Recovery.gov - Track the Money

The Native American Housing Block Grant program, authorized by the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 ("NAHASDA"), assists tribes in developing, operating, maintaining, and supporting affordable rental and homeownership housing. Funds can be used for new construction, acquisition, rehabilitation (including energy efficiency and conservation), and infrastructure development activities. Funds can also be used to leverage private sector financing for new construction, renovation and energy retrofit investments. In selecting projects to be funded with Recovery Act funds, recipients shall give priority to projects for which contracts can be awarded within 180 days from the date that such funds are available to the recipient.

Project/Activity: Tribes will develop, acquire or rehabilitate (including energy efficient retrofits) affordable housing units, or develop and improve the infrastructure on reservations to support affordable housing
Description: Specific activities are those eligible under the NAHASDA, which includes the new construction of affordable housing units, the acquisition of affordable housing units, the rehabilitation of existing affordable housing units, the incorporation of energy efficient systems and components in new or existing affordable housing units and the development or improvement of infrastructure on reservations to support affordable housing.
Funding: $255,000,000.00

Project/Activity: Deliver training, technical assistance, monitoring, enforcement, research and evaluation activities.
Description: HUD will hire staff, build systems and capacity and work with grantees to ensure effective and efficient implementation.
Funding: $1,114,800.00

(1) Data Collection and Reporting
a. Spend Plans: After award, but before gaining access to funds, the grantees must submit a plan on how they will use their funds. Applicants will submit an amended FY 2008 Indian Housing Plan to their Area Office of Native American Programs (ONAP). Staff in the Office of Native American Programs will review these plans prior to making funds available for expenditure.
b. Financial Reports: HUD has two financial reports that will be generated and analyzed on a weekly basis. These include a Summary Financial Report that indicates the amount of funds for each program, and a Funding Notification Report, which shows the amount of funding by program for every jurisdiction, including local governments and some states.
c. Quarterly Recipient Reports: The cornerstone of HUD’s monitoring and evaluation system is the project and contract data collected from grantees. The Recovery Act specifically requires data collection fields for grantees and contractors. In addition to these data, HUD will also collect program-specific measures from grantees (e.g., number of units rehabilitated, etc.).

(2) Ongoing Grantee Management: HUD categorizes grantees by risk, then monitors and works with grantees to resolve performance issues, including providing training, technical assistance, and, if warranted, enforcement action. Findings of non-compliance will trigger the remedial process. High-risk grantees are those that are in the process of having remedies imposed. Both remote and on-site monitoring are available options, pursuant to NAHASDA and its implementing regulations. To ensure timely expenditure of funds, ONAP tracks disbursements through its systems. To ensure quality expenditure of funds, ONAP regularly monitors activities at the project level through the review of data and information submitted. Follow-up will occur on issues or matters of concern that are discovered. To ensure budget and cost compliance, the grantee will be monitored through its Annual Performance Report, comparing it against the Indian Housing Plan’s proposed affordable housing activities. Quarterly reports will be reviewed to verify expenditure and obligation rates. To ensure legal compliance and prevent fraud, all activities under this grant will be tracked for compliance with statutory, regulatory, and administrative requirements by the ONAP Headquarters Grants Evaluation staff through the use of on-site monitoring and regular risk assessment tools, as well as the use of the Annual Performance Report, Form HUD-272-I-Financial Status Report, and OMB Circular A-133 audits. If necessary, interventions will occur and categorical training and technical assistance will be offered to resolve specific problems. Actions for non-compliance include shutting down access to funds, letters of warning, notices of intent to impose remedies, and imposition of sanctions pursuant to 24 CFR § 1000.532 and 1000.538. Remedies can be triggered by substantial noncompliance with NAHASDA or its regulations, as defined at 24 CFR §1000.534. Grants will not be awarded to tribes with remedies currently imposed.

With respect to reporting, OMB has issued detailed guidance on the requirements for recipients of the Recovery Act funds. Specifically, each prime and first tier recipient is required to report specified information to HUD 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter. This includes but is not limited to a detailed list of all projects and activities for which Recovery Act funds were obligated or expended, an evaluation of the completion status of the project or activity, and an estimate of the number of jobs created or retained. In addition to the overarching requirements of the Recovery Act, HUD has also identified a number of program-specific measures that will be collected through this reporting process.

HUD expects that the transparency requirements of the Recovery Act, specifically the requirement to publish both spending and recipient performance reports, will create accountability amongst its managers and grantees. That said, HUD will establish additional internal management controls to create a greater level of accountability for performance. The HUD Recovery Act program management team will work with the leads of the program and cross-cutting teams to prepare a bi-weekly program snapshot report for the steering committee to review with the Deputy Secretary and Secretary. Drawing from the program and risk management plans, the reports will include summary-level quantitative financial and programmatic performance measures and targets, key milestones, and issues or risks. Interim spending and performance targets will be set to ensure that annual objectives from the program plans are met. Performance data will be summarized by grantee risk category, as defined in the agency’s risk management plan. Performance measure targets and milestones that are missed, or that are in jeopardy of being missed, will be accompanied by an explanation of the reasons why, including any issues affecting progress and the specific plan for their resolution or mitigation. The report will also identify specific grantees with performance issues, and summarize the actions being taken to address them. In addition to the bi-weekly reporting, each program team will meet with the Secretary, Deputy Secretary and Steering Committee on a monthly basis to review a more detailed set of Recovery Act performance measures. On a quarterly basis, these monthly meetings will include updated grant recipient data described above.

This program does not invest in Federal infrastructure. However, for HUD’s programs that include construction or rehabilitation or are Federal investments in privately owned housing: New buildings and major renovations financed through formula grants are required to meet local energy codes. New construction and major renovations financed through some competitive grant programs will, in the case of single family homes, be built to the standard for Energy Star for New Homes (15 percent more efficient than the 2004 International Residential Code); or in the case of multifamily buildings to exceed ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-conditioning Engineers) Code 90.1 2007, Appendix G, by 20 percent. HUD’s competitive program requirements also ensure that new construction and major renovations follow sustainable design and green construction principles to (1) optimize energy efficiency and performance; (2) employ integrated design principles (and controls); (3) protect and conserve water; (4) enhance indoor air quality; and (5) reduce environmental impact of materials used.