[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13413-13415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05764]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-5853-N-01]
Notice of Intent To Conduct a Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
and Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) Project
Demonstration
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and
Development, HUD.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Conduct a VAWA/HOPWA Project Demonstration.
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SUMMARY: Through this notice, HUD solicits comment on a proposed
demonstration through which HUD will award grant funds to successful
applicants to provide transitional and other temporary housing
assistance and supportive services to low-income persons living with
Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/
AIDS) who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual
assault, or stalking. Grantees of the VAWA/HOPWA Project Demonstration
will be required to partner with local domestic violence and sexual
assault service providers for client outreach and
[[Page 13414]]
engagement and for comprehensive supportive services to ensure client
success in the program. The VAWA/HOPWA Project Demonstration will
explore the effectiveness of coordinating the expertise and resources
of HIV/AIDS housing providers with domestic violence and sexual assault
service providers in addressing the needs of this vulnerable
population.
DATES: Comments Due Date: April 13, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments responsive
to this notice to the Office of General Counsel, Regulations Division,
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Room
10276, Washington, DC 20410-0001. All submissions should refer to the
above docket number and title. Submission of public comments may be
carried out by hard copy or electronic submission.
Submission of Hard Copy Comments. Comments may be submitted by mail
or hand delivery. Each commenter submitting hard copy comments, by mail
or hand delivery, should submit comments to the address above,
addressed to the attention of the Regulations Division. Due to security
measures at all federal agencies, submission of comments by mail often
results in delayed delivery. To ensure timely receipt of comments, HUD
recommends that any comments submitted by mail be submitted at least 2
weeks in advance of the public comment deadline. All hard copy comments
received by mail or hand delivery are a part of the public record and
will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change.
Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit
comments electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
http://www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly encourages commenters to
submit comments electronically. Electronic submission of comments
allows the commenter maximum time to prepare and submit a comment,
ensures timely receipt by HUD, and enables HUD to make comments
immediately available to the public. Comments submitted electronically
through the http://www.regulations.gov Web site can be viewed by other
commenters and interested members of the public. Commenters should
follow instructions provided on that site to submit comments
electronically.
No Facsimile Comments. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not acceptable.
Public Inspection of Comments. All comments submitted to HUD
regarding this notice will be available, without charge, for public
inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Eastern Time,
weekdays at the above address. Due to security measures at the HUD
Headquarters building, an advance appointment to review the public
comments must be scheduled by calling the Regulations Division at 202-
708-3055 (this is not a toll-free number). Individuals with speech or
hearing impairments may access this number through TTY by calling the
Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339 (this is a toll-free number).
Copies of all comments submitted are available for inspection and
downloading at http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Palilonis, Office of HIV/AIDS
Housing, Office of Community Planning and Development, U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street SW., Room 7212,
Washington, DC 20410-7000, telephone number 202-402-5916 (this is not a
toll-free number). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may
access this number through TTY by calling the Federal Relay Service at
800-877-8339 (this is a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On March 30, 2012, President Obama issued a Memorandum that
established a Federal Interagency Working Group (Working Group) to
explore the intersection of HIV/AIDS, violence against women and girls,
and gender-related health disparities. The Working Group prioritized
addressing intimate partner violence (IPV) because of its high overall
prevalence among women and girls, especially among women living with
HIV. Studies indicate that over half (55 percent) of U.S. women living
with HIV have experienced IPV, considerably higher than the national
prevalence among women overall (36 percent). Among women living with
HIV/AIDS, trauma, abuse and violence are associated with less use of
antiretroviral medication, decreased medication adherence, and
increased risk of death.
While multiple factors contribute to violence and HIV risk among
women and girls, the Working Group highlighted the lack of stable,
affordable housing as particularly crucial. Women living with HIV/AIDS
and experiencing violence are often dependent on an abusive partner for
resources, including housing. These barriers often prevent women from
attaining the economic independence needed to escape their abusers.
Studies show that women who experience IPV are four times more likely
to report housing instability than women without histories of abuse by
an intimate partner.\1\
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\1\ ``Addressing the Intersection of HIV/AIDS, Violence against
Women and Girls and Gender-Related Health Disparities: Interagency
Federal Working Group Report'' (Sept. 6, 2013), available at: http:/
/www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/vaw-
hiv_working_group_report_final_-_9-6_2013.pdf.
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The Working Group recommended enhancing Federal efforts to address
HIV and IPV among homeless and marginally housed women and girls. In
response to this recommendation, the U.S. Department of Justice's
Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development's Office of HIV/AIDS Housing (OHH) collaborated
to identify available resources to competitively award grant funding
aimed at addressing the housing and supportive service needs of low-
income persons living with HIV/AIDS who are victims of domestic
violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Although the
Working Group focused on women and girls, the VAWA/HOPWA Project
Demonstration will cover all victims regardless of sex, gender
identity, sexual orientation, familial status, marital status, race,
color, religion, national origin, disability, or age.
OVW identified $1,490,000 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 funding from the
Transitional Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Domestic
Violence, Dating Violence, Stalking or Sexual Assault Program
(hereinafter ``Transitional Housing Assistance Program''). To support
this demonstration, OVW and OHH executed an Interagency Agreement
assigning HUD to administer the Transitional Housing Assistance Program
grant funds. OHH will also identify HOPWA competitive funding, to the
extent available, that can be used to fund Special Projects of National
Significance pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 12903(c)(3).
II. Proposed Demonstration
Under the VAWA/HOPWA Project Demonstration, HUD will use the
Transitional Housing Assistance Program and HOPWA competitive funds to
award grants to eligible applicants. Eligible applicants are those
applicants that are eligible to apply for grants for Special Projects
of National Significance under the HOPWA program (that is, States,
units of general local government, and nonprofit organizations).
Grantees will be required to use the grant funds received under the
VAWA/HOPWA Project Demonstration to provide transitional
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housing and/or temporary housing assistance (excluding emergency
shelters), and supportive services to low-income persons living with
HIV/AIDS who are also victims of domestic violence, dating violence,
sexual assault, or stalking, including any minors and dependents living
with such persons.
Each successful applicant under this demonstration program will
receive two separate grants from HUD: (1) A HOPWA grant, and (2) a
Transitional Housing Assistance Program grant. Grantees must ensure
that the grant funds are used to fund transitional housing or other
temporary housing assistance, and supportive services for all program
clients. The HOPWA grant amounts will be used to fund transitional and
other temporary housing assistance for program clients, coordination
and planning activities, and grant management and administration. The
Transitional Housing Assistance Program grant amounts will be used to
provide supportive services to clients.
HUD will publish a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) in FY 2015
that will explain requirements for the VAWA/HOPWA Project
Demonstration, detail project selection criteria and solicit
applications. HUD expects to make awards to 7 to 9 applicants depending
on the amount of total funding that will be available for the
demonstration. Funds will be awarded on a one-time-only, non-renewable
basis for a 3-year operating period. Generally, a program client may be
assisted under this demonstration for not more than 24 months. This
period may be extended up to an additional six months with respect to a
client that has made a good-faith effort to acquire permanent housing
and has been unable to do so. Grantees must transition assisted
households to permanent housing, or other housing assistance, by the
end of the operating period. Grantees will be required to partner with
local domestic violence and sexual assault service providers for client
outreach and engagement and for comprehensive supportive services to
ensure client success in the program.
Grantees must ensure that HOPWA funds will be used to carry out
eligible activities under the HOPWA program. All HOPWA funds must be
spent in accordance with the authorizing HOPWA statute (42 U.S.C. 12901
et seq.), program regulations at 24 CFR part 574, and all NOFA
requirements. Grantees must also ensure that Transitional Housing
Assistance Program funds will be spent in accordance with the
authorizing statute of the Transitional Housing Assistance Program (42
U.S.C. 13975) and all NOFA requirements. Projects must comply with all
applicable federal, state, and local fair housing and civil rights
laws, including, but not limited to, the Fair Housing Act, Title VI of
the Civil Rights Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
III. Evaluating the Demonstration
OHH and OVW intend to build on the outcomes of the VAWA/HOPWA
Project Demonstration, and potentially use it as a model for future
interagency collaboration. Grantees will be expected to participate in
any technical assistance efforts designed to identify and share best
practices from the demonstration with the broader HIV/AIDS housing and
domestic violence and sexual assault service provider networks. In
addition, grantees will be required to measure and report on outcomes
related to housing stability and health outcomes for VAWA/HOPWA Project
Demonstration clients.
Grantees will also be required to comply with all reporting
requirements under both HOPWA and the Transitional Housing Assistance
Program. This will include the submission of a HOPWA Annual Performance
Report (APR) and an annual report that will describe the number of
minors, adults, and dependents assisted with a Transitional Housing
Assistance Grant and the number of months of assistance that each
received. OHH and OVW will use this information to evaluate the program
and make policy recommendations in the future.
IV. Solicitation of Public Comment
In accordance with section 470 of the Housing and Urban-Rural
Recovery Act of 1983 (42 U.S.C. 3542), HUD is seeking comment on the
demonstration for a period of 30 days. Section 470 provides that HUD
may not begin a demonstration program not explicitly authorized by
statute until a description of the demonstration program is published
in the Federal Register and a 60-day period expires following the date
of publication, during which time HUD solicits public comment and
considers the comments submitted. A public comment period of 30 days is
being provided so that HUD may receive public comments and have the
opportunity to consider those comments during the 60-day period. After
the close of the public comment period, and following full
consideration of comments submitted, HUD will publish the NOFA that
will detail project selection criteria and solicit applications for
funding under the VAWA/HOPWA Project Demonstration.
Dated: March 6, 2015.
Clifford Taffet,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development.
[FR Doc. 2015-05764 Filed 3-12-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P