Recovery.gov - Track the Money

Under the Recovery Act, funds may be used for new construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, including energy efficiency and conservation, and infrastructure development. Funds can also be used to leverage private- sector financing for new construction, renovation and energy retrofit investments. Funds will be obligated within 30 days of the enactment of the Recovery Act. In selecting projects to be funded with Recovery Act funds, the recipient 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: Develop, acquire or rehabilitate affordable housing units, and include elements that lead to greater energy efficiency, and develop or improve infrastructure 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: $10,200,000.00

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: $16,850.00

(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. DHHL will submit an amended Native Hawaiian Housing Plan containing, by eligible affordable housing activity, its proposed accomplishments. Office of Native American Programs (ONAP) reviews the Plan for compliance and issues a grant agreement.
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.).
d. Sample Survey of Outcomes: There is no planned survey of outcomes for this program.

(2) Ongoing Grantee Management: ONAP does not categorize DHHL as a high-risk grantee. However, ONAP will follow its procedures and monitor this grantee accordingly. Both remote and on-site monitoring are available options, pursuant to NAHASDA and its implementing regulations. This involves reviewing program files, and on-site program examinations. To ensure timely expenditure of funds, ONAP will track disbursements through its systems. To ensure quality expenditure of funds, ONAP will assign its Native Hawaiian Program Specialist, located in Honolulu, to regularly monitor activities at the project level through the review of data and information submitted. Follow-up on issues or matters of concern that are discovered will occur, and the Native Hawaiian Program Specialist is available to go on-site to assess DHHL’s activities at any time with no additional travel resources needed. To ensure budget and cost compliance, all disbursements will be monitored against DHHL’s Native Hawaiian Housing Plan`s proposed affordable housing activities. 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 regular risk assessment tools, such as the Annual Performance Report, Form HUD 272I- Financial Status Report, OMB Circular A-133 audits, and procedures outlined in ONAP’s Grants Evaluation Handbook. 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 section 818 of NAHASDA and 24 CFR 1006.430 and .440.

(3) Longer Term Evaluation and Research: There is no planned long-term evaluation of this program.

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 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.


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.