| Contents | Foreword | Intro | Findings | Using PO in '06 | Appendix A | Appendix B | Appendix C | Appendix D |
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Using Priced Out
Information
How to Use the
Information in Priced Out in 2006
The information in Priced Out in 2006 can be used by
advocates to document the housing needs of people with disabilities – including
the extreme poverty of people with disabilities receiving SSI benefits. Most importantly, Priced Out in 2006 can
be used to prove that people with disabilities receiving SSI benefits cannot
afford rental housing without an ongoing rental subsidy and that the housing
crisis they face is getting worse each year.
The disability community can use the information in this report to
engage national, state, and local housing officials in a dialogue about the
housing needs of people with disabilities.
At the state and local level, housing officials are responsible for
developing strategies and annual plans that determine how federal housing
resources are used.
There are four significant housing planning activities that
disability advocates can use to successfully influence the use of federal
housing resources:
• The Consolidated Plan
• The Public Housing Agency Plan
• The Continuum of Care
• The Qualified Allocation Plan
These federally mandated plans control billions of dollars of
federal housing funding that can be used to expand affordable and accessible
housing opportunities for people with disabilities.
Consolidated
Plan
The Consolidated Plan (ConPlan) is the “master plan” for
affordable housing in local communities and states. Each year, Congress
appropriates billions of dollars (more than $5.4 billion for FY 2006) that are
distributed by HUD directly to all states, most urban counties, and certain
“entitlement communities.”
The ConPlan is intended to be a comprehensive, long-range planning
document describing housing needs, market conditions, and housing strategies,
and outlining an action plan for the use of federal housing funds. The ConPlan
is the best chance to go on record about the housing crisis facing people with
disabilities in the community or state and demand that people with disabilities
receive their “fair share” of federal housing funds distributed through the
ConPlan process. The information in Priced Out in 2006 should be
provided to the housing officials preparing the ConPlan, and included in the
final plan submitted to HUD.
More important than this documentation, however, is the need to
convince these housing officials that people with disabilities should be
receiving their “fair share” of federal housing funding distributed through the
ConPlan process. The information
included in Priced Out in 2006 can help to begin a dialogue that results
in more federal housing funding being directed to assist people with
disabilities in local communities. To
learn more about how the disability community can use the ConPlan process to
influence housing officials, see Piecing It All Together in Your Community:
Playing the Housing Game, a TAC publication available online at
www.tacinc.org.
Public
Housing Agency Plan
Public housing reform legislation enacted in 1998 gave PHAs more
flexibility and control over how federal public housing and Section 8 Housing
Choice Voucher program funds are used in their communities. Along with this
flexibility and control were new requirements, including the creation of a
five-year comprehensive planning document known as the Public Housing Agency
Plan (PHA Plan).
In consultation with a Resident Advisory Board, each PHA is
required to complete a PHA Plan that describes the agency’s overall mission for
serving low-income and very low-income families, and the activities that will
be undertaken to meet the housing needs of these families. Under federal law,
the PHA Plan should also be consistent with the ConPlan for the
jurisdiction.
Like the ConPlan, the PHA Plan includes a statement of the housing
needs of low- and very low-income people in the community and describes how the
PHA’s resources – specifically federal public housing and the Section 8 Housing
Choice Voucher program – will be used to meet these needs. For example, through
the PHA Plan, local housing officials could decide to direct more Housing
Choice Vouchers to people with disabilities receiving SSI benefits. For more information on the PHA Plan, see Opening
Doors, Issue 8: Affordable Housing in Your Community. What You Need to Know!
What You Need to Do!, a TAC publication available
online at www.tacinc.org.
Continuum
of Care
HUD’s third housing plan, the Continuum of Care, documents a
community’s strategy for addressing homelessness, including a description of
what role HUD’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance funds play in that strategy.
The HUD McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance programs have formed the backbone of
local efforts intended to address the many needs of homeless individuals and
families in states and communities across the nation. Unlike the ConPlan and
the PHA Plan, which are required by law, the Continuum of Care was created by
HUD as a policy to help coordinate the provision of housing and services to
homeless people. Continuum of Care planning helps communities to envision, organize,
and plan comprehensive and long-term solutions to address the problem of
homelessness. The strategic planning conducted through this process also forms
the basis of a Continuum of Care plan and application to HUD for Homeless
Assistance funds.
As with the other HUD housing plans, Continuum of Care planning
presents a valuable opportunity for the disability community to provide input
regarding the housing and supportive services needs of people with disabilities
who are homeless, including those people who need permanent supportive housing.
For more information on the Continuum of Care, see How to Be A Player in the Continuum of Care, a TAC publication available
online at www.tacinc.org.
Qualified
Allocation Plan
When the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program was
created in 1986, Congress included a requirement that states develop an annual
strategic housing planning document describing how LIHTC funds would be
utilized to meet the housing needs and priorities of the state. In accordance
with this law, prior to allocating tax credits, each state must have a
federally approved Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP). The QAP outlines the
state’s affordable housing priorities for the use of tax credits as well as the
tax credit application process. The state must solicit public comment on a
draft QAP before it submits the final QAP to the federal government.
Federal law requires that the QAP give priority to projects that
serve the lowest-income households and remain affordable for the longest period
of time. In addition, by law, 10 percent of a state’s annual LIHTC allocation
must be reserved for non-profit organizations.
Some states have additional
set-asides within the LIHTC program to encourage the creation of certain types
of housing. For example, the