12696 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 51 / Friday, March 16, 2007 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–5056–N–01] 

The Violence Against Women and 

Department of Justice Reauthorization 

Act of 2005: Applicability to HUD 

Programs 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice addresses 

inquiries to HUD about: (1) The 

applicability to HUD programs of 

certain provisions of the Violence 

Against Women and Department of 

Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005, as 

amended by a technical corrections bill 

signed into law in August 2006, and (2) 

HUD’s plans to issue rules or guidance 

on this new law. The Violence Against 

Women and Department of Justice 

Reauthorization Act of 2005 and the 

technical corrections described in this 

notice became effective upon 

enactment. 

This notice presents information from 

HUD’s Offices of Community Planning 

and Development, General Counsel, 

Housing, and Public and Indian 

Housing, and provides an overview of 

key provisions that affect HUD 

programs, identifies those provisions 

that require program participants to take 

action to be in compliance, and advises 

of efforts underway within HUD to 

further facilitate compliance with this 

new law, including rules and guidance 

that are under consideration or 

development. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general information about the Violence 

Against Women and Department of 

Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005, 

please contact Aaron Santa Anna, 

Assistant General Counsel for 

Regulations, Office of Legislation and 

Regulations, Department of Housing and 

Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, 

SW., Room 10282, Washington, DC 

20410–0500; telephone (202) 708–3055 

(this is not a toll-free number). For 

information about HUD’s Public 

Housing program and Housing Choice 

Voucher program, please contact the 

Office of Public Housing and Voucher 

Programs, Office of Public and Indian 

Housing, Room 4240, telephone (202) 

708–1380. For information about HUD’s 

Homeless Management Information 

Systems, please contact the Office of 

Program Coordination and Analysis 

Division, Office of Special Needs 

Programs, Office of Community 

Planning and Development, telephone 

(202) 402–4496. For information about 

HUD’s Section 8 Project-Based program, 

please contact the Office of Housing 

Assistance Policy Division, Office of 

Housing, Room 6138, telephone (202) 

708–3000. The address for all offices is 

the Department of Housing and Urban 

Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., 

Washington, DC 20410. The above-listed 

telephone numbers are not toll-free 

numbers. Persons with hearing or 

speech impairments may access these 

numbers through TTY by calling the 

toll-free Federal Information Relay 

Service at (800) 877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Overview 

On January 5, 2006, President Bush 

signed into law the Violence Against 

Women and Department of Justice 

Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 

109–162) (VAWA 2005), and, on August 

28, 2006, signed into law technical 

corrections to the Violence Against 

Women and Department of Justice 

Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 

109–271). Except as provided in Section 

4 of the technical corrections law, 

VAWA 2005 became effective upon 

enactment; no provisions of VAWA 

2005 that affect the changes described in 

this notice have a delayed effective date. 

VAWA 2005 reauthorizes and amends 

the Violence Against Women Act of 

1994 (42 U.S.C. 13701 et seq.) (VAWA 

1994) for Fiscal Years 2007 through 

2011, and, among other things, 

consolidates major law enforcement 

grant programs; makes amendments to 

criminal and immigration laws; and 

makes amendments to other statutes, 

including certain HUD statutes, to 

support and strengthen efforts to combat 

domestic violence and other forms of 

violence against women. 

The provisions of VAWA 2005 

applicable to HUD programs are found 

in Title VI entitled ‘‘Housing 

Opportunities and Safety for Battered 

Women and Children.’’ Section 601 of 

VAWA 2005 amends VAWA 1994 to 

add a new Subtitle N to VAWA 1994 

entitled ‘‘Addressing the Housing Needs 

of Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating 

Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking.’’ 

HUD Statutes Amended by VAWA 

2005. With regard to HUD programs, 

VAWA 2005 addresses various housing 

needs for victims of domestic violence, 

and amends the following HUD statutes: 

the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

1437 et seq.), the Cranston-Gonzalez 

National Affordable Housing Act (42 

U.S.C. 13704 et seq.), and the 

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.). 

HUD Programs Affected by VAWA 

2005. The amendments made by VAWA 

2005 apply to HUD’s Public Housing 

program, HUD’s Supportive Housing 

program, and HUD’s programs assisted 

by section 8 of the U.S. Housing Act of 

1937. The VAWA 2005 provisions 

applicable to HUD do not cover HUD’s 

Indian housing programs. The VAWA 

2005 provisions applicable to HUD do 

not cover programs other than the 

Supportive Housing program for the 

Homeless and housing that is assisted 

by HUD under sections 6 and 8 of the 

U.S. Housing Act of 1937. 

Immediate Applicability of VAWA 

2005. The primary objectives of VAWA 

2005 are to reduce violence against 

women and to protect, or increase the 

protection of, the safety and 

confidentiality of women who are 

victims of abuse. These new protections 

for families participating in HUD 

programs became effective upon 

enactment of the law on January 5, 

2006, and for the majority of the VAWA 

2005 amendments that are applicable to 

HUD programs, prior action by HUD is 

not necessary in order for 

implementation to begin. Following 

enactment of the new law, HUD’s Office 

of Public and Indian Housing issued a 

direct notice on VAWA 2005, PIH 2006– 

23, in which it advised public housing 

agencies (PHAs) that these statutory 

provisions [of VAWA 2005] were 

effective the date the law was enacted 

(January 5, 2006). That notice can be 

found at http://www.hud.gov/offices/ 

pih/publications/notices/06/pih2006– 

23.pdf. HUD’s Office of Public and 

Indian Housing also issued PIH notice 

PIH 2006–42 on the VAWA form HUD– 

50066, Certification of Domestic 

Violence, Dating Violence, or Stalking. 

That notice can be found at http:// 

www.hud.gov/offices/pih/publications/ 

notices/06/pih2006–42.pdf. HUD’s 

Office of Public and Indian Housing also 

issued PIH notice PIH 2007–5, which 

describes revised form HUD 52641, the 

Housing Assistance Payments Contract, 

and revised form HUD 52641A, the 

Tenancy Addendum. Both forms were 

revised to reflect statutory requirements 

of VAWA. That notice can be found at 

http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/ 

publications/notices/07/pih2007-5.pdf. 

Sections II, III, and IV of this notice 

provide an overview of the key 

amendments made by VAWA 2005 that 

are applicable to HUD programs, and 

identify provisions for which rules or 

guidance may be issued by HUD’s 

program offices. 

II. VAWA 2005 Amendments to the U.S. 

Housing Act of 1937 

Under the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, 

HUD promotes the goal of providing 

decent and affordable housing for all 

citizens by providing funds for housing 

assistance. 


erjones on PRODPC74 with NOTICES2
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 51 / Friday, March 16, 2007 / Notices 12697 

1Please note that in HUD’s Housing programs, the 

term ‘‘manager’’ as used in VAWA is synonymous 

with the phrase ‘‘management agent.’’

A. Public Housing Agency Plans. 

Section 603 of VAWA 2005 amends 

section 5A of the U.S. Housing Act of 

1937. This amendment requires the 5- 

year plans of PHAs to begin including 

a statement about goals, activities, 

objectives, policies, or programs that 

will enable a PHA to serve the needs of 

child and adult victims of domestic 

violence, dating violence, sexual 

assault, or stalking. 

The amendment requires the annual 

plan of PHAs to include a description 

of: (1) Any activities, services, or 

programs provided or offered by an 

agency, either directly or in partnership 

with other service providers, to child or 

adult victims of domestic violence, 

dating violence, sexual assault, or 

stalking; (2) any activities, services, or 

programs provided or offered that helps 

child and adult victims of domestic 

violence, dating violence, sexual 

assault, or stalking to obtain or maintain 

housing; and (3) any activities, services, 

or programs provided or offered to 

prevent domestic violence, dating 

violence, sexual assault, and stalking, or 

to enhance victim safety in assisted 

families. 

Note: PHAs must include the statement 

required by VAWA 2005 in their next 

regularly scheduled plan submission. PHAs 

are encouraged to amend or modify their 

plans before the next regular submission as 

provided in 24 CFR 903.21. 

B. Section 8 and Public Housing 

Identical Amendments. Sections 606 

and 607 amend section 8 (42 U.S.C. 

1437f) and section 6 (42 U.S.C. 1437d) 

of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937, 

governing HUD’s section 8 assisted 

programs and HUD’s public housing 

program, respectively, as noted below. 

1. Admission, Occupancy, and 

Termination of Assistance Policies. 

Sections 606 and 607 of the VAWA 

2005 amendments provide that: 

• Being a victim of domestic violence, 

dating violence, or stalking, as these 

terms are defined in the law (hereafter 

collectively referred to as ‘‘abuse’’), is 

not a basis for denial of assistance or 

admission to public or assisted housing 

if the applicant otherwise qualifies for 

assistance or admission; 

• Incidents or threats of abuse will 

not be construed as serious or repeated 

violations of the lease or other ‘‘good 

cause’’ for termination of the assistance, 

tenancy, or occupancy rights of a victim 

of abuse; and 

• Criminal activity directly relating to 

abuse, engaged in by a member of a 

tenant’s household or any guest or other 

person under the tenant’s control, shall 

not be cause for termination of 

assistance, tenancy, or occupancy rights 

if the tenant or an immediate member of 

the tenant’s family is the victim or 

threatened victim of that abuse. 

Note: PHAs and owners administering or 

participating in section 8 programs and 

public housing programs must ensure that, 

upon the date of enactment of VAWA 2005, 

any denial of admission to the programs and 

any termination of assistance, tenancy, or 

occupancy rights under the programs 

complies with the provisions of VAWA 2005, 

and any future denial or termination action 

will comply with the provisions of VAWA 

2005. 

VAWA 2005 provides that these new 

policies governing admission, 

occupancy, and termination of 

assistance are not to interfere with 

certain rights and responsibilities of 

PHAs, owners, or managers 1 regarding 

criminal activity or acts of violence 

against family members or others, as 

discussed in paragraph 2, which 

follows. 

2. Rights and Responsibilities of 

PHAs, Owners, and Managers. The 

VAWA 2005 amendments, as recently 

amended by the technical corrections 

statute, and as applicable to section 8 

contracts for assistance payments and 

public housing leases, provide that: 

Notwithstanding the restrictions that 

VAWA 2005 places on admission, 

occupancy, and terminations of 

occupancy or assistance, as discussed in 

paragraph 1, or any federal, state, or 

local law to the contrary, a PHA, owner 

or manager may ‘‘bifurcate’’ a lease 

under this section, or remove a 

household member from a lease under 

this section, without regard to whether 

a household member is a signatory to 

the lease, in order to evict, remove, 

terminate occupancy rights, or terminate 

assistance to any individual who is a 

tenant or lawful occupant and who 

engages in criminal acts of physical 

violence against family members or 

others, without evicting, removing, 

terminating assistance to, or otherwise 

penalizing the victim of such violence 

who is also a tenant or lawful occupant, 

and such eviction, removal, termination 

of occupancy rights, or termination of 

assistance shall be effected in 

accordance with the procedures 

prescribed by federal, state, and local 

law for the termination of leases or 

assistance under the relevant program of 

HUD-assisted housing. 

Note: The authority provided to PHAs, 

owners, and managers under VAWA 2005 to 

bifurcate a lease or otherwise remove an 

individual is applicable to all existing leases 

for families participating in either the public 

housing or section 8 programs, and specific 

lease language to that effect is not necessary 

for the PHA, owner, or manager to exercise 

such authority. Neither the authority nor the 

procedures under any other law is necessary 

to bifurcate or otherwise remove an 

individual from the lease. Furthermore, this 

federal statutory authority to bifurcate a lease 

or otherwise remove an individual takes 

precedence over any federal, state, or local 

law to the contrary. However, PHAs, 

managers, and owners must keep in mind 

that the eviction of or the termination action 

against the individual must be effected in 

accordance with the procedures prescribed 

by federal, state, and local law. This means 

that the same procedures prescribed by 

federal, state, and local law that the PHA, 

owner, or manager must follow to evict, 

remove, terminate occupancy rights, or 

terminate assistance for the family as a whole 

must also be followed when exercising such 

action against an individual household 

member. 

It is further noted that under the 

Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) 

program, PHAs have authority under the 

existing § 982.552(c)(2) to terminate 

voucher assistance for certain family 

members while permitting other 

members of a participant family to 

continue receiving assistance (provided 

the culpable family member will no 

longer reside in the unit). A PHA’s right 

to exercise this administrative 

discretion under § 982.552(c)(2) is not 

dependent on a bifurcated lease or other 

eviction action by the owner against an 

individual family member. 

VAWA 2005 also provides that the 

restrictions the law places on 

admission, occupancy, and termination 

of occupancy or assistance, as discussed 

in paragraph 1: 

• May not be construed to limit a 

PHA, owner, or manager from honoring 

various court orders issued to either 

protect the victim or address the 

distribution of property in case a family 

breaks up; 

• Does not limit any otherwise 

available authority of a PHA, owner, or 

manager to terminate assistance or evict 

due to any lease violation not premised 

on the act of violence in question 

against the tenant or member of the 

tenant’s household, provided that the 

owner or manager does not subject an 

individual who is or has been a victim 

of domestic violence, dating violence, or 

stalking to a more demanding standard 

than other tenants in determining 

whether to evict or terminate assistance; 

• May not be construed to limit the 

authority of a PHA, owner, or manager 

to terminate the assistance of, or evict, 

any occupant who can be demonstrated 

to pose an actual or imminent threat to 

other tenants or the property’s 

employees; and 

• Shall not be construed to supersede 

any provisions of federal, state, or local 


erjones on PRODPC74 with NOTICES2
12698 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 51 / Friday, March 16, 2007 / Notices 

laws that provide greater protection for 

victims of abuse. 

3. Certification of Abuse and 

Confidentiality. Sections 606 and 607 of 

VAWA 2005, and as recently amended 

by the technical corrections statute, add 

certification and confidentiality 

provisions that allow for a PHA, owner, 

or manager to request an individual to 

certify that the individual is a victim of 

abuse and that the incidences of abuse 

are bona fide. The certification must 

include the name of the perpetrator, and 

any other statutorily required 

information, and the victim must 

provide the certification within 14 

business days after the individual 

receives a request for such certification 

from the PHA, owner, or manager. 

Without the certification, a PHA, 

owner, or manager may terminate 

assistance. All information provided to 

a PHA, owner, or manager is 

confidential. Notice of these rights must 

be given to tenants. The statute allows 

for the victim to self-certify and also 

allows for the certification requirement 

to be satisfied with documentation 

signed by an employee, agent, or 

volunteer of a victim service provider, 

an attorney, or a medical professional 

from whom the victim has sought 

assistance in addressing domestic 

violence, dating violence, or stalking or 

the effects of the abuse in which the 

professional attests under penalty of 

perjury (28 U.S.C. 1746) to the 

professional’s belief that the incident or 

incidents in question are bona fide 

incidents of abuse, and the victim of 

domestic violence, dating violence, or 

stalking has signed or attested to the 

documentation. The statute also allows 

for the certification requirement to be 

satisfied by producing a federal, state, 

tribal, territorial, or local police or court 

record. 

Note: HUD-Approved Certification. 

Sections 606 and 607 require the issuance of 

a ‘‘HUD-approved certification form’’ for 

victims of abuse to use. The HUD-approved 

certification form for PIH-covered programs 

is form HUD–50066, which may be found at: 

http://www.hudclips.org/sub_nonhud/html/ 

forms.htm. On February 7, 2007 (72 FR 

5733), HUD published a 60-day notice in the 

Federal Register informing the public that 

HUD will be submitting the Office of 

Housing’s certification form for its programs 

(Form HUD–90066) to OMB for review. 

4. Portability in the Housing Choice 

Voucher Program. VAWA 2005 

amended section 8(r) of the United 

States Housing Act to provide an 

exception to the prohibition against a 

family moving under the portability 

provisions in violation of the lease. 

VAWA 2005 provides that the family 

may receive a voucher and move in 

violation of the lease under the 

portability procedures if the family has 

complied with all other obligations of 

the voucher program and has moved out 

of the assisted dwelling unit in order to 

protect the health or safety of an 

individual who is or has been the victim 

of domestic violence, dating violence, or 

stalking and who reasonably believed he 

or she was imminently threatened by 

harm from further violence if he or she 

remained in the assisted dwelling unit. 

5. PHA Notification to Tenants and 

Owners Participating in Section 8 

Programs. VAWA 2005 further requires 

that PHAs must provide notice to 

tenants assisted under section 8 of the 

United States Housing Act of 1937 of 

their rights, and notice to owners and 

managers of their rights and obligations, 

under section 8 as amended by VAWA 

2005. Specifically, such notice must 

cover rights and obligations under 

subsections (8)(c)(9), (8)(d)(1)(B)(ii), 

(8)(d)(1)(B)(iii), (8)(o)(7)(C), (8)(o)(7)(D), 

(8)(o)(20), (8)(r)(5), and (8)(ee). 

Note: PHAs must provide notice to all 

families and owners participating under any 

section 8 program administered by the PHA, 

including the HCV tenant-based and projectbased program, the project-based certificate 

program, and the section 8 moderate 

rehabilitation program (excluding the Single 

Room Occupancy Moderate Rehabilitation 

program authorized under the McKinneyVento Act). 

6. PHA Notification to Public Housing 

Residents. VAWA 2005 also requires 

that PHAs must provide notice to public 

housing residents of their rights under 

section 6 of the United States Housing 

Act of 1937 as amended by VAWA 

2005. Specifically, the notice must cover 

rights under subsections (6)(l)(5), 

(6)(l)(6), and (6)(u), including their 

rights to confidentiality and the limits 

thereof. 

7. Definitions Added to U.S. Housing 

Act of 1937. Section 606(3) and section 

607(5) of VAWA 2005, and as recently 

amended by the technical corrections 

statute, also amend section 8(f) and 

section 6(d) of the U.S. Housing Act of 

1937 to provide important definitions of 

terms, most notably: 

(1) A definition of ‘‘domestic 

violence’’ (42 U.S.C. 1437f(f)(8) and 42 

U.S.C. 1436d(u)(3)(A)), which is given 

the same meaning as this term is 

defined in section 40002 of the Violence 

Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA 

1994) as added by VAWA 2005. VAWA 

2005 defines ‘‘domestic violence’’ to 

include ‘‘felony or misdemeanor crimes 

of violence committed by a current or 

former spouse of the victim, by a person 

with whom the victim shares a child in 

common, by a person who is 

cohabitating with or has cohabitated 

with the victim as a spouse, by a person 

similarly situated to a spouse of the 

victim under the domestic or family 

violence laws of the jurisdiction 

receiving grant monies, or by any other 

person against an adult or youth victim 

who is protected from that person’s acts 

under the domestic or family violence 

laws of the jurisdiction’’; 

(2) A definition of ‘‘dating violence’’

(42 U.S.C. 1473f(f)(9) and 42 U.S.C. 

1436d(u)(3)(B)), which is given the same 

meaning as this term as defined in 

section 40002 of VAWA 1994, as added 

by VAWA 2005. VAWA 2005 defines 

‘‘dating violence’’ to mean ‘‘violence 

committed by a person (A) who is or has 

been in a social relationship of a 

romantic or intimate nature with the 

victim; and (B) where the existence of 

such a relationship shall be determined 

based on a consideration of the 

following factors: (i) The length of the 

relationship; (ii) the type of 

relationship; and (iii) the frequency of 

interaction between the persons 

involved in the relationship.’’

(3) A definition of ‘‘stalking’’ (42 

U.S.C. 1437f(f)(10) and 42 U.S.C. 

14736d(u)(3)(C)), that differs from the 

meaning of this term as defined in 

section 40002 of VAWA 1994, as added 

by VAWA 2005. The definition that is 

applicable to HUD’s public housing and 

section 8 assisted programs is a more 

detailed definition than that provided in 

section 40002 of VAWA 1994, as 

amended by VAWA 2005. For HUD 

covered programs, the definition of 

‘‘stalking’’ is defined as follows. 

‘‘Stalking means (A)(i) to follow, pursue, 

or repeatedly commit acts with the 

intent to kill, injure, harass, or 

intimidate another person; or (ii) to 

place under surveillance with the intent 

to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate 

another person; and (B) in the course of, 

or as a result of, such following, pursuit, 

surveillance, or repeatedly committed 

acts, to place a person in reasonable fear 

of the death of, or serious bodily injury 

to, or to cause substantial emotional 

harm to (i) that person; (ii) a member of 

the immediate family of that person; or 

(iii) the spouse or intimate partner of 

that person’’; and 

(4) A definition of ‘‘immediate family 

member’’ (42 U.S.C. 1437f(f)(11) and 

1437d(u)(3)(D)). ‘‘Immediate family 

member’’ is defined to mean, ‘‘with 

respect to a person (A) a spouse, parent, 

brother or sister, or child of that person, 

or an individual to whom that person 

stands in loco parentis; or (B) any other 

person living in the household of that 

person and related to that person by 

blood or marriage.’’


erjones on PRODPC74 with NOTICES2
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 51 / Friday, March 16, 2007 / Notices 12699 

III. VAWA 2005 Amendments to the 

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

Act 

The McKinney-Vento Homeless 

Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11383) 

authorizes programs that provide grants 

for homeless assistance. Section 605 of 

VAWA 2005 amends section 423 of the 

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

Act. Section 423 is part of Subtitle C of 

the McKinney-Vento Homeless 

Assistance Act, which establishes 

HUD’s Supportive Housing Program. 

Section 423 of that subtitle describes the 

eligible activities of the Supportive 

Housing assistance program, and section 

605 of VAWA 2005 adds a new 

subsection (a)(8) entitled 

‘‘Confidentiality.’’

Homeless Management Information 

Systems. Homeless Management 

Information Systems (HMIS) are 

computerized data collection 

applications that facilitate the collection 

of information on homeless individuals 

and families using residential or other 

homeless assistance services and stores 

that data in an electronic format. The 

new Confidentiality provision directs 

victim service providers not to disclose, 

for purposes of HMIS, personally 

identifying information about any 

client. In accordance with this statutory 

requirement, victim service providers 

must maintain the confidentiality of 

personally identifying information of 

the providers’ clients. The Office of 

Community Planning and Development 

is also planning to issue guidance that 

may be helpful to participants. 

It is important to note, however, that 

the VAWA 2005 amendment does not 

affect current aggregate reporting under 

the Annual Progress Reporting (APR) 

process covering the Supportive 

Housing, Shelter Plus Care, and Section 

8 SRO programs. In addition, current 

aggregate reporting for the Emergency 

Shelter Grant program under the 

Integrated Disbursement and 

Information System (IDIS) reporting is 

not covered. 

Notice and Comment Requirement. 

Section 605 allows HUD, through a 

public notice and comment process, to 

require recipients or subrecipients to 

disclose for purposes of HMIS, nonpersonally identifying data that has 

been de-identified, encrypted or 

otherwise encoded. HUD’s Office of 

Community Planning and Development 

is considering how technology may 

ensure the proper protection of 

personally identifying data. For 

purposes of HMIS, any requirement to 

disclose non-personally identifying 

information will be issued through a 

notice and comment process as directed 

by statute. It is important to reiterate 

that existing paper record keeping 

requirements and aggregate reporting 

under the APR and IDIS systems are not 

covered by this section since they 

preceded the HMIS initiative and are 

currently separate from HMIS; also, the 

APR and IDIS systems do not require 

personal identifiers being entered into a 

central database. 

Section 605 also defines the terms 

‘‘personally identifying information’’

and ‘‘victim service provider.’’ The term 

‘‘personally identifying information’’ is 

defined to mean ‘‘individually 

identifying information likely to 

disclose the location of a victim of 

domestic violence, dating violence, 

sexual assault, or stalking, including (I) 

a first and last name; (II) a home or other 

physical address; (III) contact 

information (including a postal, e-mail 

or Internet protocol address, or 

telephone or facsimile number); (IV) a 

social security number; and (V) any 

other information including date of 

birth, racial or ethnic background, or 

religious affiliation, that, in combination 

with any other non-personally 

identifying information would serve to 

identify any individual.’’

The term ‘‘victim service provider’’ is 

defined to mean ‘‘a nonprofit, 

nongovernmental organization, 

including rape crisis centers, battered 

women’s shelters, domestic violence 

transitional housing programs, and 

other programs whose primary mission 

is to provide services to victims of 

domestic violence, dating violence, 

sexual assault, or stalking.’’

IV. VAWA 2005 Amendments to the 

Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 

Housing Act 

Under the Cranston-Gonzalez 

National Affordable Housing Act, HUD 

may provide assistance to certain 

jurisdictions that, in turn, will create 

comprehensive affordable housing 

strategies. Section 604 of VAWA 2005 

amends section 105(b)(1) of the 

Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 

Housing Act to now require that 

comprehensive housing affordability 

strategies (more familiarly known as the 

Consolidated Plan) submitted to the 

Secretary shall contain estimated 

housing needs for victims of domestic 

violence, dating violence, sexual 

assault, and stalking. 

V. Additional Information 

As a result of the amendments to the 

HUD statutes discussed in this notice, 

HUD’s Office of Community Planning 

and Development and HUD’s Office of 

Public and Indian Housing have already 

begun outreach to program participants 

and to organizations representative of 

victims of abuse on those provisions for 

which additional compliance guidance 

from HUD may be beneficial to program 

participants. 

HUD will be amending the regulations 

of the programs covered by VAWA 2005 

to conform the existing regulations to 

the new statutory language and 

requirements. Again, however, the 

absence of the statutory language in the 

regulations does not mean the statutory 

provisions are not effective and 

applicable. The protections provided by 

the statute are immediately available to 

covered families. 

In HUD’s Semiannual Agenda of 

Regulations, published on April 24, 

2006 (71 FR 22734), HUD’s Office of 

Public and Indian Housing announced 

that it would revise HUD’s regulations 

for its public and assisted housing 

programs to conform the regulations to 

the statutory amendments made by 

VAWA 2005 (see 71 FR 22757). This 

office reiterated this statement about 

forthcoming rules in Notice PIH 2006–

23. 

HUD’s Office of Housing has already 

engaged in outreach activities, engaging 

affected program participants in 

discussions about the nature and scope 

of VAWA 2005 provisions and how they 

might best be implemented. Housing 

also plans to issue, in the near future, 

a Federal Register notice that addresses 

VAWA 2005 requirements applicable to 

participants in Housing programs. 

Housing will also be issuing, by separate 

publication, guidance and a HUDapproved certification form that can be 

provided by an owner or management 

agent to a tenant to help ascertain 

whether the tenant is a victim of abuse. 

HUD’s Office of Community Planning 

and Development is examining new 

technology to determine whether such 

technology can provide the protection 

for non-personally identifying data, 

which the statute directs be provided 

and which HUD seeks to provide. 

In addition to rules that conform 

regulatory language to the recently 

enacted statutory language, offices may 

issue guidance to assist program 

participants in compliance with the new 

amendments, depending upon questions 

raised by their respective constituents. 

Additionally, HUD may determine that 

for certain areas of the new law, binding 

requirements established through 

proposed and final rulemaking, as 

opposed to guidance, serve as the better 

approach for achieving compliance. 

VAWA 2005, in its entirety, is 

available at the following Web site 

addresses: 

• For plain text version: http:// 

frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/ 


erjones on PRODPC74 with NOTICES2
12700 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 51 / Friday, March 16, 2007 / Notices 

useftp.cgi?IPaddress=162.140.64.21&

filename=publ162.109&directory=/

diskb/wais/data/109_cong_public_laws 

• For PDF version: http:// 

frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/ 

getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_public_

laws&docid=f:publ162.109.pdf 

VAWA 2005’s technical correction, in 

its entirety, is available at the following 

Web site addresses: 

• For plain text version: http:// 

frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/ 

getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_public_

laws&docid=f:publ271.109 

• For PDF version: http:// 

frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/ 

getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_public_

laws&docid=f:publ271.109.pdf. 

Dated: February 26, 2007. 

Roy A. Bernardi, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E7–4795 Filed 3–15–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 


erjones on PRODPC74 with NOTICES2