fr-5800-n-33-comprehensive-housing-counseling.pdf

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Office of Housing Counseling

Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Department's Fiscal Year 2015 Supplemental Comprehensive Housing Counseling Grant Program

FR-5800-N-33

Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Department's Fiscal Year 2015 Supplemental Comprehensive Housing Counseling Grant Program

FR-5800-N-33

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description.

II. Award Information.

III. Eligibility Information.

A. Eligible Applicants.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching.

C. Other.

IV. Application and Submission Information.

A. Obtaining an Application Package.

B. Content and Form of Application Submission.

C. Application Submission Dates and Times.

D. Intergovernmental Review.

E. Funding Restrictions.

F. Other Submission Requirements.

V. Application Review Information.

A. Criteria.

B. Review and Selection Process.

C. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates.

VI. Award Administration Information.

A. Award Notices.

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements.

C. Reporting.

VII. Agency Contact(s).

VIII. Other Information.

IX. Appendix.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Program Office:

Funding Opportunity Title:

Announcement Type:

Funding Opportunity Number:

Primary CFDA Number: Due

Date for Applications:

Office of Housing Counseling

Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Department's Fiscal Year 2015 Supplemental Comprehensive Housing Counseling Grant Program

Initial

FR-5800-N-33

14.169

May 7, 2015

This NOFA provides information and instructions for the FY 2015 Supplemental Comprehensive Housing Counseling Grant Program. This NOFA is comprised of both the General Section to the Department’s FY 2014 NOFAs for Discretionary Programs (General Section) published February 19, 2014, and this program section to the NOFA. In addition to the application requirements set forth in this document, Applicants must also comply with the requirements established in the General Section, and all Housing Counseling Program requirements. FY 2015 grants to be awarded under the NOFA are contingent upon the availability of funding.

Additional Overview Information:

1. Incorporation of the General Section. HUD publishes a General Section each fiscal year that contains mandatory requirements for all applicants to HUD’s competitive grant programs including this NOFA.

Applicants must meet all of the requirements of the General Section in addition to the requirements of this NOFA to be considered and to receive funding. The full title of the General Section is General Section for Fiscal Year 2014 Discretionary Programs. It can be found on Grants.gov and on HUD's Funds Available webpage at http://portal.hud.gov /hudportal/HUD?src=/program offices /administration/grants /fundsavail.

2. OMB Approval Number(s): 2502-0261

I. Funding Opportunity Description.

A. Program Description and Requirements.

1. Program Description. The purpose of HUD’s Housing Counseling Grant Program is to provide funds that shall be used for providing counseling and advice to tenants and homeowners, both current and prospective, with respect to property maintenance, financial management and literacy, and such other matters as may be appropriate to assist them in improving their housing conditions, meeting their financial needs, and fulfilling the responsibilities of tenancy or homeownership. Funding provided by this NOFA is intended to support HUD-approved housing counseling agencies to respond flexibly to the needs of residents and neighborhoods, and deliver a wide variety of housing counseling services to homebuyers, homeowners, renters, and the homeless. This NOFA plays an integral role in the continued stabilization of our nation’s housing market by helping individuals and families obtain housing and stay in their homes through responsible homeownership or affordable rental housing. Traditionally underserved populations such as minorities, the elderly, veterans, persons with disabilities, persons with limited English

2 of38 proficiency and residents of rural areas, face unique housing and economic challenges. HUD’s Comprehensive Housing Counseling Grant Program funds housing counselors who provide expert, unbiased guidance and information to help families and individuals meet their housing needs and improve their financial situations. Moreover, HUD grants assist housing counselors to act as an important safeguard against scams and discrimination, and to act as an important gateway to local, state, federal and private housing assistance and resources.

2. Objectives and Priorities of this NOFA. The Congress, Administration and other program stakeholders have identified several priorities for the Housing Counseling Program that this NOFA addresses, including but not limited to:

a. Distribute federal financial support to housing counseling agencies for them to provide quality services to consumers to address their housing and financial needs.

b. Distribute federal financial support to housing counseling agencies based on past performance and quality of housing counseling services.

c. Reduce the administrative costs to program participants when applying for and reporting on HUD funding while maintaining essential tracking of program performance and accountability for federal funds.

d. Leverage external resources and funding to increase the sustainability of quality housing counseling programs.

e. Ensure high quality housing counseling services by preparing the housing counseling industry for additional HUD counseling standards and individual housing counseling testing and certification expected to be implemented in FY 2015.

f. Ensure adequate distribution of funding amounts for rural areas having traditionally low levels of access to housing counseling services, including areas with insufficient access to the Internet.

3. Procedural Changes. In order to improve communication, streamline program requirements, reduce administrative burdens and prepare for additional program standards, HUD has made a significant procedural change to the application process for this NOFA and will continue a number of changes implemented under previous Comprehensive Housing Counseling NOFA competitions.

a. Limited Eligibility for FY 15 Supplemental Housing Counseling NOFA. Eligible applicants for this FY15 Supplemental NOFA are limited, with certain exceptions as described in Section III.A.

of this NOFA, to HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agencies and State Housing Finance Agencies that were not awarded FY 2014 comprehensive housing counseling funds through the FY 2014 – 2015 Comprehensive Housing Counseling Grant Program NOFA (FY 2014 – 2015 NOFA).

Agencies that were awarded FY 2014 funds through the FY 2014 – 2015 NOFA are not eligible for this FY15 Supplemental NOFA, except under limited circumstances described in Section III.A of this NOFA. As described in the FY 2014 – 2015 NOFA, HUD will use the applications received under the FY 2014 - 2015 NOFA, and the corresponding scores and funding methodology relevant to the FY 2014 - 2015 NOFA, to make awards to such agencies for FY2015, utilizing FY 2015 appropriations.

Grantees that received FY 2014 housing counseling funding through the FY 2014 – 2015 NOFA will be contacted by HUD to determine their interest in FY 2015 funding. HUD will then rerun the FY 2014 funding formula, utilizing FY 2014 application data and scores, should FY 2015 funding become available, for those FY 2014 grantees that express interest and remain eligible. Doing this will enable HUD to make awards quickly after FY 2015 appropriations become available, and significantly reduce the application burden for counseling agencies. The General Section for FY 2014 will govern both the FY 2014 and FY 2015 comprehensive housing counseling grant funds.

b. Continuation of Previously Implemented Procedural Changes:

i. Offsetting Expected Counselor Certification Costs. As Applicants should be aware, sections 106(e) and (f) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. §§

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1701x(e) and (f)) requires the Department to test and certify housing counselors. HUD has published a proposed rule related to these requirements. See 78 FR 56625. The timing of a final rule and its implementation date is unknown. However, should the timing overlap with the availability of funds under this NOFA, Applicants should be aware that expected training, testing and certification expenses are eligible expenses under this NOFA. The funding methodology contains a layer of funding based on the number of the Applicant’s full-time equivalent (FTE) housing counselors. This change was made not only to improve the methodology with which HUD determines award amounts, but also to make sure award amounts are made in a manner consistent with the intent to help counseling agencies offset expected certification costs.

ii. Recognition of Quality of Housing Counseling Services. The scoring and funding methodology for this NOFA is intended to enable grantees to meet the program goal of building agency capacity to provide a flexible range of services to address a wide variety of housing and financial needs, especially in response to recent economic and housing conditions. Scoring under this NOFA will reward high-quality services, oversight and quality control, participation in HUD-sponsored housing counseling-related research and pilot programs, meeting key needs, and efficient program administration. HUD will require all Applicants to identify distribution of funds among sub-grantees and branches at the time of application based on percentages of the grant rather than dollar amounts. In addition, only sub-grantees and branches that directly provide housing counseling services should be listed in the application. In other words, sub-grantees or branches that perform administrative functions only should not be listed as sub-grantees. Further, an Intermediary or State Housing Finance Agency (SHFA) may not fund a sub-grantee at 100% of the sub-grantee’s budget. HUD will view the list of sub-grantees identified in the Applicant's application as final. If after the grants are awarded an Applicant would like to change its submitted list of sub-grantees, the grantee must make the request of HUD in writing and provide detailed justification for the request.

iii. Encouraging Counseling Networks. HUD will provide increased support for Intermediaries, SHFAs and Multi-State Organizations (MSOs) that manage networks of housing counseling agencies or branches, in other words, that sub-allocate funding to sub-grantees and branches. Specifically, this NOFA is structured to encourage such agencies to expand their network, and encourage Local Housing Counseling Agencies (LHCAs) and other agencies to form new partnerships to gain access to additional resources and cost savings. This NOFA permits the funding of a sub-grantee’s branches. However, to receive a base award under the funding methodology for this NOFA, a branch office must be open to provide housing counseling services to minimum of thirty (30) clients per year. In addition, this NOFA will provide support based on the number of FTE counselors in a network. HUD counseling grants will be structured to provide grantees that manage networks of counseling agencies with additional resources to ensure quality, accountability, technical assistance support and information technology support for their respective networks.

HUD continues to encourage networks with HUD-approved Intermediaries and SHFAs for several reasons. First, HUD recognizes the important role that housing counseling networks can play in improving the quality of housing counseling, for example by facilitating knowledge and sharing best practices. Second, HUD is determined to take steps to decrease the size of the application, reporting and other program administration work load burdens on housing counseling agencies in an effort to maximize the impact of housing counseling resources on the consumers of housing counseling services. HUD also wants to cooperate more effectively with SHFAs given the increasingly important role they are playing in the housing counseling field. Most applicants should be familiar with this counseling network funding model, as a similar approach has been used to distribute National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) funding. To help facilitate the partnering of LHCAs with Intermediaries and SHFAs, Appendix A provides contact information for Intermediaries and SHFAs that participate in HUD's Housing

Counseling Program as of the NOFA publication date.

To encourage Applicants to increase the size of their counseling networks, the funding methodology for this NOFA incorporates a flat award per sub-grantee and branch (of the Intermediary, SHFA or Multi-State Organization [MSO]) included in an application.

iv. Significant Funding Methodology Changes. While network size/number of sub-grantees remains as a significant funding factor, this NOFA’s funding methodology places slightly decreased weight on network size in order to increase weight on other criteria such as score, number of FTEs, network management activities and other relevant criteria.

v. Grant Request Amount. HUD will not require grant amount requests or grant budgets at the time of application. However, HUD will require submission of the actual revenue and expense statements of the previous year, which will be used as an element in scoring.

vi. Reporting. HUD expects to simplify reporting for the grant program, but may require new reporting of short- and long-term outcomes in FY 2015. These potential changes are not reflected in this notice but would be implemented through future notices.

4. Funding Category. HUD will award a single Comprehensive Grant to qualified Applicants.

5. Definitions. See Appendix B.

B. Authority.

HUD's Housing Counseling Program is authorized by Section 106 of the HUD Act and Section 4 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. § 3533) as amended by Title XIV of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank). The Housing Counseling Program regulations are codified at 24 C.F.R. Part 214. The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Program is authorized by Section 255 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. § 1715z-20), and its regulations are codified at 24 C.F.R. Part 206.

II. Award Information.

A. Available Funds.

HUD is making available through this NOFA $3,500,000 for Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Department's Fiscal Year 2015 Supplemental Comprehensive Housing Counseling Grant Program.

Additional funds may become available for award under this NOFA as a result of HUD's efforts to recapture unused funds, use carryover funds, or because of the availability of additional appropriated funds. Use of these funds will be subject to statutory constraints. All awards are subject to the applicable funding restrictions described in the General Section and to those contained in this NOFA.

HUD estimates approximately $3.5 million will be available for eligible applicants under this NOFA for FY 2015. This estimate is based on the estimated number of agencies that will be eligible and apply for funds under this NOFA. HUD reserves the right to award more or less than this amount, in one or more phases, depending upon the number of eligible applicants and other factors.

B. Number of Awards.

HUD expects to make approximately 60 awards from the funds available under this NOFA.

The number of awards made from funds available under this NOFA will depend on the number of eligible applicants and other factors. For information on the methodology used to make award determinations under this NOFA, please see Section V.B Review and Selection Process below.

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C. Maximum Award Information.

1. Total Grant Request. Applicants are not required to request a specific award amount, nor provide a proposed budget for a grant amount but should enter a response of $1.00 in line 18a of the SF424, Application for Federal Assistance. Applicants will be required to submit the revenue and expense statements for their counseling program for the most recent fiscal year (i.e., October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014).

2. Award Adjustments. HUD reserves the right to adjust funding levels for each grantee. Once Applicants are selected for award, HUD will determine the total amount to be awarded to any grantee, based upon the scope of services to be provided and funds available and other factors that HUD may determine.

3. Minimum and Maximum Award Amounts. Minimum and maximum award amounts for awards made from funds available under this NOFA will depend on the number of eligible applicants and other factors. For information on the methodology used to make award determinations under this NOFA, please see Section V.B Review and Selection Process below.

Estimated Total Funding: $3,500,000

Minimum Award Amount: $0 Per Project Period

Maximum Award Amount: $0 Per Project Period

D. Period of Performance.

Estimated Project Start Date: 10/01/2014

Estimated Project End Date: 03/31/2016

Other

Additional Information on Project Periods

The initial period of performance for grants awarded under this program will be for a period of up to eighteen (18) months. For planning purposes, Applicants should assume that the period of performance is October 1, 2014 through March 31, 2016. On a case-by-case basis, after HUD has issued the FY 2015 awards, HUD may approve one-time requests from grantees to extend the initial period of performance for good cause. For grantees that expend their funds within twelve (12) months, such performance may positively impact their scores under future NOFAs.

E. Type of Funding Instrument.

Funding Instrument Type: Grant

HUD will likely use a Grant Agreement. All awards will be made on a cost reimbursement basis, which means that grantees will receive funding for housing counseling services that were provided prior to a draw request from HUD for reimbursement.

F. Supplementation.

Not Applicable.

III. Eligibility Information.

A. Eligible Applicants.

Eligible applicants under this NOFA include:

Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

Additional Information on Eligibility:

1. Threshold Requirements: All Applicants and sub-grantees must meet the Threshold Requirements of the FY 2014 General Section.

2. Eligible Applicants.

a. All housing counseling agencies (including LHCAs, Intermediaries and MSOs) that are directly approved by HUD prior to the NOFA issue date and were not awarded FY 2014 comprehensive housing counseling funds through the FY 2014 – 2015 NOFA as a direct grant from HUD or as a sub-grant from an SHFA or Intermediary are eligible for this NOFA. SHFAs that were not awarded FY 2014 funds through the FY 2014 – 2015 NOFA as a direct grant from HUD or as a sub-grant from an Intermediary are also eligible.

Agencies that were awarded FY 2014 funds through the FY 2014 – 2015 NOFA as a direct grant from HUD or as a sub-grant from an SHFA or Intermediary are not eligible for this NOFA, unless the agency was awarded FY 2014 funds as an LHCA or as a sub-grantee of an SHFA or Intermediary and the LHCA or sub-grantee received HUD approval as a newly approved MSO or Intermediary on or after March 4, 2014 and prior to publication of this NOFA. Agencies meeting these criteria are eligible to apply for this NOFA using the MSO or Intermediary designation.

Agencies that choose to apply under this exception will not be eligible to receive additional FY 2015 funds through the FY 2014 – 2015 NOFA as either a direct grantee from HUD or as a sub-grantee from an SHFA or Intermediary.

All other agencies that were awarded FY 2014 funds through the FY 2014 – 2015 NOFA as a direct grant from HUD or as a sub-grant from an SHFA or Intermediary are not eligible for a direct grant from HUD under this NOFA. Instead, agencies that were awarded FY 2014 funds as a direct grant from HUD will be eligible to receive FY 2015 funds using the applications HUD received under the FY 2014 – 2015 NOFA and the corresponding scores and funding methodology as described in the FY 2014 – 2015 NOFA if the agency remains interested in and eligible for such funds. Alternatively, LHCAs that were awarded FY 2014 funds as a direct grant from HUD under the FY 2014 - 2015 NOFA may affiliate with an Intermediary or SHFA and access FY 2015 funding through that affiliation. LHCAs that choose to affiliate and access FY 2015 funding through that affiliation will not be eligible to also receive additional FY 2015 funds as a direct grantee under the FY 2014 - 2015

NOFA.

Agencies that were awarded FY 2014 funds as a sub-grant from an SHFA or Intermediary will be eligible to receive FY 2015 funds as a sub-grantee from an SHFA or Intermediary if the agency remains interested in and eligible for such funds. Agencies that received FY 2014 funds as a sub-grantee from an SHFA or Intermediary that leave or are removed from that SHFA or Intermediary network for FY 2015 may be able to affiliate with a different Intermediary or SHFA and access FY 2015 funding through that affiliation. However, if the FY 2015 Intermediary or SHFA received an award through the FY 2014 – 2015 NOFA, HUD will not change the award amount the Intermediary or SHFA receives in FY 2015 based on the new affiliation except under rare, extenuating circumstances ( e.g. the FY 2014 Intermediary or SHFA withdraws from the program).

Housing counseling agencies that have not received HUD approval but meet the Housing Counseling Program approval criteria at 24 C.F.R. § 214.103 and other HUD requirements are encouraged to affiliate with a HUD-approved Intermediary or SHFA.

b. Applicant and Sub-grantee Status. To be eligible to receive a grant or sub-grant under this NOFA, all Applicants, sub-grantees and branches must be:

i. tax-exempt organizations under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 501(a) as described in IRC section 501(c) (26 U.S.C. §§ 501(a) and (c)), or be a local, county or state government;

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ii. in good standing under the laws and regulations of the state of their organization; and

iii. authorized to do business in the states in which they propose to provide housing counseling services.

c. Additional Eligibility Requirements for Applicants and Sub-grantees. To be eligible to receive a grant or sub-grant under this NOFA:

i. Successful Applicants must give priority to methods that provide physical access to individuals with disabilities, i.e., holding the training or any other type of meeting in an accessible location, in accordance with the regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as applicable. All programs or activities must be held in accessible locations unless the recipient can demonstrate that doing so would result in a fundamental alteration of the program or an undue financial and administrative burden, in which case the recipients must take any action that would not result in such an alteration or such burden but would nevertheless ensure that individuals with disabilities receive the benefits and services of the program or activity, e.g., training at an alternate accessible site or in-home training. Individuals with disabilities must receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. In addition, counseling services must comply with effective communication requirements pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its implementing regulations at 24 C.F.R. § 8.6.

ii. SAM .gov Registration Requirement. All Applicants must have a valid, active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM). All sub-grantees must have a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) identifier. See the Summary, page 7 and Section III of the General Section for more information.

iii. All Applicants and sub-grantees must have resolved all outstanding issues on their most recent HUD housing counseling performance review by the later of the application deadline date of this NOFA, or the expiration date of any conditional re-approval resulting from a HUD performance review.

iv. No Applicant, sub-grantee or branch that has been, or employs an individual who has been, convicted of a violation under federal law relating to an election for Federal office (as defined in Pub. L. 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (July 21, 2010)) is eligible for grant funding under this NOFA.

d. Additional Eligibility Requirements for Applicant:

i. Housing Counseling Work Plan. All Applicants must have a Housing Counseling Work Plan on file with HUD. Activities specified in the HUD-9906 Housing Counseling charts must be consistent with the applicant’s Work Plan and include the provision of housing counseling.

Providing only education or marketing and outreach does not fulfill this requirement.

ii. Compliance with third party certifications and licensing. All Applicants must be in compliance with, and not in default under, any applicable state or other licensing and certification requirements. HUD will review individual circumstances upon request.

iii. Indirect Cost Rate. Grantees that plan to use grant funds to cover only direct costs are not required to provide an indirect cost rate. However, grantees that plan to use grant funds to cover any indirect costs must submit their approved indirect cost rate established by their cognizant federal agency.

If the grantee does not have an established indirect cost rate, it will be required to develop and submit an indirect cost proposal to HUD, or the cognizant federal agency as applicable, for determination of an indirect cost rate that will govern the award. This must occur immediately after the Applicant is advised that it will be offered a grant and, in no event, later than three months after the start date of the grant. If HUD is the grantee’s cognizant federal agency, it should refer to the Department of Health and Human Services website, https ://rates .psc .gov , for submission requirements.

Alternatively, any non-Federal entity that has never received a negotiated indirect cost rate, except for those non-Federal entities described in Appendix VII to 2 C.F.R. Part 200 – States and Local Government and Indian Tribe Indirect Cost Proposals, paragraph D.1.b, may elect to charge a de minimis rate of 10% of modified total direct costs (MTDC) which may be used indefinitely. As described in 2 C.F.R. Part 200.403 Factors affecting allowability of costs, costs must be consistently charged as either indirect or direct costs, but may not be double charged or inconsistently charged as both. If chosen, this methodology once elected must be used consistently for all Federal awards until such time as a non-Federal entity chooses to negotiate for a rate, which the non-Federal entity may apply to do at any time.

See 2 C.F.R. Part 200 for additional information.

Applicants can review Indirect Cost Training on www .hud .gov at: http ://www .hud .gov/offic es /adm/grant s /train ing/odgmo train ing .cfm

e. Limits on Applicants. Applicants and sub-grantees are prohibited from applying for or accessing FY 2015 HUD Housing Counseling Program grant funding from multiple sources. For example, applying for funding under this NOFA as both a direct grantee (e.g. LHCA) and as a sub-grantee of an Intermediary or SHFA is prohibited. Likewise, applying for funding under this NOFA as a sub-grantee of two different Intermediaries or as a sub-grantee of an Intermediary and as a sub-grantee of an SHFA is prohibited. Similarly, accessing FY 2015 funding through the FY 2014-2015 NOFA (either as a direct grant from HUD or as a sub-grantee) and applying for or accessing additional funding under this NOFA is also prohibited.

HUD does not award grants to individuals nor will HUD evaluate an application from an ineligible applicant. Additionally, if for-profit firms are eligible they are not allowed to earn a fee (i.e., make a profit from the project).

In accordance with 2 CFR 25.200, all applicants must have an active Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number (www.dnb.com) and have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) (www.sam.gov) before submitting an application. Getting your DUNS number and SAM registration can take up to four weeks; therefor, you should start this process or check your status early.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching.

Federal sources are generally not allowed to be used as cost share or match unless otherwise permitted by a program’s authorizing statute.

This Program does not require an applicant to leverage resources through cost sharing or matching.

C. Other.

You must refer to Section III of the General Section for information on the following eligibility requirements. These requirements may, where applicable, determine whether your application is reviewed or make your application ineligible for funding:

Resolution of civil rights matters;

Compliance with nondiscrimination and other requirements, including but not limited to:

compliance with all applicable fair housing and civil rights laws;

affirmatively furthering fair housing;

Delinquent Federal debts;

Financial management systems that meet Federal standards;

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Debarment and/or suspension from doing business with the Federal Government;

False statements;

Do Not Pay review and compliance with the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012;

Standards of ethical conduct/code of conduct;

Prohibition against lobbying activities; and Conflicts of interest.

1. Eligible Activities. Grantees and sub-grantees will be reimbursed only for the applicable activities outlined in this section. HUD reserves the right to reject funding requested for any costs that are outside the scope of housing counseling and group education services listed below:

a. Individual Housing Counseling. Individual counseling activity regarding one or more of the following topics:

Pre-Purchase/Home Buying Resolving or Preventing Mortgage Delinquency or Default Home Maintenance and Financial Management for Homeowners (Non-Delinquency Post-Purchase) Rental Topics Homeless Assistance Reverse Mortgage

For counseling to be eligible for reimbursement under this NOFA, at a minimum, a housing counselor must perform and document each of the following activities:

i. Budget/Financial Analysis. A review of the client's income, expenses, spending habits, and use of credit in order to evaluate their unique financial situation relative to their housing needs.

ii. Housing Analysis. A review of the client’s housing needs, current housing quality, and housing affordability relative to their financial capability.

iii. Action Plan. Except for reverse mortgage counseling, the housing counselor and client must establish an action plan that outlines actions the housing counseling agency and client will do in order to meet the client’s housing goals and, when appropriate, addresses the client’s housing problem(s).

iv. Discuss Alternatives. Identify and discuss with the client at least three (3) alternatives or options available to the client, including Federal Housing Administration (FHA) programs and products if applicable, relevant to the specific housing need. For example, if a particular company, loan product, property, or debt management program is discussed, the counseling must include a detailed discussion of alternative companies, loan products, properties, debt management programs, etc.

v. Follow-up. Efforts made by the counselor to have follow-up communication with the client, to ensure that the client is progressing toward his or her housing goal(s), to modify or terminate housing counseling services, and to determine and report outcomes.

b. Group Education/Classes: Group education or classes regarding one or more of the following topics:

Financial Literacy Predatory Lending, Loan Scams or Fraud Prevention Fair Housing Pre-Purchase/Home Buying

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Resolving or Preventing Mortgage Delinquency or Default Non-Delinquency Post-Purchase including home maintenance and/or financial management for homeowners Locating, Securing, or Maintaining Residence in Rental Housing Homeless Prevention

Applicants that provide education regarding any of these topics must also offer individual counseling that complements the education.

c. Fair Housing. For both individual counseling and group education, as appropriate, educate the client with respect to fair housing, fair lending, and accessibility rights (e.g., how to file a Fair Housing Act complaint, legal and illegal inquiries related to disability, reasonable accommodations, placement in the most integrated setting appropriate to the person’s needs, additional protections available under state and local laws, etc.)

d. Lead-Based Paint. Applicants that provide education or counseling regarding Pre-Purchase/Home Buying, or Locating, Securing, or Maintaining Residence in Rental Housing, are encouraged, when the homes in which clients will be seeking may include pre-1978 housing, to teach counselors how to, and inform clients about their rights and responsibilities under the HUD Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule (24 CFR part 35, subpart A), and, if the rental or purchase may be HUD-assisted, requirements of 24 CFR part 35, subparts B, K and R. See the lead-safety information and guidance at: www .hud .gov/offic es /lead/train ing/train ing c urric ula .cfm

e. Marketing and Outreach Initiatives. This includes providing general information and materials about housing opportunities and issues, conducting informational campaigns, advocating with lenders for non-traditional lending standards and raising awareness about critical housing topics, such as fair housing rights and remedies, lending discrimination, predatory lending, mortgage fraud, lead safety, other fair lending issues or energy efficiency options to reduce homeowner energy costs. For example, grant funds may be utilized to purchase and disseminate materials related to the Loan Modification Scam Alert Campaign: http ://www .loans camal ert .org/ or fair housing rights.

NOTE: Marketing and outreach initiatives should follow affirmative marketing principles and be directed at those populations least likely to seek counseling services or the information marketed, including those of racial, religious or national origin groups not normally served by the sponsoring agency, as well as persons with disabilities and persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). To do so, it may be necessary to broaden the target areas or provide translation and interpretive services in languages other than English in order to reach a greater variety of racial and ethnic minorities. It may also require providing outreach and services in alternative formats for persons with disabilities (e.g., Braille, large type, sign language interpreters, audio, assistive listening devices, etc.).

f. Training. Eligible expenses include training, testing and certification on housing counseling topics, including, but not limited to, preparation of counselors to satisfy HUD housing counseling training, testing and certification requirements.

g. Quality Assurance. Eligible expenses include costs associated with ensuring compliance with program rules and regulations, internal and external quality assurance, program evaluation and improvement, and the cost of implementing improved management, supervision and oversight of the housing counseling program.

h. Computer Equipment and Systems. Eligible expenses include the cost of computer equipment and systems acquired with the objective of improving the quality of counseling and education services available.

i. Administrative Costs. This includes direct costs associated with administering a housing counseling program, and for Intermediaries, SHFAs and MSOs managing a network of housing counseling agencies or branch offices, or both. HUD reserves the right to review and approve or

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j. Capacity Building. This includes costs associated with hiring additional staff to meet the demand for counseling and to effectively expend grant awards.

k. Scam Awareness, Identification and Reporting. Eligible expenses include education on, identification of, and reporting of potential loan modification scams, rental scams, rent to own scams, home repair scams and similar.

2. Other Program and Grant Agreement Requirements and Obligations

a. External Audits and Investigations. All Applicants must provide the most recent audit of finacial activities with completed audit no earlier than its fiscal year 2012. Applicants must be in compliance with the audit filing requirements at 2 C.F.R. Part 200.501. All Applicants not required to complete a single or program-specific audit under 2 C.F.R. Part 200.501 must submit their most recent independent financial audit. HUD will review individual circumstances upon request.

Applicants must also disclose to HUD the status of active federal investigations at the time of the NOFA application submission date or thereafter. HUD may determine that Applicants are not eligible for grant funding based on its review of such external audits and federal investigation.

b. Client Management System. All Applicants, and all affiliates and branches, if applicable, must utilize a client management system acceptable to HUD that interfaces, or is working to interface, with HUD’s databases. Information on client management systems and interfacing with HUD’s database is found on HUD’s website: http ://porta l .hud .gov/hudpo rtal /HUD ?src =/program offices /housi ng/sfh /hcc /ohc h cs

c. Sub-Grantees and Branches. As part of their executed Grant Agreement, Grantees must identify to HUD a list of funded sub-grantees and branches. Intermediaries, and SHFAs that award sub-grants to counseling agencies that are not HUD-approved must assure that the sub-grantee organizations meet or exceed HUD’s approval standards as outlined in 24 C.F.R. Part 214 and continue to comply with all HUD requirements. Grantees may request to amend their sub-grantee list after awards are made by submitting written request and detailed justification to HUD. Such amendments will be approved at HUD’s sole discretion.

d. Sub-Grant Agreement. Intermediaries and SHFAs that make sub-grants must execute sub-grant agreements with sub-grantees that clearly delineate the mutual responsibilities for program management, including appropriate time frames for reporting results to HUD and compliance with all HUD rules and regulations. Applicants that manage networks of counseling agencies must submit to HUD with their application a proposed sub-allocation plan indicating how they will divide their HUD Housing Counseling grant funds among its branches and sub-grantees, with the understanding that a written agreement with the sub-grantees will be required once the grant award with HUD is finalized.

These records must meet the data requirements of the Transparency Act (see the HUD General Section NOFA), and must be made available to sub-grantees, branches and to HUD, within 30 days of making the sub-award or allocation to branches.

e. Succession Plans. HUD will require grantees to execute transition or succession plans to ensure continuity of services to consumers.

f. Compliance with Fair Housing and Civil Rights Law. Applicants and their sub-grantees must comply with all applicable fair housing and civil rights requirements found in 24 C.F.R. § 5.105(a), including, but not limited to, the Fair Housing Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as applicable. Refer to Section III.C.3. of the FY 2014 General Section for more information.

g. Inherently Religious Activity. Organizations funded under this NOFA may not engage in inherently religious activities, such as worship, religious instruction or proselytization, as part of the programs or services funded under this program. If an organization conducts such activities, these

12of38 activities must be offered separately, in time or location, from the programs or services funded under this part, and participation must be voluntary and not a condition of the HUD programs or services.

h. Documentation of Expenses. The grantee or its sub-grantees, or both, must maintain source documentation of direct costs, such as invoices, receipts, cancelled checks, and personnel activity reports, to support all Line of Credit Control System (LOCCS) draw requests for payment. This information must be made available to HUD upon request and maintained for a period of at least three

(3) years after the expiration of the Grant period or date of last payment, whichever occurs first. All grantees and sub-grantees must be able to demonstrate and document the actual cost of service provision. The amount billed by the grantee or its sub-grantees, or both, to the grant cannot exceed the actual cost of providing the service.

i. Documentation of Personnel Expenses. Charges to Federal awards for salaries and wages must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed and meet the standards required in 2 C.F.R Part 200.430(i). The records must support the distribution of employee’s salaries and wages among specific activities or cost objectives if the employee works on more than one Federal award; a Federal award and non-Federal award; an indirect cost activity and a direct cost activity; two or more indirect activities which are allocated using different allocation bases; or an unallowable activity and a direct or indirect cost activity. Budget estimates ( i.e., estimates determined before the services are performed) alone do not qualify as support for charges to awards. Records must reasonably reflect the total activity for which employees are compensated.

j. Ensuring the Participation of Small Businesses, Small Disadvantaged Businesses, and Woman-Owned Businesses. See the General Section for information on this topic.

k. Subcontracting. Grantees and sub-grantees must deliver all of the housing counseling set forth in the Applicant’s Work Plan provided in response to Rating Factor 3 of this NOFA. It is not permissible to contract out housing counseling services, except as specified in 24 C.F.R. § 214.103(i).

l. Conflicts of Interest. See the General Section and 24 C.F.R. Part 214 for information about the Applicant’s code of conduct and the prohibition against real and apparent conflicts of interest that may arise among officers, employees, agents or other parties.

m. Accessible Technology. See Section VI.B.4. of the General Section.

n. Participation in HUD Sponsored Program Evaluation. See the General Section.

o. Home Inspection Materials. If grantee provides pre-purchase counseling or homebuyer education, or both, the client(s) must be provided a copy of the following materials: “For Your Protection Get a Home Inspection” (HUD Form 92564) and “Ten Important Questions to Ask Your Home Inspector” (both documents can be found at http ://portal .hud .gov/hudpo rtal /HUD ?src =/topic s /buyin g a h ome and http ://portal .hud .gov/hudpo rtal /HUD ?src =/progr am offices /housi ng/sfh/insp /inspfaq )

p. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing. Under Section 808(e)(5) of the Fair Housing Act HUD has a statutory duty to affirmatively further fair housing. HUD requires the same of its funding recipients. See Section III.C.3.b. of the FY 2014 General Section for additional information on this requirement. Examples of housing counseling activities that would fulfill the affirmatively furthering fair housing policy priority in rating factor 3(2)(c) of this NOFA and the affirmatively furthering fair housing policy priority in rating factor 2(2)(a) of this NOFA include, but are not limited to, the following:

i. Providing persons with counseling, education, or information on discriminatory housing and mortgage lending practices and the rights and remedies available under federal, state, and local laws.

ii.Creating and maintaining a database of accessible housing opportunities in the community

13of38 and marketing such housing opportunities to persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and persons with disabilities, including those who live in segregated, institutional settings.

iii. Affirmative marketing and outreach to those populations least likely to seek the counseling or education services or information marketed, including those of racial, national origin, or religious groups not normally served by the sponsoring agency, as well as persons with disabilities and persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). To do so, it may be necessary to conduct marketing and outreach in a broader target area or languages other than English. It may also require conducting marketing and outreach in alternative formats for persons with disabilities (e.g. Braille, large print, audio, etc.).

iv. Providing mobility counseling to help persons move to housing that is not located in areas of poverty concentration or minority concentration, including helping persons identify housing opportunities, helping them connect with landlords, and assisting them with applying for such housing.

When housing counselors learn of alleged housing or mortgage lending discrimination that may violate federal, state, or local fair housing or civil rights laws, report the instance to HUD, a state or local Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) agency, or a private fair housing group, and/or provide clients with information on how to file a housing discrimination complaint of their own.

q. Limited English Proficiency. Housing counseling agencies shall take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to their services to individuals with Limited English Proficiency. Applicants are to comply with Executive Order 13166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, and may refer to the Department’s January 22, 2007 Final Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons (72 FR 2732).

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Obtaining an Application Package.

An electronic copy of the Application Package and Application Instructions for this NOFA can be downloaded from Grants.gov at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/apply-for-grants.html.

An applicant demonstrating good cause may request a waiver from the requirement for electronic submission. If you receive a waiver, your paper application must be received by HUD before the deadline of this NOFA. To request a waiver and receive a paper copy of the application materials, you should contact:

housing.counseling@hud.gov .

1. Address to Request Application Package. See the General Section for specific procedures concerning the electronic application submission and timely receipt requirements. Applications and forms that you need to apply for funding under this NOFA are available from http ://www .grant s .gov/Appli cants /apply for grant s .jsp . If Applicants have difficulty accessing the information, Applicants may call the help desk at (800) 518-4726 or e-mailing suppo rt @grant s .gov . TheGrant s .gov help desk is available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, except federal holidays.

2. Waiver of Electronic Application. See General Section for instructions. Waiver requests must be submitted to housi ng .couns eling @hud .gov with the subject line “FY 2014-FY 2015 NOFA – Request for Waiver of Electronic Application.”

B. Content and Form of Application Submission.

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To assure you have the correct Application Package and Application Instructions, you must check that the CFDA number, the Opportunity Title, and the Funding Opportunity Number on the first page of your Application Package match those listed in the Overview of this NOFA. Your application will only be considered for the competition indicated on your submission.

1. Size Limitations and Format for Narrative Statements. Applicants must be as specific and direct as possible. For all Applicants, the narrative portion (responses to all Rating Factors) must not exceed 25 double-spaced, 12-point font, single-sided pages. Pages in excess of the size limit will not be read.

Applicants must number the pages of their narrative statements and include on each page a header that indicates the Applicant’s name and the Rating Factor (number and title) addressed in the body of the page.

For each narrative, clearly identify each sub-factor immediately above the response for that sub-factor.

Please see the FY 2014 General Section for instructions on electronic application submission. Applicants should carefully read the section titled “APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION” in the FY2014 General Section. This section contains information on using Adobe Reader, registration requirements, HUD’s timely receipt policies, including grace period policy, and other application submission information.

Forms for your package include the HUD standard forms outlined below:

2. Application Checklist. The Application Checklist indicates forms, information,certifications and assurances that apply to this NOFA. The Excel spreadsheet that accompanies this NOFA contains a checklist that summarizes eligibility and application requirements for Applicants.

a. SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. NOTE: In block 8.d of the form, you must include a 9 digit number for your organization’s zip code (zip plus 4 digits). Please be sure to check your DUNS identifier and ensure that it is listed on SAM .gov with an active registration, and confirm that the person submitting the application has an ID and password for the Grant s .gov system and has been authorized to submit the Application on behalf of the Applicant organization named in box 8a.of the SF-424 by the eBiz Point of Contact listed in the SAM .gov registration for the Applicant organization. Applicants are not required to request a specific grant amount, but should enter a response of $1.00 in line 18a.

b. SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities.