Transcript Document

Surviving a FHEO
Compliance Review
and Complying with
AFFH
What is a Compliance Review?
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Compliance reviews (Audits) are
HUD initiated assessments of a
housing provider’s practices.
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Compliance reviews generally cover a
number of issues and bases.
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Title VI, Section 109, Section 504,
Section 3, ADA, AFFH & Equal
Access Rule.
Review Topics for Title VI,
Section 109 & Section 504
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Analysis of demographic data for
race, color, national origin, religion,
sex and disability in the jurisdiction.
Affirmative efforts to involve racial
minorities, female-headed households
and persons with disabilities in
citizen participation process.
Review Topics for Title VI,
Section 109 & Section 504
 Collect
and maintain records showing
extent to which racial and ethnic
minorities, female-headed households
and persons with disabilities are
participating in its federal programs.
 Both applicants and beneficiaries.
Review Topics for Section 3
Notification of Section 3 Residents and
Businesses.
 Incorporation of Section 3 Clause in
notices and contracts.
 Facilitating training and employment of
Section 3 residents and award of Section 3
contracts.
 Documenting Actions taken to comply
with Section 3.
 Reporting Section 3 efforts.
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Equal Access Rule Review topics
Housing must be made available without
regard to actual or perceived sexual
orientation, gender identity, or marital
status.
 Definition of a family must include
persons regardless of sexual orientation,
gender identity, or marital status.
 Prohibit inquiries of an applicant’s or
occupant’s sexual orientation or gender
identity.
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Review topics for Affirmatively
Furthering Fair Housing
Conducting an Analysis of Impediments to
fair housing choice within the jurisdiction.
 Taking appropriate actions to overcome
the effects of the impediments identified
through the analysis.
 Maintaining records reflecting the analysis
and the actions taken.
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AFFH Responsibilities
 The Fair Housing Act imposes an affirmative
obligation by requiring recipients to do something
“more than simply refrain from discriminating
themselves or aiding others in not discriminating.”
 HUD has interpreted the affirmative obligations of
the Fair Housing Act to mean that recipients
must:
– Analyze and eliminate housing discrimination in the
jurisdiction;
– Promote fair housing choice for all persons;
AFFH Responsibilities Cont.
– Provide opportunities for inclusive patterns of
housing occupancy, regardless of race, color,
national origin, religion, sex, familial status,
or disability;
– Promote housing that is structurally accessible
to, and usable by, people with disabilities; and
– Foster compliance with the nondiscrimination
provisions of the Fair Housing Act.
Data Reviewed
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Conplans, AAP’s, CAPERs, and AI’s.
Citizen participation plans.
LEP process and LAP.
Effective Communication policy.
Reasonable Accommodation policy.
Section 504 Grievance Procedure.
Section 504 Nondiscrimination Notice.
Data Reviewed Cont.
 Identification
of Section 504/ADA
Coordinator.
 Section 504/ADA self-evaluation and
transition plan recipient and
subrecipients.
 Physical Accessibility using UFAS.
 Section 3 plans and Section 3 reports
(6002’s).
Data Reviewed Cont.
 Section
3 notices and contracts.
 Beneficiaries of programs funded.
 Monitoring process.
 Copies of brochures and outreach
materials.
 Copies of public notices.
 Program policy manuals.
Implementation
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Review of how you are
implementing the Civil Rights
regulations and requirements in
your programs.
What documentation do you have
that shows you are complying.
Staff interviews, file
and records reviews
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Interview staff
responsible for each
program area.
Program file review.
Subrecipient file
review.
File and records reviews
Monitoring file review.
• Reasonable accommodation
requests and outcomes.
• Grievances filed.
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After the on-site review
Letter of Findings
• Preliminary finding of compliance or
noncompliance.
• Notifies the housing provider of the
results of the compliance review.
Voluntary Compliance
Agreement (VCA)
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Accompanies Preliminary
Findings of Noncompliance.
Proposes remedies.
Negotiable.
If Voluntary Compliance is
Not Achieved
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Administrative hearing leading to
termination of Federal assistance.
Referral to Department of Justice.
What can
recipients do to
prepare?
Most Common Violations
Not having a complete and meaningful AI.
 Not incorporating AI into Conplans,
AAP’s and CAPER’s.
 Not implementing the LAP.
 Not implementing Citizen participation
plan.
 Not analyzing participation rates of
applicants and beneficiaries.
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Most Common Violations
Not having or implementing an Effective
Communication policy.
 Not having or implementing a Reasonable
Accommodation policy.
 Not having or implementing Grievance
procedures.
 Not monitoring effectively for the Civil
Rights requirements.
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Why the Fuss over AFFH
AFFH – a requirement of the Fair Housing
Act.
 45 years since the passage of the Fair
Housing Act.
 Proposed rule been in works for many
years.
 Assist local and state governments in
tackling segregation in their communities
and opening housing to everyone.

Quality Plans to AFFH
Three-Pronged AFFH Certification [24 C.F.R. § 570.61
(a)(2) (2010)]
CPD recipients certify annually that they will
affirmatively further fair housing by:
1) Conducting an analysis to identify impediments
to fair housing choice within the jurisdiction;
2) Taking appropriate actions to overcome the
effects of any impediments identified through that
analysis; and
3) Maintaining records reflecting the analysis and
actions in this regard.
Conducting an AI
– Essential Elements of an AI
 A complete review of the laws, regulations, administrative
policies, procedures, and practices;
 An assessment of how those laws, regulations, administrative
policies, procedures, and practices affect the location,
availability, and accessibility of housing;
 An assessment of conditions, both public and private, affecting
housing choice for people in all protected classes; and
 An assessment of the availability of affordable, accessible
housing in a range of unit sizes.
Conducting an AI
– Six Core Components of an AI
1) Segregation and Integration
2) Racially and Ethnically Concentrated Areas
of Poverty (RCAP/ECAP)
3) Access to Opportunity
4) Fair Housing Environment
5) Infrastructure Investments
6) Public Participation
Fair Housing Plan
 Utilize the AI for program planning using
the consolidated planning process!
– Create long term action plan using the fiveyear consolidated plan.
– Plan specific annual actions to address
impediments through annual action plans.
– Set realistic AFFH goals.
Fair Housing Plan
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Plan specific AFFH actions:
What? Who? When? Where?
Set specific measurable goals.
Use a holistic approach:
Draw connections between planned program
year activities, impediments, and actions to
overcome.
Documenting Actions
 Document all AFFH plans and actions within
HUD submissions:
– ConPlans: Document long term action plans.
– Annual Action Plans: Document specific annual
actions planned.
– CAPERs: Document actions implemented to
overcome the effects of impediments and include
measurable outcomes for people in protected classes.
 Maintain records that establish the connections
between identified impediments, established
priority housing needs, funded activities, and
actions to affirmatively further fair housing.
AFFH Proposed Rule Process
 Published July 19, 2013
 Available for public comment:
www.regulations.gov
 Everyone is encouraged to participate in
this rulemaking process!
 MORE TO COME!
For more information contact:
Michele Hutchins, Equal Opportunity Specialist
Office of Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity
U.S. Department of Housing & Urban
Development
125 S. State Street, Room 3001
Salt Lake City, UT 84138
(801) 524-6097-Direct line
(801) 524-6909-TDD line
1-800-877-7353 – Denver Toll Free
email: [email protected]