Congressional Justifications for 1998 Budget Estimates

Budget Activity 6: Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
Salaries and Expenses

Scope of Activity

The Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity is responsible for administrative enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and ensuring that HUD programs promote fair housing and comply with civil rights laws.

Workload

The principal workload of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity consists of processing housing discrimination complaints, implementing civil rights requirements in HUD programs, conducting compliance reviews, managing grants to fair housing organizations and reimbursement of fair housing agencies and implementing voluntary programs.

HUD Program Compliance
Complaints Received:

NOTE:	In 1996, each reported incident of discrimination is investigated under all applicable statutes. This will result in some incidents under investigation being counted under more than one category of complaint received or review conducted.
a/	Includes court mandated Compliance Reviews (Young v. Cisneros).
b/	Includes 100 reviews conducted of Voluntary Compliance Agreements signed with Housing Authorities which failed to implement needs assessments and transition plans as requested by 24 CFR 8.25(c) and includes reviews for approval or disapproval of designated housing allocation plans, submitted by Housing Authorities pursuant to the 1992 Housing and Community Development Act.
c/	Includes Compliance Reviews resulting from the Accessibility campaign launched in fiscal year 1996.

1. Headquarters

   Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary. The Assistant Secretary is responsible for fair housing and civil rights policy, enforcement of the fair housing and equal opportunity laws within HUD's jurisdiction, and management of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. The Assistant Secretary supervises the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations and Management, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Investigations and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations and Compliance, as well as the Beaumont Fair Housing Office and an immediate staff of seven.

   Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Investigations. The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Investigations has the responsibility of making recommendations or decisions as appropriate on enforcement matters arising under: the Federal Fair Housing Act; Executive Order 11063; and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975. It manages the Fair Housing Assistance Program and makes recommendations or decisions as appropriate on all matters related to the investigation of complaints. In addition, it is responsible for administering the award and management of Fair Housing Initiatives Program grants and negotiating and implementing voluntary fair housing compliance programs.

   1. Office of Fair Housing Initiatives and Voluntary Programs. This Office has overall responsibility for administering the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP), a competitive grant program designed to strengthen the Department's enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and to further fair housing. During this fiscal year, this Office will be responsible for more than 100 active grants, including administrative oversight functions and monitoring of grantee performance. These grants are designed to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices by providing educational information to the housing industry as well as homeseekers about their fair housing rights and responsibilities. Grant activities may also include enforcement activities, including the filing of fair housing discrimination complaints administratively or through the courts. The Office also has responsibility for monitoring voluntary agreements executed with six major national housing industry organizations. Based upon these national agreements, the Office negotiates tailored agreements with individual companies and works closely at the local level to assist signatories in carrying out their voluntary commitments.

   2. Office of Investigations. This Office includes the divisions of Fair Housing Assistance Program and Fair Housing Enforcement. The Office is responsible for developing policies for Fair Housing Act enforcement and related activities. It also carries out fair housing complaint investigation activities which include the review of complaint processing efforts. It makes recommendations or decisions as appropriate on all matters related to the investigation of Fair Housing Act complaints. In addition, the Office conducts fair housing investigations initiated as Secretary-initiated complaints. This Office provides funding, training and technical assistance to State and local fair housing agencies participating in the Fair Housing Assistance Program.
      
      

   Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations and Management. The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations and Management has responsibility for the development, direction, and supervision of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity's operations and management functions. This responsibility includes: (a) utilization of resources to achieve equal opportunity goals; (b) personnel and training; (c) staff allocation; (d) performance of technical and management evaluations of Headquarters and Field components; and (e) budget formulation, justification and execution; and (g) contract administration. The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary includes the Office of Management and Field Coordination and the Office of Management Information Services.

   1. Office of Management and Field Coordination. This Office includes the divisions of Budget, Field Monitoring and Management Planning, and Administrative Support and Training. The Office is responsible for budget formulation and execution activities, contract administration, training, personnel and management services. The Office is also responsible for providing technical and management assistance to Field Offices, developing FHEO's Management Plan, and preparing and disseminating core criteria for performance evaluation reviews.

   2. Office of Management Information Services. The Office of Management Information Services provides information services to all FHEO components. These services primarily include the development, implementation, operation of automated systems and the support of office automation initiatives in support of FHEO programmatic and administrative responsibilities and the control of all incoming and outgoing correspondence.
      
      

   Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations and Compliance. The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations and Compliance is responsible for the development and application of civil rights related program requirements to ensure that HUD programs embody fair housing and equal opportunity objectives; making recommendations or decisions as appropriate on enforcement matters arising under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Section 3 of the Housing and Urban development Act of 1968; and the Americans with Disabilities Act. This office includes the management and operation of the Office of Program Operations and Standards and the Office of Program Compliance and Disability Rights; as well as Field operations and Headquarters-Field relationships relating to Program Operations and Compliance Centers.

   1. Office of Program Compliance/Disability Rights. This Office includes the divisions of Program Compliance and Disability Rights. The responsibilities include the development of policies for the Department's enforcement of the civil rights requirements under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; and the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968. In addition, the Office formulates and communicates standards for the design, construction and alteration of housing and other buildings to meet the requirements for accessibility imposed by the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and Section 504.

   2. Office of Program Operations and Standards. This Office is responsible for developing Fair Housing policy, participating in the development and administration of programs, e.g., fair housing planning; implementation of Section 3 and for reviewing all proposed legislation, regulations, handbooks, notices and other issuances relating to the administration of HUD programs and recommending appropriate revisions to such documents to implement applicable civil rights laws and Executive Orders.

      In addition, this Office participates in the negotiation and monitoring of civil rights consent decrees and settlement agreements; provides oversight to Section 3 and assists resolution of Section 3 complaints; coordinates research programs and evaluation mechanisms with the Office of Policy Development and Research; provides evaluation assistance to FHEO programs; conducts FHEO evaluations of HUD programs; implements activities to strengthen civil rights data collection and reporting throughout the Department and within FHEO, and provides feedback to management on necessary improvements and/or changes to programs; and prepares the annual reports to Congress on the state of fair housing and on racial and ethnic participation in HUD programs and supervises 38 Program Operation and Compliance Centers (POCC).

      This Office provides technical assistance to Field Offices, supervises and evaluates Field performance, and organizes and participates in the training of Field staff. Also, the Office provides recommendations to the Assistant Secretary through the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations and Compliance on policy issues and program implementation to enhance field performance.
      
      

   Office of Policy and Regulatory Initiatives. This Office develops fair housing policy and is responsible for regulatory initiatives implementing those policies. Examples include testing and self-testing, mortgage lending and property insurance discrimination and methods of proving discrimination. The Office is also responsible for negotiating memoranda of understanding with other Federal Departments and Agencies to implement the Fair Housing Act, representation of the Department on the Interagency Task Force on Fair Lending and staffs the activities of the President's Fair Housing Council. In addition, it prepares and staffs administrative hearings to take public testimony on fair housing enforcement and compliance issues and proposed policies.

2. Field

   There are 10 Fair Housing Enforcement Centers throughout the country which accept, refer and investigate complaints under Title VI, the Fair Housing Act, Section 3, Section 109, Section 504, the Age Discrimination Act, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The offices investigate, conciliate and prepare determinations of Title VIII complaints.

   There are 10 large and 27 small Program Operations and Compliance Centers. Program Operation and Compliance Centers (POCC) ensure that recipients of HUD programs comply with program requirements related to civil rights and economic opportunity. POCCs are responsible for monitoring, providing technical assistance, reviewing applications and ensuring that customers and organizations are involved and included in the development of local initiatives that enhance fair housing and civil rights. The oversight responsibility of POCCs include approximately 3,200 public housing authorities, 1,000 entitlement communities, and 10,000 units of assisted housing.

   The principal workload for Field staff consists of complaint processing and investigation, compliance reviews, monitoring, application reviews, technical assistance and the support of voluntary compliance efforts. Such activities are undertaken as they relate to the enforcement of fair housing laws and the delivery of the Department's Housing and Community Planning and Development programs, as well as to activities in the private sector and other government units.

Travel

	Actual 1996	Budget Estimate 1997	Current Estimate 1997	Estimate 1998	Increase + Decrease - 1998 vs 1997
	(Dollars in Thousands)
Headquarters...	$455	$608	$496	$496	...
Field . . .	620	913	743	743	...
Total . . .	1,075	1,521	1,239	1,239	...

The 1997 Budget for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) proposes a total funding level of $1,239 thousand for Headquarters and Field travel. Of this total, $496 thousand will support Headquarters travel and $743 thousand will support Field travel. The $1,239 thousand proposed for fiscal year 1998 represents no increase over the 1997 current estimate.

Contracts

The following table identifies the specific contracts required and is followed by a description of each.

	Actual 1996	Budget Estimate 1997	Current Estimate 1997	Estimate 1998	Increase + Decrease - 1998 vs 1997
	(Dollars in Thousands)
Data and Statistical Services. .	...	$401	...	...	...
Public Information Services. .	$514	905	$868	$868	...
Technical Services . . .	561	780	686	686	...
Total . . .	1,075	2,086	1,554	1,554	...

Public Information Services. The Department plans to continue efforts to develop and disseminate information on fair housing issues to the public. These services will be expanded to accommodate the submission of Fair Housing Initiatives Program work products and the increase in user requests based on greater familiarity with the services provided.

Technical Services. The Department will enter into contracts to provide the support needed to address in-house complaint investigations, provide technical expertise on more complex issues and expand services by reinforcing ways in which supervisors can ensure that investigations meet a very high standard of quality by addressing both the substantive content and the efficiency and timeliness of investigations and compliance reviews. In addition, FHEO will continue its contract for testing which is used as an investigative tool and continue funding a contract for technical assistance needed in the preparation of the annual report to Congress on the nature and extent of progress in eliminating discriminatory housing practices in the Nation. The amount requested also includes an interagency agreement with the Department of Labor to negotiate indirect costs and provide training for FHIP grantees, HUD personnel and management contractors.