring report frequency is what reflects more that 1 submission per each grant awarded and is indicated below. The number of hours is an average based on grantee estimates of time to review instructions, search existing data sources, prepare required responses to the application, complete the certification, and assemble exhibits.
Estimates for Logic Models, quarterly and semi-annual reports, enforcement logs, record-keeping and final reports are based on approximately one hundred four (104) applications, estimate based upon the average of the number of submissions for NOFA years 2000 to current and given that this number fluctuated from a low of 65 to a high of 149 applications. The 104 respondents are now required to report 4 times annually (or quarterly reports) on program performance and financial status, while 2 recipients under the FY 2007 funding round will also have semi-annual reporting.
Fifty-nine (59) of the 104 applicants are projected to be funded under the Private Enforcement Initiative under the FY 2007 funding round and require completion and submission of an enforcement log. The enforcement log (Forms HUD-904A (Types of Closures), B (Bases and Issues in Tests) and C (Bases and Issues of Reports of Discrimination) is used to collect complaint information, which provides data on the complainants’ and the respondents’ vital statistics, basis of discrimination, date of violation and outcomes if any. This data is used by the Fair Housing Initiative Program agencies to track the number of complaints and assist HUD in determining whether grantees are honoring the mandatory referral requirement as prescribed in the NOFA.
The Quarterly Reports are required of approximately 102 applicants while the Semi-annual report is required by approximately 2 applicants. The Quarterly and Semi-annual Reports provide the Department with grid reporting and narrative reporting of the status of program tasks and deliverables. The report process assists HUD in evaluating performance and providing early intervention to grantees if needed. The Final Report is a compilation of activities for the prescribed grant period and is required within 90 days of the close of grant activities for each grant. It provides HUD with a summary that includes objectives, accomplishments, and results; complaint and testing activities that summarizes the number of complaints filed by basis and issue, relief and/or complaint outcomes, and filing status.
Hours per response are averages based on grantee estimates of time to review instructions, search existing data sources, gather and maintain the data needed, and complete or respond to and review the collection of information. Actual time will vary because of differences in activity, size, or complexity of grant, and depending on whether grantee automates format. It is anticipated that an additional reduction will be forthcoming by the next information collection process to accommodate the modification/elimination of this form by continued use/modification of the form HUD-96010, Logic Model, which also tracks grantee progress and achievements and may eventually replace other forms/narrative portions of the quarterly reports.
Total costs were calculated (rounded to the nearest dollar): Total Burden Hours (48,444) x Professional Hourly Rate ($13.22) = $640,430.
A13. Estimate of Record-keeping and Reporting Cost Burden on Respondents
This information collection does not result in an additional cost burden to respondents.
A14. Estimated Cost to the Federal Government
There will not be any additional cost to the Federal Government as a result of this information collection beyond the usual personnel costs to review and select applications, award funding, and monitor performance of grantees.
A15. Reasons for Change in Burden
The proposed information collection is to request a revision of the currently approved collection. This submission reflects minimal changes that only minimally reduce the burden hours to incorporate electronic submission instead of the more timely and cumbersome paper submission process. There is also only minimal change (anticipated decrease) in the submission process for reporting requirements given that electronic submission is still pending for this process and paper response is still required. The Private Enforcement Initiative requires completion and submission of an enforcement log. The enforcement log is a part of the narrative reporting but was modified into 3 forms (Forms HUD-904A (Types of Closures), B (Bases and Issues in Tests) and C (Bases and Issues of Reports of Discrimination). These forms will provide more consistency in reporting and are used to collect complaint information, which provides data on the complainants’ and the respondents’ vital statistics, basis of discrimination, date of violation and outcomes if any. This data is used by the Fair Housing Initiative Program agencies to track the number of complaints and assist HUD in determining whether grantees are honoring the mandatory referral requirement as prescribed in the NOFA.
A16. Plans for Tabulation. Analysis, and Publication
The Department may publish logic model and enforcement log information as part of its mandatory Annual Report to Congress.
A17. Reasons for Not Displaying the OMB Expiration Date
There is no request seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection.
A18. Exceptions
There are no exceptions to the certification statement identified in Item 19 of OMB Form 83-1.
PART B - EMPLOYMENT OF STATISTICAL METHODS
This information collection does not employ statistical methods.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | SUPPORTING STATEMENT for PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSIONS |
| Author | Michael X. Torreyson |
| Last Modified By | HUD |
| File Modified | 2007-01-19 |
| File Created | 2007-01-11 |