Community Development Block Grants for Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Villages (Indian CDBG). The objective of the Indian CDBG program (also known as ICDBG) is the development of viable Indian and Alaska Native communities, including decent housing, a suitable living environment, and economic opportunities, principally for persons of low and moderate income. The Indian CDBG program provides funds to Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages on a competitive basis for housing rehabilitation, land to support new housing, new housing construction, community infrastructure, community buildings, and economic development. Approximately $68.3 million is allocated to the Indian CDBG program for FY 2000.

Because of the unique relationship between the Government of the United States and the governments of Indian tribes, the programs that serve this population are often unique to HUD. The NOFA for the Indian CDBG Program is a separate document from the SuperNOFA because of the unique statutory requirements of the program. However, every effort has been made to be consistent with the SuperNOFA where possible and to publish this NOFA on the same date in the Federal Register. Anyone with questions regarding the Indian CDBG program or NOFA should contact their area Office of Native American Programs (ONAP). A list of the area ONAPs is provided in Appendix B.

   Program Office: Public and Indian Housing

Community Development Block Grant Technical Assistance (CDBG–TA). CDBG–TA is designed to improve the skills, knowledge, management, and administrative practices of CDBG grantees as they relate to the CDBG program. It funds technical assistance services and products, such as publications, training materials, peer learning, seminars, workshops, and training sessions that enhance the ability of CDBG recipients to meet national and local CDBG program objectives. The funding is provided competitively to State and local governments, and public and private nonprofit or for-profit groups—including educational institutions and areawide planning organizations—qualified to provide TA on CDBG programs. No funding is available in FY 2000 for this program.

    Program Office: Community Planning and Development

Multifamily Housing Service Coordinator Funds. The Service Coordinator program is designed to ensure that elderly persons and persons with disabilities who are residents of multifamily insured and assisted housing developments are linked to the supportive services needed to continue living independently in those projects. The program provides funds to owners and managers of conventional public housing development, Section 8, 202, 221(d)(3), and 236 developments housing elderly persons or persons with disabilities to hire service coordinators. The coordinators are responsible for ensuring that residents of the project are linked to community-based supportive services.

    Program Office: Housing

Section 202 – Assisted Living Conversion Program for the Elderly. The Assisted Living Conversion Program (ALCP) is designed to enable the conversion of existing Section 202 units for the elderly to a licensed assisted living facility (ALF). The program provides grants to Section 202 owners/borrowers to cover the cost of the physical conversion of existing units, common, office and services space to assisted living. The grant requires that the project remain available for very-low and /or low income residents for 20 years beyond the term of the original mortgage. Section 202 owners/borrowers must also provide the necessary board and supportive services to support activities of daily living for the frail elderly ALF residents consistent with the licensing requirements of the State in which the project is located. The funding notice for this program will be published in Spring 2000.

   Program Office: Housing

Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program. The FSS program is intended to promote the development of local strategies to coordinate the use of assistance under the Section 8 rental voucher and the public housing programs with public and private resources to enable participating families to achieve economic independence and self-sufficiency. An FSS program coordinator assures that program participants are linked to the supportive services they need to achieve self-sufficiency. Starting in FY 1993, HUD has made funding available to housing agencies each year for Section 8 FSS program coordinators through publication of annual notices of funding availability in the Federal Register.

   Program Office: Public and Indian Housing

Section 8 Welfare-To-Work Rental Voucher Program. 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. The program is administered by housing agencies, including tribes and tribally designated housing entities, that must demonstrate that tenant-based Section 8 rental assistance is critical to the success of eligible families to obtain or retain employment. Section 8 Welfare-to-Work Rental voucher programs must take into account the particular circumstances of the local community and must be coordinated with other welfare reform and welfare to work initiatives. While funded in FY1999, there is no funding for additional new Welfare-To-Work vouchers in FY 2000.

    Program Office: Public and Indian Housing

Section 8 Family Unification Program (FUP). Section 8 FUP is designed to provide housing assistance to households whose lack of adequate housing is a primary cause of the separation or imminent separation of a child or children from their families. Section 8 FUP accomplishes this by providing funding to public housing agencies that allocate the money to special Section 8 vouchers for the families in danger of separation. Recipients of the vouchers must otherwise be eligible for the Section 8 program. The local public welfare agency must also certify that the lack of adequate housing is a primary reason that the family's child(ren) may be placed in out-of-home care or may be prevented from returning to the family. At this time no funding is provided for FY 2000.

   Program Office: Public and Indian Housing

Section 8 Fair Share Funding. The purpose of the Fair Share Funding is to provide Section 8 vouchers to very low-income families to enable them to rent affordable private housing of their choice. As opposed to Section 8 Mainstream, Designated Housing or Certain Types of Development funding available to public housing agencies in FY 2000 for disabled persons and families, the Fair Share Funding is available for vouchers to all very-low income families.

   Program Office: Public and Indian Housing

Indian Housing Drug Elimination Program (IHDEP). The IHDEP provides grants to Indian Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs) to develop programs aimed at reducing or eliminating drugs and drug-related crime on Indian Reservations and in Indian areas. Funds can be used for a variety of activities such as: programs for the prevention, intervention and treatment of drug abuse; making physical improvements to enhance security in areas suffering from drug usage and drug-related crimes; employing investigators; funding community policing and volunteer resident patrols; funding resident organizations to develop safety, security and drug prevention programs; developing culturally sensitive programs to enhance the self-esteem of youth and families in areas impacted by drug use and drug-related crimes.

     Program Office: Office of Native American Programs

Indian Housing Drug Elimination Technical Assistance Program (IHDEP-TA). The IHDEP-TA program is designed to provide technical assistance to Indian Tribes, Tribally Designated Housing Entities (TDHEs), and resident organizations that are combating drugs and drug-related crimes on Indian reservations and in Indian areas. Examples of the types of technical assistance activities that are eligible under this program are: assistance in planning programs to keep youth occupied and engaged in after-school and pre-school activities; developing local strategies to combat drugs and drug-related crimes; conducting needs assessments or surveys; training on security methods and resident patrols; and training for Tribal/TDHE staff on Drug Elimination Program implementation and administration.

    Program Office: Office of Native American Programs

Public Housing Drug Elimination Gun Buyback Violence Reduction Initiative. In an effort to forcefully address the dangers of gun violence – accidental shootings, suicides, and domestic violence – and the negative impact such violence has on our communities, HUD is sponsoring a Gun Buyback Initiative through its Public Housing Drug Elimination Program. This important initiative promotes closer cooperation between Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) and local law enforcement agencies by encouraging these entities to work together to fund local gun buyback initiatives that will prevent gun violence and save lives.

To encourage the participation of PHAs in this initiative, HUD will provide a participating PHA with additional funding to increase the amounts available for gun buybacks to maximize the number of guns taken out of circulation; and for the development, outreach, technical assistance, training, assessment and other activities related to furthering its gun buyback effort. A total of $10.5 million in Public Housing Drug Elimination Grant Program funds, plus an additional matching $4.5 million has been made available for this initiative. For further information about this program, please refer to the February 3, 2000 Federal Register.

   Program Office: Public and Indian Housing

Resident Opportunity and Self Sufficiency Technical Assistance Program (ROSS TA). The ROSS T/A program provides technical assistance to public housing residents to link residents with supportive service, to help public housing residents develop businesses and participate in job training programs to enable them to become self sufficient. ROSS TA also enables PHAs and nonprofit organizations to deliver supportive services to the elderly and persons with disabilities residing in public housing. All ROSS TA activities are aimed at improving delivery of ROSS program resources to enable public housing residents to become and remain self sufficient. The NOFA for ROSS TA is expected to be issued in Spring, 2000.