https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room, USDA’s announcement of regional meetings in a November 1 press release at https://www.usda.gov, and a HUD blog post at https://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/press/blog.

NOVEMBER 14-20 IS NATIONAL HUNGER AND HOMELESSNESS AWARENESS WEEK. Details from the National Coalition for the Homeless are posted at https://www.nationalhomeless.org/projects/awareness/index.html.

NEW CONGRESS MEANS SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT KEY PLAYERS FOR HOUSING. The new 112th Congress next year will have many new chairs and members of committees that impact appropriations and authorizations for both USDA and HUD programs. Details are posted on HAC’s site, https://ruralhome.org.

FUTURE OF 2011 APPROPRIATIONS UNCLEAR. With a continuing resolution in effect until December 3, the current Congress reconvenes on November 15 for a lame duck session. It is currently unclear whether 2011 appropriations will be funded in an omnibus bill, a year-long continuing resolution, or another short-term CR until early next year. There also seem to be possibilities for inclusion of several pieces of authorizing legislation in an omnibus spending measure, but that too is uncertain. Watch HAC’s website at https://ruralhome.org for updates.

PRESERVATION REVOLVING LOAN FUND NOFA PUBLISHED. USDA Rural Development will grant funds to intermediary lenders for revolving funds to assist with preservation of Section 515 and 514/516 housing. Deadline is January 10. See Federal Register, 11/9/10, or https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/RD_NOFAs.html. Contact Timothy James, RD, 202-720-1094, timothy.james@wdc.usda.gov.

HUD OFFERS FSS AND ROSS FUNDS. PHAs can apply by December 6 for Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency funds; contact HUD’s Public and Indian Housing Resource Center at 800-955-2232. PHAs, THDEs, tribes, nonprofits, and resident groups can apply by February 21 for the Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency Service Coordinators Program; contact Anice Schervish Chenault at Anice.S.Chenault@hud.gov or 202-402-2341. PHAs and TDHEs can apply by January 19 for ROSS FSS funds; contact Ms. Chenault. Visit https://www.grants.gov or https://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/program_offices/administration/grants/fundsavail.

FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR NATIVE CDFIS. Current or potential CDFIs that target at least 50% of their activities to Native Americans, Hawaiians, or Alaskans are eligible for financial or technical assistance grants. Deadline is December 22. Visit https://www.cdfifund.gov. Contact CDFI Fund staff, 202-622-6355, cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov.

NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND REGULATIONS PROPOSED. Comments are due December 28. A National Low Income Housing Coalition summary is at https://www.nlihc.org/detail/article.cfm?article_id=7443. See Federal Register, 10/29/10 or https://www.regulations.gov. Contact Marcia Sigal, HUD, 202-402-3002.

RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ENERGY EFFICIENCY EFFORT LAUNCHED. Under a USDA-DOE partnership, contractors will inspect homes and make recommendations for energy retrofits. The program will be piloted in Indiana, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. Homeowners may apply for existing RD energy efficiency program funding. USDA’s November 9 press release is in the newsroom at https://www.usda.gov.

RURAL CHILD POVERTY RATES AS HIGH AS 55.8%, CARSEY INSTITUTE REPORTS. Reviewing data for children under age 6, researchers found rural children poorer than those in central cities, with African Americans having the highest rates, followed by Hispanics and then whites. “The Unequal Distribution of Child Poverty: Highest Rates among Young Blacks and Children of Single Mothers in Rural America” is at https://www.carseyinstitute.unh.edu/.

JOINT CENTER CONSIDERS FUTURE OF LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT. A new Joint Center for Housing Studies paper entitled “Long-Term Low Income Housing Tax Credit Policy Questions” is available at https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/.

LENDING INFORMATION SCARCE FOR RURAL AREAS, HAC REPORTS. A new research note, “Improving HMDA: A Need to Better Understand Rural Mortgage Markets” is free at https://ruralhome.org or $1.00 from Lawrence Adams, HAC, lawrence@ruralhome.org, 202-842-8600.

PREPARE FOR THE CONFERENCE ON TWITTER! HAC has launched a Twitter feed for the 2010 National Rural Housing Conference at @NRHC10. To get started, visit https://www.twitter.com. The conference will be held in Washington, DC, December 1-3.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/proclamations or in the Federal Register, 9/15/10.

FISCAL YEAR 2011 BEGINS WITH CONTINUING RESOLUTION. At press time, Congress is expected to pass a continuing resolution funding the federal government through December 3. Most programs will remain at FY10 levels. Check here for an update.

USDA COMMITTING SECTION 502 DIRECT LOANS WITHOUT APPRAISALS THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30. Appraisals must be performed before loan closing. USDA RD’s Unnumbered Letter dated September 13 is available at https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/SupportDocuments/ulseptember10.pdf or from RD offices.

RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE FUNDS AVAILABLE. RCDI funds intermediary organizations to provide financial and technical capacity building assistance to local groups. This year’s program includes a “Great Regions” initiative encouraging substantive economic growth, including job creation, in regions with fewer prospects and the greatest need for improved economic opportunity. Deadline is December 22. Visit https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/rcdi/index.htm or https://www.grants.gov. Contact an RD State Office.

HUD OFFERS FUNDS FOR CONTINUUM OF CARE, HOUSING COUNSELING TRAINING. Both NOFAs are posted at https://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/program_offices/administration/grants/fundsavail and www.grants.gov. The Continuum of Care deadline is November 18; contact a HUD field office. The counseling training deadline is October 29; contact Gerard P. Donahoe, Jr., Gerard.P.Donahoe@hud.gov, 202-402-3951.

LEAD HAZARD REDUCTION DEMO GRANT NOFA CORRECTED, DEADLINE EXTENDED. The new deadline is November 4 for some and October 22 for others. The Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program deadline remains October 15. See https://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/nofa10/grpleadcombo.cfm or https://www.grants.gov. Contact Michelle Miller, HUD, Michelle.M.Miller@hud.gov, 202-402-5769.

HUD ASKS CHOICE NEIGHBORHOODS GRANT APPLICANTS FOR ADVANCE NOTICE. Entities expecting to request either planning or implementation grants are asked – but not required – to notify HUD by October 7. See Federal Register, 9/24/10, or https://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/nofa10/grpchoice.cfm. Contact Caroline Clayton, HUD, Caroline.C.Clayton@hud.gov, 202-402-5461.

FINAL FAIR MARKET RENTS SET FOR FY11. On October 4 the final FMRs for Section 8 and other programs will be published in the Federal Register and at https://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Until then, the notice is posted at https://www.ofr.gov/inspection.aspx.

REVISED DDA NOTICE PUBLISHED. HUD’s September 9, 2010 notice omitted the tables listing Difficult Development Areas for 2011. A corrected notice is available at https://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/qct.html or in the Federal Register, 9/21/10.

RURAL POVERTY INCREASED IN 2009. The Census Bureau reports in Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009 that the 2009 nonmetro poverty rate of 16.6% was higher than the national level and increased from 15.1% in 2008. Visit https://ruralhome.org for a HAC research note and a link to the Census report. • Separately, the Census Bureau released 2009 American Community Survey data, including poverty and housing figures, for places over 65,000 population. Data for smaller places will be released in December and January. Visit https://www.census.gov/acs/www/. A Census Bureau online tutorial that describes the ACS and how to find ACS data is available at https://www.census.gov/acs/www/guidance_for_data_users/e_tutorial/. • The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Data Center has been updated to include the 2009 ACS poverty data, and for the first time breaks down child poverty rates by congressional district. Visit https://datacenter.kidscount.org.

DATA ON NONMETRO JOB LOSS AND MIGRATION ANALYZED. USDA Economic Research Service’s Rural America at a Glance 2010, focusing on these topics, is at https://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/eib68/. The rural news website The Daily Yonder reports on ERS’s data and more at https://www.dailyyonder.com/rural-america-2010-%E2%80%94-jobs-and-migration/2010/09/18/2942 and https://www.dailyyonder.com/job-loss/2010/09/13/2935.

REGISTER BY NOVEMBER 1 FOR HAC’S 2010 NATIONAL RURAL HOUSING CONFERENCE! “A Place to Live: Rural Housing in a Changing Landscape” will be held December 1-3 in Washington, DC. Limited scholarships are available for nonprofits. Visit https://ruralhome.org or contact staff at HACconference2010@ruralhome.org or 202-842-8600 ext. 137.

HAC News, 8/18/10). RD is first processing conditional commitments issued since May. The notice is available at https://ruralhome.org. For more information, contact an RD office.

BRYAN HOOPER BECOMES RD DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR FOR MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING. Hooper directed the Small Business Administration’s Office of Credit Risk Management from 2006 until August 2010, and previously spent 16 years at the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae).

HUD DESIGNATES DIFFICULT DEVELOPMENT AREAS FOR LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT. October 2009 designations of Qualified Census Tracts remain in effect. Visit www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/qct.html. Contact Michael K. Hollar, HUD, 202-402-5878, michael.k.hollar@hud.gov.

RD NOTICE ADDRESSES LEAD-BASED PAINT REGS COMPLIANCE. Administrative Notice 4537 provides guidance for all USDA housing and community development programs regarding HUD’s and EPA’s regulations on leadbased paint. Obtain AN 4537 at www.rurdev.usda.gov/SupportDocuments/an4537.pdf or from an RD office.

GUIDANCE OFFERED ON SECTION 502 DIRECT LOAN INTEREST RATES. An Unnumbered Letter dated September 8, 2010 says some active loans have rates either higher or lower than the authorized rate. Obtain the letter at https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/SupportDocuments/ulseptember10.pdf or from an RD office. Contact Migdaliz Bernier, RD, 202-690-3833, migdaliz.bernier@wdc.usda.gov.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING GOALS FINALIZED FOR FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC. The goals refer to single-family and multifamily affordable housing. Rural housing, along with manufactured housing and rental housing preservation, will be covered in separate “duty to serve” regulations (see HAC News, 3/5/10 and 6/9/10). See Federal Register, 9/14/10, or https://www.fhfa.gov. Contact Nelson Hernandez, FHFA, 202-408-2819.

NEW MANUAL COVERS RIGHTS OF RD HOMEOWNERS AND APPLICANTS. RD Homeownership Programs: Owners’ and Purchasers’ Rights is a detailed guide to the Section 502 direct and guaranteed programs and the Section 504 loan and grant programs. Intended for advocates helping RD clients, it addresses foreclosure avoidance mechanisms, available subsidies, the RD appeals process, and more. Electronic or hard copies are available for $39 from the National Housing Law Project, https://www.nhlp.org.

HOUSING FOR REENTERING PRISONERS DESCRIBED. Reentry Housing Options: The Policymaker’s Guide, published by the Council of State Governments, offers an overview of options and provides three case studies. Visit https://reentrypolicy.org/jc_publications/reentry-housing-options.

REPORT EXAMINES TRENDS IN DATA ON ELDERLY. New Realities of an Older America: Challenges, Changes and Questions from the Stanford Center on Longevity notes, among other findings, that “In 1970, the numbers of older households in central cities, suburbs and non-metropolitan areas were roughly equal . . . Today, there are over 10 million older households in suburbs, compared to 6.5 million in non-metropolitan areas and 6 million in central cities” (page 33). The report is available at https://longevity.stanford.edu/node/1020.

STATES USE ARRA FUNDS TO RETROFIT MULTIFAMILY HOUSING. A fact sheet from the National Housing Trust and Enterprise describes how some states are using the Department of Energy’s State Energy Program for energy efficiency upgrades in multifamily housing. Visit https://www.nhtinc.org.

FORECLOSURES IMPACT HEALTH. Data from urban Alameda County, Calif. show that individual and community health can be affected. Rebuilding Neighborhoods, Restoring Health, by the Alameda County Public Health Department and Causa Justa :: Just Cause, is available at https://www.acphd.org.

WEBSITE OFFERS HMDA DATA HELP. New York Law School’s Economic Justice Project has released an online tool for analyzing data on lending in metro areas made public under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The site does not generate data itself; it provides instructions for finding, extracting, and using data from other sources. Visit https://hmdanalysis.nyls.edu. Contact EJP, 212-431-2180, rmarsico@nyls.edu.

GET THE HAC NEWS SOONER – GET IT BY EMAIL. To subscribe, visit https://lists.ruralhome.org/lists/info/hac_news. To be removed from the postal mailing list, send a request to lawrence@ruralhome.org.