33-483: The Community Development Block Grant ( CDBG ), one of the longest-running programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development , funds local community development activities with the stated goal of providing affordable housing , anti-poverty programs , and infrastructure development. CDBG, like other block grant programs, differs from categorical grants , made for specific purposes, in that they are subject to less federal oversight and are largely used at
66-449: A formula basis . Upon reauthorizing CDBG in 1978, Congress instituted a dual formula to strengthen controls on how money was spent and to better serve communities with different types of problems. A city's proportion of the overall CDBG allocation is either the average of the area's fractions of the US's total population, total poverty and total amount of housing overcrowding, or the average of
99-550: A failed policy are killing the neighborhoods around them". HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing Roberta Achtenberg has been quoted as saying "HUD walks a tightrope between free speech and fair housing. We are ever mindful of the need to maintain the proper balance between these rights." Libertarian critic James Bovard commented that, "The more aggressive HUD becomes, the fewer free speech rights Americans have. Many words and phrases are now effectively forbidden in real estate ads... Apparently, there are two separate versions of
132-424: A plan of project selection that includes citizen participation, especially by citizens who live in "areas in which the grantee proposes to use CDBG funds". There are a number of other distribution methods of CDBG funds besides entitlement communities. The 1978 re-authorization also required HUD to award 30% of all CDBG funds to states for grants to municipalities and counties that are not entitlement communities. This
165-519: A suitable living environment; and To expand economic opportunities", that are taken directly from the Housing and Community Development Act. On the local level, however, each city is allowed to select their own objectives and priorities underneath each of those goals that they believe will best meet the needs of their community. Local governments receiving CDBG funds must submit two annual performance and evaluation reports. First, an Annual Action Plan for
198-518: Is appointed by the President and subject to Senate confirmation. He or she is responsible for conducting and supervising audits , investigations, and inspections relating to the programs and operations of HUD. The OIG is to examine, evaluate and, where necessary, critique these operations and activities, recommending ways for the department to carry out its responsibilities in the most effective, efficient, and economical manner possible. The mission of
231-826: Is often called the "Small Cities" program, because it includes many small cities and rural counties. Other programs include the CDBG Insular Area Program (for American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), the CDBG Program Colonias Set-Aside, and the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Nominal levels of CDBG funding have remained fairly constant over time, but they have dramatically declined over
264-548: Is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government . It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the secretary of housing and urban development , who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet . Although its beginnings were in the House and Home Financing Agency, it was founded as a Cabinet department in 1965, as part of
297-614: Is too broad, making it difficult to measure program performance. Community development Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 543449085 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:48:19 GMT United States Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development ( HUD )
330-748: The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development . First, "not less than 70 percent of CDBG funds must be used for activities that benefit low- and moderate-income persons". Secondly, funds must be spent on eligible activities, which are broadly defined as including "community development activities directed toward neighborhood revitalization, economic development, and improved community facilities and services". Such activities may include "Acquisition of real property, Relocation and demolition, Rehabilitation of residential and non-residential structures, Construction of public facilities and improvements", and more. Third, governments must follow
363-515: The Urban Development Action Grants (UDAG). UDAG, along with urban renewal and other previous federal attempts to alleviate poverty and blight in US cities, was criticized as being a "top-down" approach. For these programs, federal planners would dictate how and where funds were spent. In contrast, CDBG was constructed to be a "bottom-up" approach. In order to receive CDBG funds, applicants must identify urgent needs of
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#1732772899623396-467: The " Great Society " program of President Lyndon B. Johnson , to develop and execute policies on housing and metropolises. The idea of a department of Urban Affairs was proposed in a 1957 report to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, led by New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. The idea of a department of Housing and Urban Affairs was taken up by President John F. Kennedy, with Pennsylvania Senator and Kennedy ally Joseph S. Clark Jr. listing it as one of
429-475: The Bill of Rights -- one for private citizens and the other for federal bureaucrats and politicians". In 2006, The Village Voice named HUD "New York City's worst landlord" and "the #1 worst in the United States" based upon decrepit conditions of buildings and questionable eviction practices. In September 2010, HUD started auctioning off delinquent home mortgage loans, defined as at least 90 days past due, to
462-587: The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is to: The OIG accomplishes its mission by conducting investigations pertinent to its activities; by keeping Congress, the Secretary, and the public fully informed of its activities, and by working with staff (in this case of HUD) in achieving success of its objectives and goals. The Honorable Rae Oliver Davis, who was appointed on January 23, 2019, is the current Inspector General. The Department of Housing and Urban Development
495-742: The area's fractions of the country's total growth lag, total poverty, and total age of housing. Formula A typically benefits rapidly growing cities with high poverty that lack affordable housing. Formula B tends to benefit cities with large shares of old housing and low growth, including many affluent suburbs. HUD calculates both formulas for all entitlement grantees and awards the larger amount, but Congressional appropriation has ultimate determination on program funding. These formulas have become less well matched to community need over time, and improvements or revisions have been proposed by several analytical reports. More than 1,100 local and state governments, called "entitlement communities", automatically qualify for
528-432: The bill's potential for reducing inefficient bureaucracy, as the grant replaced seven previous programs that were "too fragmented to provide comprehensive solutions to complex local needs". He also noted its potential for improving government effectiveness by "replacing Federal judgments on local development with the judgments of the people who live and work there": placing more decision-making power on local funding choices in
561-458: The community, and solicit project ideas and plans from citizens and local organizations that address those needs. Thus, the CDBG program represents a significant shift in how the federal government addresses poverty and blight. Some researchers argue that because CDBG is a bottom-up program it is significantly more successful than previous programs. Others have said CDBG's scope of allowed activities
594-608: The completion of a special study group report on the federal role in solving urban problems. HUD is administered by the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development . Its headquarters is located in the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building . Some important milestones for HUD's development include: The major program offices are: The United States Congress enacted the Inspector General Act of 1978 to ensure integrity and efficiency in government. The Inspector General
627-486: The control the program placed in the hands of private investors and the reduction it made in the role of the United States government . Decentralizing control over community development appealed to some Democrats because the central administration of previous programs meant benefits often did not reach the targeted low-income communities, while Republicans appreciated that the program was represented as meant to "limit
660-488: The conversion of school buildings, public services, and economic development and job creation/retention activities. CDBG funds can also be used for preservation and restoration of historic properties in low-income neighborhoods. From the federal level, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has set three goals for Community Planning and Development (CPD) Programs – "To ensure decent housing; To create and maintain
693-749: The course of the program's existence in inflation-adjusted terms, as can be seen in the figure to the right. Proposed CDBG projects must be consistent with broad national priorities for CDBG: activities that benefit low- and moderate-income people, the prevention or elimination of slums or blight, or other community development activities to address an urgent threat to health or safety. CDBG funds may be used for community development activities (such as real estate acquisition, relocation, demolition, rehabilitation of housing and commercial buildings), construction of public facilities and improvements (such as water, sewer, and other utilities, street paving, and sidewalks), construction and maintenance of neighborhood centers, and
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#1732772899623726-677: The department's lax oversight of their program allowed the fraud to occur. In 1997, the HUD Inspector General issued a report saying: "The program design encourages risky property deals, land sale, and refinance schemes, overstated property appraisals, and phony or excessive fees." In June 1993, HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros admitted that "HUD has in many cases exacerbated the declining quality of life in America." In 1996, Vice President Al Gore , referring to public housing projects, declared that, "These crime-infested monuments to
759-583: The discretion of the state and local governments and their subgrantees. The CDBG program was enacted in 1974 by President Gerald Ford through the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and took effect in January 1975. Most directly, the law was a response to the Nixon administration's 1973 funding moratorium on many Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs. President Ford emphasized
792-476: The grant. Cities qualify if they have populations of at least 50,000 or are the principal city of a Metropolitan Area, as determined by the Office of Management and Budget . Counties qualify if they have populations of at least 200,000, excluding any entitlement cities, and are in a metropolitan area. They are required to submit allocation reports (showing to whom and where the money was spent) and quarterly reports to
825-575: The hands of local governments who "are most familiar with local needs". The CDBG was presented as explicitly meant to "redistribute influence from the federal bureaucracies to local governments" - in Ford's words, to "return power from the banks of the Potomac to people in their own communities". It had bipartisan support, reportedly because liberal legislators shared its goal of extinguishing poverty and " urban blight " and conservative legislators appreciated
858-464: The highest bidder. It sold 2,000 loans in six national auctions. In 2012, this sale was massively increased under a "Distressed Asset Stabilization Program" (DASP), and the 100,000 loans sold as of 2014 have netted $ 8.8 billion for the FHA, rebuilding cash reserves that had been depleted by loan defaults. The second stated and eponymous objective is to stabilize communities, by requiring purchasers to service
891-427: The loans in a manner that stabilizes the surrounding communities by getting the loans to re-perform, renting the home to the borrower, gifting the property to a land bank or paying off the loans in full. An audit published August 2014 found "only about 11 percent of the loans sold through DASP [were] considered 're-performing'". "Rather than defaulting—[FHA] keeps many of the properties they’re tied to from going through
924-540: The powers of the federal bureaucracy", a political and ideological presentation reflective of "growing public resentment of big government and big bureaucracy". The law ultimately passed both houses with large bipartisan majorities. Later Congressional changes created additional small CDBG set-asides that fund programs in minority-serving universities (Section 107), in US territories such as Guam, and for large-scale rehabilitation loans (Section 108). CDBG funds are allocated on
957-465: The previous fiscal year is submitted to HUD at the end of September to ensure the cities are meeting objectives. The CAPER includes "a description of the progress made in accomplishing the objectives" of the CDBG, and "a summary of the use of such funds during the preceding fiscal year". Nationally, CDBG funds were spent for the following purposes in 2011: In Fiscal Year 2017, the largest categories of CDBG spending were: The CDBG shares some features of
990-471: The solicitation of Requests for Proposals from city government departments and local nonprofits of activities that could be funded. Additionally, every five years the Annual Action Plan is submitted alongside a Consolidated Plan that outlines the area's long-term community development needs, priorities, and strategic plan. Second, a Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report (CAPER) covering
1023-429: The top seven legislative priorities for the administration in internal documents. The department was established on September 9, 1965, when Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act into law. It stipulated that the department was to be created no later than November 8, sixty days following the date of enactment. The actual implementation was postponed until January 14, 1966, following
Community Development Block Grant - Misplaced Pages Continue
1056-495: The upcoming fiscal year that also serves as an application for funds is due to HUD in mid-May. This plan includes the area's expected funding resources and stated community development goals and provides information about planned projects including their geographic distribution and the activity categories and development objectives they fall under. The creation of the Action Plans includes community outreach, public meetings, and
1089-535: Was authorized a budget for Fiscal Year 2015 of $ 48.3 billion. The budget authorization is broken down as outlined in the following chart. A scandal arose in the 1990s when at least 700 houses were sold for profit by real estate speculators taking the loans; at least 19 were arrested. The scandal devastated the Brooklyn and Harlem housing market, with $ 70 million in HUD loans going into default . Critics said that
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