234
vide covered housing assistance for the jurisdiction in
the manner authorized under this title. The Secretary
may not approve any application for assistance pur-
suant to this title unless the Secretary and jurisdic-
tion enter into an agreement referred to in paragraph
(1). The Secretary shall establish requirements for the
approval of applications under this section submitted
by public housing agencies designated under section
533(a) as troubled, which may include additional or
different criteria determined by the Secretary to be
more appropriate for such agencies.
(c) STATUS OF PHA’S.—Nothing in this section or
title may be construed to require any change in the legal
status of any public housing agency or in any legal rela-
tionship between a jurisdiction and a public housing agency
as a condition of participation in the program under this
title.
SEC. 407. TRAINING.
The Secretary, in consultation with representatives of
public and assisted housing interests, shall provide training
and technical assistance relating to providing assistance
under this title and conduct detailed evaluations of up to
30 jurisdictions for the purpose of identifying replicable
program models that are successful at carrying out the pur-
poses of this title.
235
SEC. 408. ACCOUNTABILITY.
(a) PERFORMANCE GOALS.—The Secretary shall mon-
itor the performance of participating jurisdictions in pro-
viding assistance pursuant to this title based on the per-
formance standards contained in the agreements entered
into pursuant to section 406(b)(1).
(b) KEEPING RECORDS.—Each participating jurisdic-
tion shall keep such records as the Secretary may prescribe
as reasonably necessary to disclose the amounts and the dis-
position of amounts provided pursuant to this title, to en-
sure compliance with the requirements of this title and to
measure performance against the performance goals under
subsection (a).
(c) REPORTS.—Each participating jurisdiction agen-
cy shall submit to the Secretary a report, or series of re-
ports, in a form and at a time specified by the Secretary.
The reports shall—
(1) document the use of funds made available
under this title;
(2) provide such information as the Secretary
may request to assist the Secretary in assessing the
program under this title; and
(3) describe and analyze the effect of assisted ac-
tivities in addressing the purposes of this title.
(d) ACCESS
TO DOCUMENTS
BY SECRETARY.—The
Secretary shall have access for the purpose of audit and ex-
236
amination to any books, documents, papers, and records
that are pertinent to assistance in connection with, and the
requirements of, this title.
(e) ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS BY COMPTROLLER GEN-
ERAL.—The Comptroller General of the United States, or
any of the duly authorized representatives of the Comptrol-
ler General, shall have access for the purpose of audit and
examination to any books, documents, papers, and records
that are pertinent to assistance in connection with, and the
requirements of, this title.
SEC. 409. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this title, the following definitions
shall apply:
(1) JURISDICTION.—The term ‘‘jurisdiction’’
means—
(A) a unit of general local government (as
such term is defined in section 104 of the Cran-
ston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act)
that has boundaries, for purposes of carrying out
this title, that—
(i) wholly contain the area within
which a public housing agency is authorized
to operate; and
237
(ii) do not contain any areas con-
tained within the boundaries of any other
participating jurisdiction; and
(B) a consortia of such units of general
local government, organized for purposes of this
title.
(2) PARTICIPATING
JURISDICTION.—The term
‘‘participating jurisdiction’’ means, with respect to a
period for which such approval is made, a jurisdic-
tion that has been approved under section 406(b)(3)
to receive assistance pursuant to this title for such fis-
cal year.
TITLE V—ACCOUNTABILITY AND
OVERSIGHT OF PUBLIC HOUS-
ING AGENCIES
Subtitle A—Study of Alternative
Methods for Evaluating Public
Housing Agencies
SEC. 501. IN GENERAL.
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
shall provide under section 505 for a study to be conducted
to determine the effectiveness of various alternative methods
of evaluating the performance of public housing agencies
and other providers of federally assisted housing.
238
SEC. 502. PURPOSES.
The purposes of the study under this subtitle shall be—
(1) to identify and examine various methods of
evaluating and improving the performance of public
housing agencies in administering public housing and
tenant-based rental assistance programs and of other
providers of federally assisted housing, which are al-
ternatives to oversight by the Department of Housing
and Urban Development; and
(2) to identify specific monitoring and oversight
activities currently conducted by the Department of
Housing and Urban Development that are insuffi-
cient or ineffective in accurately and efficiently as-
sessing the performance of public housing agencies
and other providers of federally assisted housing, and
to evaluate whether such activities should be elimi-
nated, modified, or transferred to other entities (in-
cluding government and private entities) to increase
accuracy and effectiveness and improve monitoring.
SEC. 503. EVALUATION OF VARIOUS PERFORMANCE EVAL-
UATION SYSTEMS.
To carry out the purpose under section 502(1), the
study under this subtitle shall identify, and analyze and
assess the costs and benefits of, the following methods of reg-
ulating and evaluating the performance of public housing
agencies and other providers of federally assisted housing:
239
(1) CURRENT SYSTEM.—The system pursuant to
the United States Housing Act of 1937 (as in effect
upon the enactment of this Act), including the meth-
ods and requirements under such system for report-
ing, auditing, reviewing, sanctioning, and monitoring
of such agencies and housing providers and the public
housing management assessment program pursuant to
subtitle C of this title (and section 6(j) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (as in effect upon the en-
actment of this Act)).
(2) ACCREDITATION
MODELS.—Various models
that are based upon accreditation of such agencies
and housing providers, subject to the following re-
quirements:
(A) The study shall identify and analyze
various models used in other industries and pro-
fessions for accreditation and determine the ex-
tent of their applicability to the programs for
public housing and federally assisted housing.
(B) If any accreditation models are deter-
mined to be applicable to the public and feder-
ally assisted housing programs, the study shall
identify appropriate goals, objectives, and proce-
dures for an accreditation program for such
agencies housing providers.
240
(C) The study shall evaluate the effectiveness
of establishing an independent accreditation and
evaluation entity to assist, supplement, or re-
place the role of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development in assessing and monitoring
the performance of such agencies and housing
providers.
(D) The study shall identify the necessary
and appropriate roles and responsibilities of var-
ious entities that would be involved in an accred-
itation program, including the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, the Inspector
General of the Department, an accreditation en-
tity, independent auditors and examiners, local
entities, and public housing agencies.
(E) The study shall determine the costs in-
volved in developing and maintaining such an
independent accreditation program.
(F) The study shall analyze the need for
technical assistance to assist public housing
agencies in improving performance and identify
the most effective methods to provide such assist-
ance.
(3) PERFORMANCE
BASED
MODELS.—Various
performance-based models, including systems that es-
241
tablish performance goals or targets, assess the com-
pliance with such goals or targets, and provide for in-
centives or sanctions based on performance relative to
such goals or targets.
(4) LOCAL REVIEW AND MONITORING MODELS.—
Various models providing for local, resident, and com-
munity review and monitoring of such agencies and
housing providers, including systems for review and
monitoring by local and State governmental bodies
and agencies.
(5) PRIVATE
MODELS.—Various models using
private contractors for review and monitoring of such
agencies and housing providers.
(6) OTHER
MODELS.—Various models of any
other systems that may be more effective and efficient
in regulating and evaluating such agencies and hous-
ing providers.
SEC. 504. CONSULTATION.
The entity that, pursuant to section 505, carries out
the study under this subtitle shall, in carrying out the
study, consult with individuals and organization experi-
enced in managing public housing, private real estate man-
agers, representatives from State and local governments,
residents of public housing, families and individuals receiv-
ing choice- or tenant-based assistance, the Secretary of