HAC will be hosting a three-part series of webinars focused on financing farm labor housing using Section 514/516 funding. Register now for all three!
HAC News Formats. pdf
February 2, 2017
Vol. 46, No. 5
Trump FY18 budget outline expected March 16 • Senate approves Ben Carson as HUD Secretary • Task forces forming to consider reducing regulations • CDFI funds offered, including for CDFIs serving Native American communities • Comments sought on standards for federal data on race and ethnicity • Research shows severity of affordable housing shortage for lowest-income renters • New data on U.S. farmworkers published • HUD offers Manufactured Home Dispute Resolution Program • Duty to Serve overview video posted • Webinar, March 6: “How President Trump’s First Budget Could Impact Affordable Housing”
HAC News Formats. pdf
March 2, 2017
Vol. 46, No. 5
Trump FY18 budget outline expected March 16. The Administration wants to keep the 2011 Budget Control Act spending caps, but change the requirement that cuts in defense and non-defense funding must be proportional. It will request a $54 billion (10%) increase in defense spending. To stay under the cap, the same amount would have to be cut from non-defense funding; that calculation does not take account of tax cuts, deficit reduction, and mandatory spending on programs like Social Security. A more detailed budget proposal will be released in May.
Senate approves Ben Carson as HUD Secretary. The Senate confirmed Carson on March 2 by a 58-41 vote. The Senate Agriculture Committee has not yet scheduled a hearing on Sonny Perdue’s nomination to be USDA Secretary.
Task forces forming to consider reducing regulations. In a February 24 Executive Order, President Trump expanded on his January 30 Executive Order requiring elimination of two existing regulations for each new one (see HAC News, 2/2/17). The head of each agency is required to designate a Regulatory Reform Officer and create a Regulatory Reform Task Force to evaluate existing regulations and recommend repeal, replacement, or change. Each task force must seek input from stakeholders. Each task force must report to its agency head within 90 days.
CDFI funds offered, including for CDFIs serving Native American communities. The CDFI Program makes Financial Assistance awards (in the form of loans, grants, equity investments, deposits, or credit union shares) to Certified CDFIs and Technical Assistance grants to Certified, Certifiable, and Emerging CDFIs to build their organizational capacity. The Native American CDFI Program offers the same to CDFIs serving Native communities. For each program, the application process has two steps with deadlines of March 24 and April 28. For more information, contact the CDFI Fund Help Desk, 202-653-0421.
Comments sought on standards for federal data on race and ethnicity. OMB requests comments by May 1 on a report drafted by a federal interagency working group suggesting revisions to OMB’s Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. The standards are used in the decennial census, other surveys, forms such as mortgage applications, and more. This notice lists specific questions, including whether to add a “Middle Eastern or North African” classification and what sub-categories to use for American Indian or Alaska Native, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, and other major classifications. For more information, contact Jennifer Park, OMB.
Research shows severity of affordable housing shortage for lowest-income renters. The GAP: A Shortage of Affordable Homes, released March 2 by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, reports there are only 35 affordable and available units for every 100 extremely low-income renter households nationwide, and 71% of ELI renters are severely cost-burdened, spending more than half their income on rent and utilities. ELI renters are those with incomes below 30% of area median or below the poverty level, whichever is higher. The report includes recommendations for better targeting of federal housing expenditures, including reform of the mortgage interest deduction and Low Income Housing Tax Credit.
New data on U.S. farmworkers published. Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 2013-2014: A Demographic and Employment Profile of United States Farmworkers, recently released by the Department of Labor, covers housing as well as other topics. Thirteen percent of all farmworkers surveyed lived free in employer-provided housing. Among all those who paid for housing, 74% paid less than $600 per month, but the report does not compare rent to income. Those without work authorization were less likely than authorized workers to live in single-family homes, and more likely to live in mobile homes (23% and 15% respectively) or apartments (23% and 11%). Migrant workers lived in crowded dwellings more often than settled workers (40% compared to 29%), and unauthorized workers were twice as likely as authorized workers to be overcrowded (41% and 21%). Nationwide, only 3.3% of homes are overcrowded.
HUD offers Manufactured Home Dispute Resolution Program. The program resolves disputes between manufacturers, retailers, and installers when the parties cannot agree on a solution to a construction and/or safety defect within the first year of the first installation of a manufactured home. HUD’s DRP functions in 24 states; the other 26 have state programs. For more information visit https://www.huddrp.net, email info@huddrp.net, or call 571-882-2928.
Duty to Serve overview video posted. The three-minute video covers the basics of Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s Duty to Serve program. Data and other tools from the Federal Housing Finance Agency are also available online.
Webinar, March 6: “How President Trump’s First Budget Could Impact Affordable Housing” The Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding will hold a webinar on Monday, March 6 at 3-4:00 Eastern time, about the significant threats facing affordable housing and community development programs, including USDA rural housing, and how you can help protect them. At the webinar, CHCDF will also launch a new report and new information tools, including factsheets, sample op-eds, and statewide data on the economic impact of HUD and USDA rural housing investments
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To have an event posted on our calendar*, please e-mail Dan Stern. Or send event description or brochure to: Housing Assistance Council Or fax to (202) 347-3441 [addthis2][/addthis2] *Calendar Posting Guidelines: HAC’s calendar posts announcements about periodic conferences, training sessions, audioconferences, and the like. Topics must be relevant to professionals in the rural housing and community development arena. HAC reserves the right to accept or decline any request to post an item. We do not include sessions provided by entities (for-profit or nonprofit) that offer numerous regularly scheduled training events; links to such entities are provided below. Community Connections |
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USDA RD Section 502 Direct Loan and Section 504 Loan and Elderly Grant Repair Program – An OverviewDate: May 15, 2013 The Housing Assistance Council invites you to participate in a webinar on USDA Rural Development’s Section 502 single-family housing direct and guaranteed loan and Section 504 Repair Loan and Elderly Grant Programs. Discussion will include the purpose, eligibility requirements, loan terms, and regulations of each of the programs. Participants will also learn about the conditional commitment process as a unique program feature and how these soft commitments can be the basis for developing a single unit or multiple units more efficiently. This webinar is supported by The Atlantic Philanthropies.
Pre-Registration Required. Register Now!! https://cc.readytalk.com/r/5506ay5lpun7
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To have an event posted on our calendar*, please e-mail Dan Stern. Or send event description or brochure to: Housing Assistance Council Or fax to (202) 347-3441 [addthis2][/addthis2] *Calendar Posting Guidelines: HAC’s calendar posts announcements about periodic conferences, training sessions, audioconferences, and the like. Topics must be relevant to professionals in the rural housing and community development arena. HAC reserves the right to accept or decline any request to post an item. We do not include sessions provided by entities (for-profit or nonprofit) that offer numerous regularly scheduled training events; links to such entities are provided below. Community Connections |
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The Silver Tsunami: Are We Prepared for a Senior Population Boom in Rural AmericaStart: May 1, 2013 The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is pleased to invite you to participate in a webinar on demographic change and its impact to the rural population and rural housing. The senior population will experience significant increases in the coming years, as the Baby Boom generation turns 65. The Census Bureau projects the senior population will grow from 13 percent of U.S. residents to 20 percent by 2050. An added 30 million individuals will become seniors over the next 20 years. Currently there are more than 18 million rural baby boomers, comprising nearly 28 percent of the rural population. With increasing life expectancies, one of the more dramatic growth trends will likely be substantial growth of the oldest population (age 85 and over). Is there enough safe and affordable housing for this expanding population?
Using data from U.S. Census and the American Community Survey, HAC will provide insights on changes and trends in aging and the potential impact of these changes on people, communities, and housing markets in rural areas of the United States.
This webinar is supported by The Atlantic Philanthropies. For more information, please email Janice Clark at Janice@ruralhome.org.
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To have an event posted on our calendar*, please e-mail Dan Stern. Or send event description or brochure to: Housing Assistance Council Or fax to (202) 347-3441 [addthis2][/addthis2] *Calendar Posting Guidelines: HAC’s calendar posts announcements about periodic conferences, training sessions, audioconferences, and the like. Topics must be relevant to professionals in the rural housing and community development arena. HAC reserves the right to accept or decline any request to post an item. We do not include sessions provided by entities (for-profit or nonprofit) that offer numerous regularly scheduled training events; links to such entities are provided below. Community Connections |
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Conducting Homeless Counts on Native American LandsDate: March 13, 2012 The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is pleased to invite you to a webinar highlighting its recent publication Conducting Homeless Counts on Native American Lands: A Toolkit. It is often difficult to address homelessness on Native American lands, due to the challenge in quantifying the number of actual homeless individuals living therein. While there is ‘literal’ homelessness on Native American lands, many Native Americans also live in extremely crowded conditions with family and relatives which is another, less visible, form of homelessness. Places with small, spread-out populations, like most Native American lands, typically have few shelters or service providers forcing homeless individuals to rely on strong kinship networks to find a place to stay. Issues surrounding tribal mistrust of the federal government, a lack of understanding of tribal sovereignty and diversity among Indian nations by outside entities, cultural competencies, and legal complexities associated with tribal lands create additional challenges to conducting an accurate count. Based upon past research as well as interviews with key stakeholders in the field, the webinar will provide insights on how to conduct outreach, plan homeless surveys, partner with other researchers and organizations, and secure funding. For more information, please email Eric Oberdorfer at eric@ruralhome.org. |
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To have an event posted on our calendar*, please e-mail Dan Stern. Or send event description or brochure to: Housing Assistance Council Or fax to (202) 347-3441 [addthis2][/addthis2] *Calendar Posting Guidelines: HAC’s calendar posts announcements about periodic conferences, training sessions, audioconferences, and the like. Topics must be relevant to professionals in the rural housing and community development arena. HAC reserves the right to accept or decline any request to post an item. We do not include sessions provided by entities (for-profit or nonprofit) that offer numerous regularly scheduled training events; links to such entities are provided below. Community Connections |
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Rural Housing Summit 2012 – New Visions for a New LandscapeStart Date: October 25, 2012 The Rural Housing Summit brings together housing professionals and advocates to examine key policy and program issues and develop a strategic action plan to improve the living conditions of low-income and rural Californians during the upcoming year and beyond. |
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To have an event posted on our calendar*, please e-mail Dan Stern. Or send event description or brochure to: Housing Assistance Council Or fax to (202) 347-3441 [addthis2][/addthis2] *Calendar Posting Guidelines: HAC’s calendar posts announcements about periodic conferences, training sessions, audioconferences, and the like. Topics must be relevant to professionals in the rural housing and community development arena. HAC reserves the right to accept or decline any request to post an item. We do not include sessions provided by entities (for-profit or nonprofit) that offer numerous regularly scheduled training events; links to such entities are provided below. Community Connections |
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Green Building WebinarDate: September 19, 2012 Adding ‘green’, ‘sustainable’ or ‘active/passive energy efficient’ techniques to development planning can take many forms to meet specific goals, particularly the affordability of up-front and long-term costs. This webinar will provide a brief overview of both the 184 and 502 programs followed by examples of how each program can be effectively utilized to build sustainable green housing (to include discussion on building activities on Native American Lands). Participants will gain from in-depth discussion on various types of construction, from conventional to manufactured, as well as, those being used by tribal organizations across the country such as straw bale, hogans, and advanced framing methods to meet green guidelines developed by each individual tribe for their specific locality. This webinar will also provide a brief overview of the latest Energy Star and Water Sense compliance standards. |