Foa_Content_of_FR-6600-N-29E.pdf

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Policy Development and Research

HUDRD-Exploring the Feasibility of Linking Eviction Records to Administrative Databases for HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher Program

FR-6600-N-29E

07/14/2022

Table of Contents Summary

Overview

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Program Description

B. Authority

II. Award Information

A. Available Funds

B. Number of Awards

C. Minimum/Maximum Award Information

D. Period of Performance

E. Type of Funding Instrument

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

B. Ineligible Applicants

C. Cost Sharing or Matching

D. Threshold Eligibility Requirements

E. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements Affecting Eligibility

F. Program-Specific Requirements

G. Criteria for Beneficiaries

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Obtaining an Application Package

B. Content and Form of Application Submission

C. System for Award Management (SAM) and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number

D. Application Submission Dates and Times

E. Intergovernmental Review

F. Funding Restrictions

G. Other Submission Requirements

V. Application Review Information

A. Review Criteria

B. Review and Selection Process

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

B. Administrative, National and Department Policy Requirements and Terms for HUD Recipients Financial Assistance Awards

C. Reporting

D. Debriefing

VII. Agency Contact(s)

VIII. Other Information

APPENDIX

Program Office:

Policy Development and Research Funding Opportunity Title:

HUDRD-Exploring the Feasibility of Linking Eviction Records to Administrative Databases for HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher Program Funding Opportunity Number:

FR-6600-N-29E

Assistance Listing Number:

14.536 Due Date for Applications:

07/14/2022 Summary The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Strategic Plan sets the direction and focus of our programs and staff to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality, affordable homes for all.

HUD's Strategic Goals HUD’s FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan lays out this administration’s strategy for ensuring everyone has an affordable, healthy place to live. Over the course of the next four years HUD will pursue two overarching priorities focused on increasing equity and improving customer experience across all HUD programs. Five strategic goals undergird the Plan as follows:

Strategic Goal 1: Support Underserved Communities Strategic Goal 2: Ensure Access to and Increase the Production of Affordable Housing Strategic Goal 3: Promote Homeownership Strategic Goal 4: Advance Sustainable Communities Strategic Goal 5: Strengthen HUD’s Internal Capacity

The five goals of the FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan present the core vision of what we hope to accomplish, the strategies to accomplish those objectives, and the indicators of success.

Overview The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issues this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to invite applications from eligible applicants for the program and purpose described within this NOFO. Prospective applicants should carefully read all instructions in all sections to avoid sending an incomplete or ineligible application. HUD funding is highly competitive. Failure to respond accurately to any submission requirement could result in an incomplete or noncompetitive proposal.

During the selection process HUD is prohibited from disclosing 1) information regarding any applicant’s relative standing, 2) the amount of assistance requested by an applicant, and 3) any information contained in the application. Prior to the application deadline, HUD may not disclose the identity of any applicant or the number of applicants that have applied for assistance.

For Further Information Regarding this NOFO: Please direct questions regarding the specific requirements of this NOFO to the office contact identified in Section VII.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement. The information collection requirements in this notice have been approved by OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501- 3520). In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless the collection displays a valid OMB control number. Each NOFO will identify its applicable OMB control number unless its collection of information is excluded from these requirements under 5 CFR part 1320.

OMB Approval Number(s):

2528-0299

I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION.

A. Program Description.

Purpose

Through this NOFO, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is announcing the availability of $500,000 for one or more cooperative agreements for the "Exploring the Feasibility of Linking Eviction Records to Administrative Databases for HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Program" research project.

Background

This section provides important background information about defining evictions, national eviction data, eviction disparities, and HUD housing assistance programs.

Defining Evictions Eviction has long been a systemic issue in the U.S. Eviction carries severely negative consequences for the physical and mental health, employment, and housing stability of individuals and families who experience it.[1],[2] Furthermore, there is reason to believe that the economic disruption, recessionary contraction, and employment losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have put already vulnerable families at increased risk of eviction.[3]

Although there is no uniform definition of eviction, evictions fall into three categories:

Court-ordered evictions (also called formal or lawful evictions) include all eviction actions that take place through the legal system. The term covers both eviction filings and court-ordered eviction rulings. Court-ordered evictions may be “just-cause” or “no-fault.”

Extra-legal evictions (also called illegal, unlawful, informal, or self- evictions) refer to the measures that landlords take outside of the court system to evict or forcibly remove tenants, including by using threats, harassment, or other undue pressure to vacate. Extra-legal evictions do not leave a formal record.

Administrative evictions refer to an option available to public housing authorities (PHAs) to terminate the tenancy of public housing residents without a court determination in accordance with HUD regulations.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-5/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-1320?toc=1

Further detail regarding these three eviction types are described in HUD’s “Report to Congress on the Feasibility of Creating a National Evictions Database.” This solicitation focuses solely on exploring the prevalence of court-ordered evictions of households from HUD's Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. For purposes of this NOFO, court-ordered evictions and evictions will be used interchangeably in this solicitation.

Eviction Data Sources Records are maintained by local and state court systems, with substantial variation across jurisdictions in the format of the records (electronic or paper), the extent to which eviction records can be separated from other civil cases, and the public availability of the records.

Currently, there is no data source that captures all eviction records nationwide, but two entities have assembled large datasets of eviction records from multiple states and localities. Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is an independent nonprofit established by Congress in 1974 to provide financial support for civil legal aid to low-income Americans. In 2020, Congress directed LSC to conduct an Eviction Study focusing on evictions as a legal process and explore the variability of eviction laws at the state, local, and territorial levels. The study provides legislators, policymakers, and researchers with increased insight into the eviction crisis.[4]

Since 2019, LSC has been systematically compiling eviction records from various data sources on a regular basis. The LSC Eviction Tracker has compiled multi-year trend data on eviction filings for 1,058 counties in 24 states across the United States. LSC public data excludes any personally identifiable information (PII) and may be accessed through their interactive web tool.[5] Not all records collected by LSC have party names and full street addresses.

Outside of government, the Eviction Lab at Princeton University, founded in 2017 by Mathew Desmond, maintains the largest dataset of evictions in America, dating back to 2000. The Eviction dataset draws on tens of millions of individual eviction records obtained through third-party aggregators between 2000 and 2016. The dataset is comprised of formal eviction records from 48 states and the District of Columbia. These eviction records include information related to an eviction court case, such as defendant and plaintiff names, the defendant’s address, monetary judgment information, and an outcome for the case. The Eviction Lab’s public datasets exclude PII.

In addition to data obtained through third-party aggregators such as LexisNexis, the Eviction Lab has also collected state reported, county-level statistics on landlord-tenant cases filed from 27 states, New York City, and the District of Columbia. These statistics are used for validation of other data sources. These data include North and South Dakota, two states where the Eviction Lab did not obtain individual-level eviction records. Together, these statistics represent all the known information on the number of evictions filed in counties and made publicly available by municipalities.

The Eviction Lab estimates that in 2016, 3.7 million eviction cases were filed in the United States, affecting more than 8 percent of renter households.[6] About one-fourth of the households served eviction notices in 2016 (about 2 percent of all renter households) were https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/Eviction-Database-Feasibility-Report-to-Congress-2021.html https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/Eviction-Database-Feasibility-Report-to-Congress-2021.html evicted from their homes.[7]

Eviction Disparities Prior research indicates that the risk of eviction does not fall equally across households. Low-income communities and people of color, particularly black and Hispanic women and women with children, are disproportionally at risk of eviction.[8],[9] Additionally, the risk of eviction is not limited to tenants in large cities. Eviction Lab data indicates that many small towns across the country have eviction rates that rival those of the highest-evicting cities.[10]

HUD Housing Assistance Programs Each year, HUD provides annual federal housing assistance to 4.6 million households, approximately 9.5 million individuals.[11] Socioeconomic disparities among populations at increased risk of eviction mirror those receiving housing assistance. HUD housing subsidy programs can be broadly lumped into two categories: project-based and tenant-based housing. In project-based housing (e.g., Public Housing, Multifamily Housing, Project Based Rental Assistance, Section 811, Section 202), the subsidy is tied to a physical unit. In the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program, in most cases the assistance is tenant-based, tied to the household.[12] The broad goal of this solicitation is to examine evictions among households receiving tenant-based assistance through the HCV program.

The HCV program is HUD’s largest rental assistance program, serving 2.3 million households in 2021. The HCV program allows low-income households to choose, lease, or sometimes buy safe, decent, and affordable housing. Individuals or families who are issued an HCV voucher are responsible for finding their own housing in the private rental market. Participants can rent single-family homes, townhouses, or apartments, provided the owner is willing and the unit meets housing quality standards and has an affordable rent.

Summary Prior research examining evictions from HUD-assisted housing have focused on assessing evictions from Public Housing and project-based housing by linking court-ordered eviction data to data on the addresses of subsidized properties. To our knowledge, few, if any, studies have explored examining evictions among households in the HCV program by linking court-ordered eviction data with HCV data. A major challenge in linking court eviction records to HCV data is that a given address may be occupied by an HCV-assisted household one year but not the next, so address matching alone is not sufficient to determine the rate of evictions among HCV households. Also, a PHA's termination of voucher assistance might predate a legal eviction by a private landlord, such as when a tenant is unable to afford the rent without a rental subsidy.

Given these challenges, this solicitation provides an opportunity to explore innovative data linkage methods.

Research Objectives and Priorities This solicitation seeks to explore the incidence of court-ordered evictions among households in HUD’s HCV program for a U.S. geographic area(s) of choice for which eviction court records are readily available.

The aims of this NOFO include, but are not limited to:

1. Assessing the ability to link data on court-ordered evictions to HUD administrative data on tenants in the HCV program collected in the form HUD-50058.[13]

2. Quantifying the incidence of evictions among households receiving and/or previously receiving assistance from the HCV program. Applicants should consider the timing of HCV program participation[14] in accordance with a court-ordered eviction.

3. Identifying characteristics associated with evictions among HCV households including, but not limited to, household, property, landlord, PHA, rental market characteristics, race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), familial status, and disability.

4. Recommending a methodology that HUD could use to track evictions among HCV households on an ongoing basis through data linkages.

Prior to submission, applicants should review HUD’s “Report to Congress on the Feasibility of Creating a National Evictions Database” for additional background on evictions in the U.S., a better understanding of HUD’s eviction-related priorities and a discussion of limitations when working with eviction court data. Ideally, the research garnered from this award will be reproducible and generalizable to other study locations.

Data To be considered for review:

Eviction Data Applicants are responsible for obtaining access to court-ordered eviction data for a geographic area of their choice. Court-ordered eviction data may be obtained at the national, state, regional or local level.

HUD Administrative Data Forms HUD-50058 and HUD-50058 MTW collect administrative data on households and persons participating in the Housing Choice Voucher program. Successful applicants to this solicitation will receive access to HUD administrative data through a Data Use Agreement (DUA). HUD will have substantial involvement in assisting awardees with securing their DUA and receiving HUD’s data.

Any data previously acquired from HUD is project specific and cannot be used to respond to this solicitation.

In addition to linking court-ordered eviction data with HUD administrative data, applicants may propose to use additional existing or newly created linkages in their analyses. For example, the Census Bureau Data Linkage Infrastructure includes HUD administrative data, which can be linked to other data sources using Person Identification Key (PIK) assignment. Data PIK’d by Census is only available via restricted access, but includes federal data, state data, Census Bureau data, third party data, and locality data.[15] Inclusion of additional secondary data linkages is not required and should not negatively impact the applicant’s ability to address the NOFO’s primary aims.

Eligible Activities https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/50058.PDF https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/DOC_10236.PDF https://www.census.gov/about/adrm/linkage/about.html

In support of this project’s objectives, applicants will undertake a variety of research and activities, with support and input from HUD, including but not limited to those outlined below.

HUD considers the activities listed below to be essential in creating and completing the project in a manner that achieves its objectives.

1. Developing a research design that considers recent research literature, such as that cited in HUD’s “Report to Congress on the Feasibility of Creating a National Evictions Database”, and includes:

a. Outlining the research questions and corresponding hypotheses;

b. Listing all data that will be used for the project;

c. Describing how the data will be linked across different sources and how the data linkages will be assessed in regards to linkage error and any resulting bias;

d. Describing how the researcher(s) plan to analyze the data;

2. Developing a work plan, which should include staffing assignments, task budgets, and a timeline of key activities. The work plan should account for the time required to gain access to existing data and/or create new data linkages.

a. For each data source they intend to use, applicants are asked to clearly state in their work plan whether they already have access to that data source or, if they plan to request access, to describe the necessary steps and associated timeline for gaining access.

b. Applicants who are proposing new data linkages are asked to describe the mechanism they plan to use to gain access to secondary data (e.g., DUAs, Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), etc.) and associated timeline.

3. Acquiring the data, including restricted-use data, necessary to complete the analysis outlined in the research design and work plan.

4. Conducting data analysis as described in the research design, which could include basic descriptive statistics, advanced statistical analysis, geospatial analysis, and data visualization.

5. Producing written reports to document the research, data linkages, and summarize findings in a way accessible to a broad audience including policymakers, legal service providers, tenant organizations and other stakeholders. All reports must be Section 508-compliant; and

6. Providing briefings to explain findings to HUD staff and stakeholders.

Deliverables At a minimum, HUD expects the award recipient to produce the following deliverables. HUD will have substantial involvement in defining these project deliverables with award recipients.

1. Management and Work Plan: The Management and Work Plan will outline the overall strategy for completing the research within the budget and timeframe allotted. It will describe activities to be undertaken, assign staff, and provide a schedule of key tasks. A draft Management and Work Plan must be submitted with the application. After award, HUD will provide feedback to the awardee, and a final Management and Work Plan must be submitted to HUD within two weeks of the receipt of HUD comments.

2. Research Design: The Research Design will provide a detailed plan for technical aspects of the research, including research questions, hypotheses, data sources, data matching and analysis methods. The Research Design must demonstrate how the analysis plan will address the research questions and hypotheses proposed. A draft Research Design must be submitted with the application. After award, HUD will provide feedback to the awardee, and a final Research Design must be submitted to HUD within four weeks of the receipt of HUD comments.

3. Quarterly Progress Reports: Quarterly Progress Reports will document activities completed in the most recent reporting period, planned activities for the upcoming reporting period, and budget expenditures by line item (including work hours worked for specific staff).

4. Interim Report: The Interim Report will be released near the midpoint of the project and provide a summary of the project up to that point. The Interim Report should be considered an opportunity to evaluate the state of the project.

5. Final Report: The Final Report must summarize the work conducted over the course of the project, present the study objectives, data sources, analysis methods, and results. The Final Report is the key deliverable of the study and must serve as a stand-alone document that meets the overall objective of this project. The Final Report should be edited and prepared for publication in accordance with HUD’s Guidelines for Preparing a Report for Publication.

6. Briefings to PD&R: At minimum, awardees will be asked to provide briefings to HUD near the midpoint of their project and after the Final Report is submitted.

7. Linkage Programs and/or Final Datasets: If a new data linkage product is developed, the research team must provide thorough information about the linkage algorithm or approach used. Final, well annotated code used for data cleaning, merging, etc. and a comprehensive explanation of the data linkage process undergone must be provided to HUD upon completion of the project. HUD shall be granted access to the linked data used for the analysis and any new data products developed. Pursuant to 2 CFR 200.315(b) and (d), HUD reserves a royalty-free nonexclusive and irrevocable right to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work/data for Federal purposes, and to authorize others to do so.

[1] Desmond M, Gershenson C. Who gets evicted? Assessing individual, neighborhood, and network factors. Social science research. 2017 Feb 1;62:362-77.

[2] Vásquez-Vera H, Palència L, Magna I, Mena C, Neira J, Borrell C. The threat of home eviction and its effects on health through the equity lens: a systematic review. Social science & medicine. 2017 Feb 1;175:199-208.

[3] HUD analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau, Week 34 Household Pulse Survey: July 21 – August 2, 2021. The Pulse Survey data are available at: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/household-pulse-survey/data.html.

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/about/guidelines_and_brochures.html https://www.huduser.gov/portal/about/guidelines_and_brochures.html

[4] https://lsc-live.app.box.com/v/EvictionCourtDataAnalysis.

[5] https://www.lsctracker.org/summary [6] ____. 2020. “On the Brink of Homelessness: How the Affordable Housing Crisis and the Gentrification of America Is Leaving Families Vulnerable.” Statement before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, January 14, 2020.

[7] Himmelstein, G., & Desmond, M. (2021). Association of eviction with adverse birth outcomes among women in Georgia, 2000 to 2016. JAMA pediatrics, 175(5), 494-500.

[8] Hepburn, P., Louis, R., & Desmond, M. (2020). Racial and gender disparities among evicted Americans. Sociological Science, 7, 649-662.

[9] Lundberg, I., & Donnelly, L. (2019). A research note on the prevalence of housing eviction among children born in US cities. Demography, 56(1), 391-404 [10] Peter Hepburn, Renee Louis, and Matthew Desmond. Eviction Tracking System: Version

1.0. Princeton: Princeton University, 2020.

[11] ____. N.d. “Picture of Subsidized Households.” Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Household and Urban Development. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/assthsg.html [12] Public housing agencies may also project base a portion of their vouchers, tying the assistance to a particular unit. In 2021, project-based vouchers (PBVs) accounted for about 12 percent of Housing Choice Vouchers leased. This NOFO focuses on tenant-based vouchers, not PBVs.

[13]The HUD-50058 data (available here) are for public housing authority programs and are maintained in the Public and Indian Housing Information Center (PIC).

[14] Note that one type of action code "6 - end participation” found on Form HUD-50058 is not consistently populated. Therefore, researchers should be prepared to utilize other methods to determine HCV program participation, including proxies for the ”end of program participation” construct. Alignment of timing between HCV program participation and a court-ordered eviction should be addressed by the applicant.

[15] For Census Bureau restricted data, see: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ces/data/restricted-use-data.html

Changes from Previous NOFO.

This is a new NOFO.

Definitions.

a. Standard Definitions

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH). Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) means taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination to overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunities, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws. The duty to affirmatively further fair housing extends to all program participant’s activities and programs relating to housing and urban development.

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/assthsg.html https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/50058.PDF https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ces/data/restricted-use-data.html https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ces/data/restricted-use-data.html

Assistance Listing number refers to the publicly available listing of Federal assistance programs managed and administered by the General Services Administration, formerly known as the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). Assistance Listing is a unique number assigned to identify a Federal Assistance Listings, formerly known as the CFDA

Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) is the person authorized to submit applications on behalf of the organization via Grants.gov. The AOR is authorized by the E-Biz point of contact in the System for Award Management. The AOR is listed in item 21 on the SF- 424.

Consolidated Plan is a document developed by states and local jurisdictions. This plan is completed by engaging in a participatory process to assess their affordable housing and community development needs and market conditions, and to make data-driven, place-based investment decisions with funding from formula grant programs. (See 24 CFR part 91 for HUD’s requirements regarding the Consolidated Plan and related Action Plan).

Contract means, for the purpose of Federal financial assistance, a legal instrument by which a recipient or subrecipient purchases property or services needed to carry out the project or program under a federal award. For additional information on contractor and subrecipient determinations, see 2 CFR 200.331.

Contractor means an entity that receives a contract as defined above and in 2 CFR 200.1.

Deficiency is information missing or omitted within a submitted application. Examples of deficiencies include missing documents, information on a form, or some other type of unsatisfied information requirement. Depending on specific criteria, deficiencies may be either Curable or Non-Curable.

Curable Deficiencies may be corrected by the applicant with timely action. To be curable the deficiency must:

Not be a threshold requirement, except for documentation of applicant eligibility;

Not influence how an applicant is ranked or scored versus other applicants; and Be remedied within the time frame specified in the notice of deficiency.

Non-Curable Deficiencies cannot be corrected by an applicant after the submission deadline.

Non-curable deficiencies are deficiencies that, if corrected, would change an applicant’s score or rank versus other applicants. Non-curable deficiencies may result in an application being marked ineligible, or otherwise adversely affect an application’s score and final determination.

Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Fair treatment means that no population bears a disproportionate share of negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or from the execution of federal, state, and local laws; regulations; and policies. Meaningful involvement requires effective access to decision makers for all, and the ability in all communities to make informed decisions and take positive actions to produce environmental justice for themselves.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/subtitle-A/part-91 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFR031321e29ac5bbd/section-200.331 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200

DUNS Number is the nine-digit Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Number System identification number assigned to a business or organization by Dun & Bradstreet and provides a means of identifying business entities on a location-specific basis.

E-Business Point of Contact (E-Biz POC) A user registered as an organization applicant who is responsible for the administration and management of grant activities for his or her organization.

The E-Biz POC is likely to be an organization's chief financial officer or authorizing official. The E-Biz POC authorizes representatives of their organization to apply on behalf of the organization (see Standard AOR and Expanded AOR). There can only be one E-Biz POC per DUNS Number.

Eligibility requirements are mandatory requirements for an application to be eligible for funding.

Expanded Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) An AOR is a member of your organization authorized by the EBiz POC to submit applications in Grants.gov on behalf of the organization. An applicant user with the Expanded AOR role is authorized to submit any applications on behalf of the organization and has privileges that allow the user to modify organization-level settings in Grants.gov.

Federal Financial Assistance means assistance that entities received or administer in the form of:

1. Grants;

2. Cooperative agreements (which does not include a cooperative research and development agreement pursuant to the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986, as amended (15 U.S.C. 3710a)).

3. Loans;

4. Loan guarantees;

5. Subsidies;

6. Insurance;

7. Food commodities;

8. Direct appropriations;

9. Assessed and voluntary contributions; and

10. Any other financial assistance transaction that authorizes the non-Federal entity's expenditure of Federal funds.

11. Federal financial assistance does not include amounts received as reimbursement for services rendered to individuals as described in section 200.502(h) and (i). (2 CFR 200.1)

Federal award, has the meaning, depending on the context, in either paragraph (i) or (ii) of this definition:

1. (i) The Federal financial assistance that a recipient receives directly from a Federal awarding agency or a subrecipient receives indirectly from a pass-through entity, as described in 2 CFR §200.101; or

ii. The cost-reimbursement contract under the Federal Acquisition Regulations that a non- Federal entity receives directly from a federal awarding agency or indirectly from a pass- through entity, as described in 2 CFR §200.101.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-F/subject-group-ECFRfd0932e473d10ba/section-200.502 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200 http://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200

2. The instrument setting forth the terms and conditions. The instrument is the grant agreement, cooperative agreement, other agreement for assistance covered in paragraph (2) of the definitions of Federal financial assistance in 2 CFR §200.1, and this NOFO, or the cost-reimbursement contract awarded under the Federal Acquisition Regulations.

3. Federal award does not include other contracts that a Federal agency uses to buy goods or services from a contractor or a contract to operate Federal Government owned, contractor operated facilities (GOCOs).

4. See also definitions of Federal financial assistance, grant agreement, and cooperative agreement in 2 CFR 200.1.

Grants.gov is the website serving as the Federal government’s central portal for searching and applying for Federal financial assistance throughout the Federal government. Registration on Grants.gov is required for submission of applications to prospective agencies unless otherwise specified in this NOFO.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as: “…any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary of Education to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation.” HBCUs offer all students, regardless of race, an opportunity to develop their skills and talents.

Non-Federal Entity (NFE) means a state, local government, Indian tribe, Institution of Higher Education (IHE), or non-profit organization that carries out a federal award as a recipient or subrecipient.

Point of Contact (POC) is the person who may be contacted with questions about the application submitted by the AOR. The POC is listed in item 8F on the SF-424.

Recipient means an entity, usually but not limited to non-Federal entities, that receives a federal award directly from HUD. The term recipient does not include subrecipients or individuals that are beneficiaries of the award.

Small business is defined as a privately-owned corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship that has fewer employees and less annual revenue than a corporation or regular-sized business.

The definition of “small”—in terms of being able to apply for government support and qualify for preferential tax policy—varies by country and industry. The U.S. Small Business Administration defines a small business according to a set of standards based on specific industries. See 13 CFR Part 121.

Standard Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) An AOR is a member of your organization authorized by the EBiz POC to submit applications in Grants.gov on behalf of the organization. An applicant user with the Standard AOR role can only submit applications when they are a Participant of that workspace.

Subaward means an award provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to carry out part of a federal award received by the pass-through entity. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual that is a beneficiary of a https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/chapter-I/part-121?toc=1 federal program. A subaward may be provided through any form of legal agreement, including an agreement that the pass-through entity considers a contract.

Subrecipient means an entity, usually but not limited to non-Federal entities, that receives a subaward from a pass-through entity to carry out part of a federal award but does not include an individual that is a beneficiary of such award. A subrecipient may also be a recipient of other federal awards directly from a federal awarding agency.

System for Award Management (SAM) is the Federal Repository into which an entity must provide information required for the conduct of business as a recipient. Registration with SAM is required for submission of applications via Grants.gov. You can access the website at https://www.sam.gov/SAM/. There is no cost to use SAM.

Threshold Requirements are an eligibility requirement that must be met for an application to be reviewed. Threshold requirements are not curable, except for documentation of applicant eligibility and are listed in Section III.D Threshold Eligibility Requirements. Similarly, there are eligibility requirements under Section III.E, Statutory and Regulatory Requirements Affecting Eligibility.

Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) means the identifier assigned by SAM to uniquely identify business entities.

Program Definitions.

None.

B. Authority.

This program is authorized by Sections 501 and 502 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 (12 U.S.C. §1701z-1 and §1701z-2) and funding is provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260, approved December 27, 2020) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law 117-103, approved March 15, 2022).

II. Award Information.

A. Available Funds Funding of approximately $500,000 is available through this NOFO.

Additional funds may become available for award under this NOFO. Use of these funds might be subject to statutory constraints or other requirements. All awards are subject to the funding restrictions contained in this NOFO.

B. Number of Awards.

HUD expects to make approximately 2 awards from the funds available under this NOFO.

C. Minimum/Maximum Award Information Estimated Total Funding:

$500,000 Minimum Award Amount:

https://www.sam.gov/SAM/

$100,000 Per Budget Period

Maximum Award Amount:

$500,000 Per Budget Period

D. Period of Performance Estimated Project Start Date:

09/30/2022 Estimated Project End Date:

09/30/2024 Length of Project Periods:

24-month project period and budget period

Length of Periods Explanation of Other:

E. Type of Funding Instrument.

Funding Instrument Type:

CA (Cooperative Agreement) III. Eligibility Information.

A. Eligible Applicants.

00 (State governments)

01 (County governments)

02 (City or township governments)

04 (Special district governments)

05 (Independent school districts)

06 (Public and State controlled institutions of higher education)

07 (Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized))

08 (Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities)

11 (Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments))

12 (Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education)

13 (Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education)

20 (Private institutions of higher education)

22 (For profit organizations other than small businesses)

23 (Small businesses)

Additional Information on Eligibility

B. Ineligible Applicants.

Individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorship organizations are not eligible to compete for, or receive, awards made under this announcement.

C. Cost Sharing or Matching.

This Program does not require cost sharing or matching.

D. Threshold Eligibility Requirements.

Applicants who fail to meet any of the following threshold eligibility requirements will be deemed ineligible. Applications from ineligible applicants will not be evaluated.

1. Resolution of Civil Rights Matters. Outstanding civil rights matters must be resolved before the application deadline. Applicants, who after review are confirmed to have civil rights matters unresolved at the application deadline, will be deemed ineligible. Their applications will receive no further review, will not be rated and ranked, and they will not receive funding.

a. Applicants having any of the charges, cause determinations, lawsuits, or letters of findings referenced in subparagraphs (1) – (5) that have not been resolved to HUD’s satisfaction before or on the application deadline date are ineligible for funding. Such matters include:

1. Charges from HUD concerning a systemic violation of the Fair Housing Act or receipt of a cause determination from a substantially equivalent state or local fair housing agency concerning a systemic violation of a substantially equivalent state or local fair housing law proscribing discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or familial status;

2. Status as a defendant in a Fair Housing Act lawsuit filed by the United States alleging a pattern or practice of discrimination or denial of rights to a group of persons raising an issue of general public importance under 42 U.S.C. 3614(a);

3. Status as a defendant in any other lawsuit filed or joined by the Department of Justice, or in which the Department of Justice has intervened, or filed an amicus brief or statement of interest, alleging a pattern or practice or systemic violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, the Americans with Disabilities Act or a claim under the False Claims Act related to fair housing, non-discrimination, or civil rights generally including an alleged failure to affirmatively further fair housing;

4. Receipt of a letter of findings identifying systemic non-compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; or the Americans with Disabilities Act; or

5. Receipt of a cause determination from a substantially equivalent state or local fair housing agency concerning a systemic violation of provisions of a state or local law prohibiting discrimination in housing based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or lawful source of income.

b. HUD will determine if actions to resolve the charge, cause determination, lawsuit, or letter of findings taken before the application deadline date will resolve the matter.

Examples of actions that may be sufficient to resolve the matter include, but are not limited to:

1. Current compliance with a voluntary compliance agreement signed by all the parties;

2. Current compliance with a HUD-approved conciliation agreement signed by all the parties;

3. Current compliance with a conciliation agreement signed by all the parties and approved by the state governmental or local administrative agency with jurisdiction over the matter;

4. Current compliance with a consent order or consent decree;

5. Current compliance with a final judicial ruling or administrative ruling or decision; or

6. Dismissal of charges.

2. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing. With some exceptions for federally recognized Indian tribes and their instrumentalities, the application must discuss how the applicant will carry out the proposed activities in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing in compliance with the Fair Housing Act and its implementing regulations. Applicants may propose activities that are consistent with their jurisdiction’s Analysis of Impediments (AI), an Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH), or other means of fair housing planning that meaningfully supports their AFFH certification.

If the applicant will carry out proposed activities in a jurisdiction with an accepted Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH), the proposed activities should be consistent with the AFH's fair housing goals and with fair housing strategies specified in the jurisdiction’s Consolidated Plan or Public Housing Agency Plan.”

3. Timely Submission of Applications. Applications submitted after the deadline stated within this NOFO that do not meet the requirements of the grace period policy will be marked late. Late applications are ineligible and will not be considered for funding. See Section IV. D. Application Submission Dates and Times.

4. Proposals must be responsive to the research objectives described in Section I.A. and plan to link readily available eviction court records to HUD administrative data on the Housing Choice Voucher program.

5. Applicants must include a complete application as described in Section IV.B.

Applications that are incomplete or do not clearly respond to the research objectives described in this announcement will be ineligible and will not be considered for funding.

E. Statutory and Regulatory Requirements Affecting Eligibility.

Eligibility Requirements for Applicants of HUD’s Grants Programs The following requirements affect applicant eligibility. Detailed information on each requirement is posted on HUD’s Funding Opportunities Page.

Active Prime and Sub Recipient registration with SAM.gov Outstanding Delinquent Federal Debts Debarments or Suspensions, or both Pre-selection Review of Performance Sufficiency of Financial Management System False Statements Mandatory Disclosure Requirement https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/spm/gmomgmt/grantsinfo/fundingopps

Prohibition Against Lobbying Activities In addition, each applicant under this NOFO must have the necessary processes and systems in place to comply with the Award Term in Appendix A of 24 CFR part 170 if the applicant receives an award, unless an exception applies as provided in 2 CFR 170.110.

F. Program-Specific Requirements.

None.

G. Criteria for Beneficiaries.

Not applicable for this research.

IV. Application and Submission Information.

A. Obtaining an Application Package.

Instructions for Applicants.

You must download both the Application Instructions and the Application Package from Grants.gov. You must verify that the Assistance Listing Number and Assistance Listing Description on the first page of the Application Package, and the Funding Opportunity Title and the Funding Opportunity Number match the Program and NOFO to which you are applying.

The Application Package contains the portable document forms (PDFs) available on Grants.gov, such as the SF-424 Family. The Instruction Download contains official copies of the NOFO and forms necessary for a complete application. The Instruction Download may include Microsoft Word files, Microsoft Excel files, and additional documents.

An applicant demonstrating good cause may request a waiver from the requirement for electronic submission, for example, a lack of available Internet access in the geographic area in which your business offices are located. Lack of SAM registration or valid DUNS/UEI is not good cause. If you cannot submit your application electronically, you must ask in writing for a waiver of the electronic grant submission requirements. HUD will not grant a waiver if the Applicant fails to submit to HUD in writing or via email a request for a waiver at least 15 calendar days before the application deadline. If HUD grants a waiver, a paper application must be received before the deadline for this NOFO. To request a waiver, you must contact:

Name:

Leatha M. Blanks Email:

Leatha.M.Blanks@hud.gov HUD Organization:

PD&R

Street:

451 7th Street SW, Room #8130 City:

Washington State:

DC DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Zip:

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-25/chapter-I/subchapter-H/part-170 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-I/part-170/subpart-A/section-170.110 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-I/part-170/subpart-A/section-170.110

20410 B. Content and Form of Application Submission.

You must verify that boxes 11, 12, and 13 on the SF-424 match the NOFO for which you are applying. If they do not match, you have downloaded the wrong Application Instruction and Application Package.

Submission of an application that is otherwise sufficient, under the wrong Assistance Listing and Funding Opportunity Number is Non-Curable unless otherwise stated under the Threshold requirements section.

1. Content.

Forms/Assurances/Certifications Submission Requirement Notes/Description

Application for Federal Assistance

(SF424)

Submission is required for all applicants by the application due date.

Required for all applications.

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SFLLL), if applicable

HUD will provide instructions to grantees on how the form is to be submitted.

If any funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with this commitment providing for the United States to insure or guarantee a loan, the applicant shall complete and submit the SF-LLL, "Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying," in accordance with its instructions. Applicants must furnish an executed copy of the Certification Regarding Lobbying prior to award.

HUD Applicant Recipient Disclosure Report (HUD) 2880 Applicant/Recipient Disclosure/Update Report

Submission is required for all applicants by the application due date.

Applicant should include in this form, or as an attachment, a signed statement that says, "I certify that the information provided on this form and in any accompanying documentation is true and accurate. I acknowledge that making, presenting, or submitting a

Forms/Assurances/Certifications Submission Requirement Notes/Description false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement, representation, or certification may result in criminal, civil, and/or administrative sanctions, including fines, penalties, and imprisonment."

Form HUD424CBW

Submission is required for all applicants by the application due date.

Budget form

Additionally, your complete application must include the following narratives and non-form attachments.

2. Format and Form.

Narratives and other attachments to your application must follow the following format guidelines.

25 Pages maximum length of narratives

Double spaced 12-point (minimum) Times Roman font on letter sized paper (8 1/2 x 11 inches) with at least 1-inch margins on all sides

Other

Narrative addressing rating factors should not exceed 25 pages. The narrative page limits do not include required forms, assurances and certifications, the appendix of participating firms and contractors, the appendix of resumes, the budget narrative, and the one-page abstract.

The narrative must be formatted to fit a 8.5 by 11-inch page, double-spaced (information requirements), with one-inch margins, using standard Times New Roman 12-point font.

Resumes are subject to a separate 20-page limit as follows:

o The application shall include resumes for no more than five key personnel; and o No individual resume shall exceed four pages.