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| 14.316 HOUSING COUNSELING TRAINING PROGRAM |
| FEDERAL AGENCY |
| HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT |
| AUTHORIZATION |
| Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, as amended. |
| OBJECTIVES |
| This program supports, under cooperative agreements with HUD, the delivery of a broad array of training activities for counselors from agencies participating in HUD's Housing Counseling program. The primary objectives of the program are to improve and standardize the quality of counseling provided by housing counselors working with HUD-approved housing counseling agencies and to make training accessible and affordable. |
| TYPES OF ASSISTANCE |
| Project Grants. |
| USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS |
| To annually provide one or more housing counseling training grants to qualified organizations. The grant will fund the training of counselors of agencies participating in HUD's Housing Counseling program. |
| Applicant Eligibility |
| Applicants must be public or private nonprofit organizations with a least two years of experience providing housing counseling training services nationwide. |
| Beneficiary Eligibility |
| Housing Counselors from HUD-approved housing counseling agencies. |
| Credentials/Documentation |
| Each applicant is required to submit, for itself and for any organization with which it is partnering for the purpose of this NOFA, a legible copy of the document that supports the applicant's claim to be a nonprofit organization (for example, a 501(c) letter issued by the IRS). The documentation must contain the official name, address, and telephone number of the legal authority that granted the nonprofit status. Branches or affiliates of the applicant that are part of the proposed work plan must also be nonprofit entities. |
| Preapplication Coordination |
| The availability of funds (HUD SuperNOFA) is announced in the Federal Register. For a copy of the SuperNOFA, or for the satellite broadcast schedule, applicants can visit the HUD website (www.hud.gov). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may call the Center's TTY number at (1-800) HUD-2209. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372. |
| Application Procedure |
| Applicants must submit by the required date the items and forms requested in the SuperNOFA, such as a description of the housing counseling training services to be provided, and indicators by which benefits impact will be measured. |
| Award Procedure |
| Applicants will be evaluated competitively and ranked against all other applicants that applied in the same funding category. A funding formula outlined in the SuperNOFA is used to calculate awards. This program is subject to the administrative requirements established in OMB Circular A-102, Grants and Cooperative Agreements with State and Local Governments, which was implemented by 24 CFR Part 85; OMB Circular A-110, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Other Nonprofit Organizations, which was implemented by 24 CFR Part 84; and OMB Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments and Nonprofit Organizations, which was implemented by 24 CFR Parts 84 and 85. Grants awarded under this program are also subject to the cost principles in OMB Circular A-87 for state and local governments and Indian tribal governments and OMB Circular A-122 for nonprofit organizations. |
| Deadlines |
| Due dates and times for the receipt of applications for housing counseling training grants are specified in the application. |
| Range of Approval/Disapproval Time |
| Award announcements typically occur 5-7 months after applications are received. |
| Appeals |
| Applicants for housing counseling training grants may appeal their denial of a grant award or the insufficiency of the grant amount to HUD. |
| Renewals |
| Grantees must submit a new application and compete through the SuperNOFA each year. |
| Formula and Matching Requirements |
| Formula is outlined in the SuperNOFA. This program has no matching requirements. However, applicants are required to demonstrate funding from other resources. |
| Length and Time Phasing of Assistance |
| Funding assistance is for a discrete period of time, generally 1 year. Grantees invoice HUD on a periodic basis for housing counseling training services delivered. Payments of grant funds are subsequently made to grantees via direct deposit/electronic funds transfer (DD/EFT). |
| Reports |
| Grantees must submit quarterly progress reports and periodic invoices as well as final reports pursuant to the cooperative agreement. |
| Audits |
| Awardees shall comply with the audit requirements of the Single Audit Act (31 U.S.C. 7501-07) and OMB Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments, and Nonprofit Organizations (Revised June 24, 1997), as they may be amended from time to time. |
| Records |
| As required in the grant cooperative agreement. |
| Account Identification |
| 86-0205-0-1-604. |
| Obligations |
| FY 07 est $3,000,000; FY 08 est $3,000,000; and FY 09 est 3,000,000. |
| Range and Average of Financial Assistance |
| HUD typically makes a small number of awards that range in size from $400,000 to $2.6 million. |
| PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS |
| For fiscal year 2007, approximately 2,600 housing counselors have been trained through the program. |
| REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE |
| No housing counseling training regulations have been issued. |
| Regional or Local Office |
| None. |
| Headquarters Office |
| Persons are encouraged to contact HQs Program Support Division, Office of Insured Single Family Housing, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20410. Telephone: (202) 708-0317. |
| RELATED PROGRAMS |
| 14.169, Housing Counseling Assistance Program. |
| EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS |
| Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation/dba/NeighborWorks Housing counseling training award in the amount of $2,600,026. Date of Award: October 4, 2007. |
| CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS |
| Outlined in the NOFA. |
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General Services Administration Office of Chief Acquisition Officer Regulatory and Federal Assistance Division (VIR) |
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