HUD AWARDS $25 MILLION TO HELP LOCAL COMMUNITIES TACKLE HOMELESSNESS AND CARRY OUT 'PLACE-BASED' DEVELOPMENT
Technical assistance designed to improve effectiveness of federal grant programs

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $25.3 million in technical assistance to 11 organizations that will, in turn, help local communities across this country better understand their homeless challenge and successfully carry out comprehensive and sustainable "place-based" development and revitalization strategies.

The funding announced today is provided through two HUD programs - OneCPD Plus: Technical Assistance and Capacity Building under the Transformation Initiative (OneCPD+) and the McKinney-Vento HMIS Technical Assistance and Research (HMIS-TA). The purpose of these grants is to provide the highest level of performance among HUD grantees and to improve data collection and reporting by local homeless assistance planning organizations called "Continuums of Care."

"These grants provide much needed assistance in helping to determine how we can better help the homeless," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "Teams of experts will travel the country to help local communities serve their homeless populations, develop innovated housing and community development programs, and generally improve the effectiveness of their current programs."

HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development's new OneCPD Integrated Practitioner Assistance System represents a fundamental change in the way HUD's traditional program-specific technical assistance has been structured and delivered over the years. This approach is intended to build the kind of grantee management systems and capacity necessary to successfully carry out comprehensive and sustainable place-based development and revitalization strategies.

HUD is awarding $18.7 million to fund OneCPD+ offering technical assistance and capacity building in a number of community development, affordable housing and special needs aspects. OneCPD+ funding will also improve the overall performance of a public housing agency by addressing deficiencies in the financial management and administration of HUD-funded programs (including but not limited to public housing, housing choice vouchers, and mixed finance development), providing repositioning options, and providing capacity building for PHA staff and boards (see funding chart below).

In addition, the Department is awarding $6.6 million for technical assistance and research for Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data collection, reporting, data utilization, performance measurement and research (see funding chart below).

OneCPD allows grantees to tell their story of accomplishment by measuring not only the outputs of this technical and capacity building assistance but the outcomes and the impact on their communities as well. The technical and capacity building assistance awards announced today are provided through the Department's Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD).

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDnews, on facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.