Wisconsin Partnership for Housing Development

OneCPD Awards

wphd — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:12:47 +0000

HUD announced a new $2 million technical assistance contract to a joint venture of the Wisconsin Partnership and the Minnesota Housing Partnership. The technical assistance and capacity building grants announced today are provided through HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD). HUD fundamentally changed its traditional program-by-program approach to technical assistance by creating OneCPD, a “cross-program” approach intended to help grantees improve their management systems and capacity to successfully carry out comprehensive and sustainable “place-based” development and revitalization strategies. OneCPD also allows grantees to “tell their story” of accomplishment by measuring the outputs of this assistance but the outcomes and the impact on their communities as well.

The Wisconsin Partnership and Minnesota Housing Partnership was awarded a $1 million contract in 2011 for OneCPD technical assistance and has started working with a number of cities and states across the country. The OneCPD TA program consolidates what HUD calls its “legacy” TA programs including HOME and CHDO TA, CDBG TA, SNAPs TA (for HUD’s homeless programs) and HOPWA TA. Eventually, OneCPD is also intended to integrate Section 4 Capacity Building funds used by Habitat for Humanity, LISC and Enterprise and NSP technical assistance. The Wisconsin Partnership has been a CHDO TA provider since 1992 and a HOME TA provider since 1994, and has also provided Homeless and NSP TA. Initially, the Partnership provided TA only within Wisconsin, but has now been designated by HUD as a national TA provider.

Downpayment Plus is Open!

wphd — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:46:18 +0000

Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago’s Downpayment Plus program is officially open for reservations. If your institution is a member of FHLBC, please check out our website for information regarding enrollment and an overview of the program.

www.wphd-dpp.org

HUD CHARGES BANK OF AMERICA WITH DISCRIMINATING AGAINST HOMEBUYERS WITH DISABILITIES

wphd — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:28:08 +0000

Bank of America allegedly applied discriminatory lending requirements for borrowers with disabilities

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced that it is charging Bank of America with discriminating against homebuyers with disabilities. HUD alleges that Bank of America imposed unnecessary and burdensome requirements on borrowers who relied on disability income to qualify for their home loans and required some disabled borrowers to provide physician statements to qualify for home mortgage loans.

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate in the terms and conditions of a loan to an individual based on a disability, including imposing different application or qualification criteria, and makes it illegal to inquire about the nature or severity of a disability except in limited circumstances not applicable here.

“Holding homebuyers with disabilities to a higher standard just because they rely on disability payments as a source of income is against the law,” said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “Mortgage companies may verify income and have eligibility standards but they may not single out homebuyers with disabilities to delay or deny financing when they are otherwise eligible.”

HUD’s charge is based on a “Secretary-initiated investigation,” and the investigation of complaints filed by two individual borrowers in Michigan and one borrower in Wisconsin who claimed that Bank of America required them to provide personal medical information and documentation regarding their disability and proof of continuance of their Social Security payment in order to qualify for a home mortgage loan. The charge is also being issued as part of the work being conducted by the Federal Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force’s non-discrimination working group.

According to HUD’s charge, Bank of America allegedly asked some borrowers for proof of their disabilities and sought evidence of the continuation of their Social Security income before approving loans, after first denying them. The matter will now be handled by the Department of Justice.

FHEO and its partners in the Fair Housing Assistance Program investigate approximately 10,000 housing discrimination complaints annually. People who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact HUD at 1-800-669-9777 (voice), (800) 927-9275 (TTY).

AAIDD March Webinars

wphd — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:25:21 +0000

Individualized Supports and Housing: Investing in a Future Worth Creating
Date: March 7, 2012
Time: 4:00pm Eastern
Register: http://www.aaidd.org/content_7587.cfm
Few opportunities in life offer as much freedom and control of one’s housing and personal supports. Yet, for millions of individuals with disabilities the ideal of individualized housing and supports has been unattainable. Many have faced a long history of government programs and social service agencies that limit individual freedom by creating and supporting congregate care programs such as group homes, nursing homes, larger institutions and medical facilities. Real systems change is available theoretically, but not fully embraced and supported on a funding, advocacy and systems change level. Please join Patti Scott from Community Vision, Inc. in Oregon and Joe Wykowski from Neighbours, Inc. in New Jersey for a webinar focused on how to create real systems change, one person at a time. Patti and Joe will share details of strategies they have used in multiple states to assist individuals with disabilities to take control of their personal supports and housing.

*No registration fees – you pay only your regular long distance telephone charges

Building Capacity for Decision Making in People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Date: March 21, 2012
Time: 1:00pm Eastern
Register: http://aaidd.org/content_8306.cfm
Directing one’s life is essential for experiencing self-determination. People providing support have many questions about capacity and consent for people with intellectual and developmental disability and few resources to rely on. This presentation will outline the issues, and share resources developed by an with special focus on how to support people of all different abilities to find decision making solutions that support maximum autonomy, preserve civil rights and while providing people with support for decision making. Speakers: Tina M. Campanella, MA, Executive Director, Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities, Erin Leveton, Esq., Senior Attorney, Quality Trust for Individuals with Disabilities, Robert Dinerstein, Esq.

Professor of Law, Director of Clinical Programs , American University Washington College of Law.

2012 Disability Policy Seminar: Orientation Webinar
Date: March 28, 2012
Time: 3:00pm Eastern
Register: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/673022433
This webinar, presented by Kim Musheno, Director of Legislative Affairs at AUCD, will offer students and early career professionals an orientation to the upcoming Disability Policy Seminar. In addition to information about the seminar itself, participants will receive a brief update on current legislative issues and learn about the basics of how to meet with Congressional representatives and deliver a unified message. At the 2012 Seminar, hundreds of disability advocates from around the country will gather to discuss a wide range of public policy issues affecting people with disabilities and their families.

WPHD, in Conjunction with Minnesota Housing Partnership, Awarded $1M in NSP TA

wphd — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:40:44 +0000

HUD AWARDS $20 MILLION IN TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO HELP LOCAL COMMUNITIES STABILIZE NEIGHBORHOODS HARD-HIT BY FORECLOSURE

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $20 million in technical assistance funding to 12 organizations that will, in turn, help local communities across this country stabilize neighborhoods hard-hit by foreclosure through HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).

“This assistance can make all the difference for communities struggling against abandonment and blight,” said Mercedes Márquez, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development. “The funds we award today will offer critical assistance to NSP grantees as they work to target their funds in a way that has the greatest impact at the neighborhood level.”

The funding agreements announced today are provided through HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program Technical Assistance and Capacity Building Program, as part of the NSP3 allocation, authorized under Dodd-Frank, and is continuation of the technical assistance provided under NSP2, authorized under ARRA. The purpose of this technical assistance is to provide the highest level of performance among NSP grantees. HUD is making the following technical assistance awards:

Recipient	City	Amount
APD Urban Planning and Management, LLC	Jacksonville, FL	$500,000
Capital Access, Inc.	Philadelphia, PA	$500,000
Cloudburst Consulting Group, Inc.	Landover, MD	$3,000,000
Corporation for Supportive Housing	New York, NY	$500,000
Dennison Associates, Inc.	Washington, DC	$1,000,000
Econometrica, Inc.	Bethesda, MD	$1,000,000
Enterprise Community Development Partners, Inc.	Columbia, MD	$3,000,000
ICF Incorporated, L.L.C.	Fairfax, VA	$3,000,000
Local Initiatives Support Corporation	New York, NY	$3,000,000
Minnesota Housing Partnership	St. Paul, MN	$1,000,000
Training & Development Associates, Inc.	Laurinburg, NC	$3,000,000
W. Frank Newton, Inc.	Marietta, GA	$500,000
	TOTAL	$20,000,000

NSP technical assistance and capacity building is an assessment-based and outcome-focused delivery system. Its key objectives are to improve grantees’ ability to: (1) assess conditions in the affordable segment of their local housing market; (2) design and appropriately implement neighborhood stabilization programs based upon an accurate assessment of the affordable segment of their local housing market; (3) increase organizational capacity to leverage private and public dollars; (4)’ understand and comply with statutory and regulatory requirements; and (5) impact vacancy rates in target areas. These awards allow HUD to deploy experts, based on grantee need, to achieve these objectives.

The funds awarded today are part of Office of Community Planning and Development’s new OneCPD Integrated Practitioner Assistance System. One CPD represents a fundamental change in the way HUD’s traditional program-specific technical assistance has been structured and delivered over the years. This approach is intended to build the kind of grantee management systems and capacity necessary to successfully carry out comprehensive and sustainable place-based development and revitalization strategies.

OneCPD allows grantees to tell their story of accomplishment by measuring not only the outputs of this technical and capacity building assistance but the outcomes and the impact on their communities as well. The technical and capacity building assistance awards announced today are provided through the Department’s Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD).

Preliminary Analysis of the HUD FY 2013 Budget Request for Major Rental Assistance Programs

wphd — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:03:31 +0000

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has done a preliminary analysis of HUD’s FY 2013 budget request for the three major rental assistance programs, including the savings and other relevant policy proposals, as well as a short description of the budget and appropriations outlook for the year. Click here for more details.

Capitol Express Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Update

admin — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 03:17:13 +0000

On Feb. 13, President Obama submitted to Congress a $3.8 trillion budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2013; $44.8 billion is requested to fund the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The amount requested for HUD represents a 3.2 percent increase compared to the enacted FY 2012 HUD appropriations. The President’s FY 2013 request assumes $500 million in savings through reforms to HUD rental assistance programs including an increased minimum rent for tenants receiving rental assistance, reducing required inspections of certain HUD assisted properties and mandating that Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) set flat minimum rents that reflect the local market. The budget request also assumes an increase in Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Ginnie Mae (GNMA) receipts from $5.8 billion in FY 2012 to $9.4 billion in FY 2013.

Below are the requested FY 2013 funding levels for select HUD programs, as compared to FY 2011 and FY 2012 enacted appropriations. For more information, read the Enterprise Budget Memo and view the updated Enterprise Budget Chart. To learn more about the President’s FY 2013 funding request for key housing and community development programs, register for the Enterprise Community Partners Budget Webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 15 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (EST).

HOME Investments Partnership Program: $1 billion

FY 2012 enacted appropriations: level funding

FY 2011 enacted appropriations: 38 percent decrease

Community Development Block Grant Program: $2.9 billion

FY 2012 enacted appropriations – level funding

FY 2011 enacted appropriations – 12 percent decrease

Rental Assistance

Project Based Rental Assistance (PBRA): $8.7 billion

FY 2012 enacted appropriations – 7 percent decrease

FY 2011 enacted appropriations – 7 percent decrease

Tenant Based Rental Assistance: $19 billion

FY 2012 enacted appropriations – 1 percent increase

FY 2011 enacted appropriations – 4 percent increase

Public Housing

Operating Fund: $4.5 billion

FY 2012 enacted appropriations – 14 percent increase

FY 2011 enacted appropriations – 2 percent decrease

Capital Fund: $2 billion

FY 2012 enacted appropriations – 10 percent increase

FY 2011 enacted appropriations – 1 percent increase

Vulnerable Populations

Housing for the Elderly (Section 202): $475 million

FY 2012 enacted appropriations – 27 percent increase

FY 2011 enacted appropriations – 19 percent increase

Housing for People with Disabilities (Section 811): $150 million

FY 2012 enacted appropriations – 9 percent decrease

FY 2011 enacted appropriations – level funding

HUD VASH Vouchers: $75 million

FY 2012 enacted appropriations – level funding

FY 2011 enacted appropriations – 50 percent increase

Other Key Programs

Housing Counseling Assistance: $55 million

FY 2012 enacted appropriations – 22 percent increase

FY 2011 enacted appropriations – Zeroed out

Sustainable Communities Initiative: $100 million

FY 2012 enacted appropriations – Zeroed out

FY 2011 enacted appropriations – level funding

Capacity Building Program: $35 million

FY 2012 enacted appropriations – level funding

FY 2011 enacted appropriations – 30 percent decrease

Mandatory Funding

Housing Trust Fund: $1 billion