HUD Management: Impact Measurement Needed for Technical Assistance
Published: 2002-10-25T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Technical Assistance is an important means through which the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) can influence how its program funds are spent; this assistance can range from training workshops to one-on-one assistance. GAO was asked to determine how many HUD technical assistance programs Congress has authorized and their cost; why HUD offers technical assistance programs and who provides and receives the services; and whether HUD program offices are overseeing and measuring the impact of their technical assistance programs as required.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: HUD administers 20 technical assistance programs through five program offices. Between fiscal years 1998 and 2002, the annual funding for HUD technical assistance ranged between $108 million and $181 million. The two offices that administer the largest number of programs have the largest share of the overall technical assistance budget. The following figure lists HUD's five program office's number of technical assistance programs or initiatives administered, each program office's definition of technical assistance, their 5-year average total technical assistance funding for fiscal years 1998 through 2002, and the percentage of overall technical assistance funding. The general purpose of HUD's technical assistance is to help program participants carry out HUD program goals. Technical assistance providers could be HUD officials; state or local governments; community-based, for-profit, and nonprofit organizations; or resident service organizations. Recipients of technical assistance could be states and units of local governments, public or Indian housing agencies, community- or faith-based organizations, or the public. Although all five HUD program offices are overseeing technical assistance, HUD does not require them to measure the impact of technical assistance, has not developed guidance for its program offices to measure the impact of the assistance, and has no plans to develop such guidance. HUD cannot demonstrate the effectiveness of the assistance without some indication of its impact.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) fiscal  year 2002 budget is over $34 billion, most of which is passed on to state and  local governments and other agencies and organizations that carry out  HUD’s programs. Providing these entities with technical assistance and  capacity building is an important means for HUD to influence how its  program funds are spent.
Congress and HUD sometimes use the terms technical assistance and  capacity building interchangeably, and the definitions overlap. Technical  assistance programs can be generally defined as training designed to  improve the performance or management of program recipients, such as  teaching one-on-one procurement regulations to housing authority staff.  Capacity building can be generally defined as funding to strengthen the  capacity or capability of program recipients or providers—typically  housing or community development organizations—thereby building the  institutional knowledge within those organizations. Some of the programs  have both technical assistance and capacity building aspects. The overall  goal of both technical assistance and capacity building is to enhance the  delivery of HUD’s housing and community development programs. HUD  staff whose costs are covered by HUD’s salary and expenses budgets  routinely provide a wide range of technical assistance as part of their day- to-day activities, but our work focused on funding specifically authorized  by Congress to be used for technical assistance or capacity building. To  simplify matters, except when citing specific examples, we will use the  term technical assistance to refer to both.
To help you with your oversight of HUD programs, you asked us to  determine (1) how many HUD technical assistance programs Congress has  authorized and how much they cost, (2) why HUD offers technical  assistance programs and who provides and receives the services, (3) how  HUD selects technical assistance providers, and (4) whether HUD program  offices are overseeing the technical assistance programs as required and  measuring their impact.
To respond to these objectives, we obtained data from HUD and  congressional budget documents describing HUD’s technical assistance  programs and their funding. We met with headquarters and regional  officials who administer these programs to determine how HUD oversees  the technical assistance. In addition, we observed technical assistance  providers delivering services to recipients to determine if the services were  delivered as specified in the funding instrument. More details about our  scope and methodology appear at the end of this letter. Appendix I  provides specific information on each of the technical assistance programs  that we identified.
We conducted our work from December 2001 through September 2002 in  accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
subsections: section_title: HUD Administers 20 Technical Assistance Programs at an Annual Total Cost of between $108 Million and $181 Million
paragraphs: Between fiscal years 1998 and 2002, five HUD program offices  administered a total of 20 technical assistance programs. The majority of  these programs are administered through the Offices of Community  Planning and Development (CPD) and Public and Indian Housing. The  other three offices that administer technical assistance programs are the  Offices of Housing, Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, and Healthy  Homes and Lead Hazard Control.
Table 1 lists the 20 technical assistance programs and initiatives, by  program office, and their budgets. See appendix I for details on the  description and purpose of each as well as the providers, recipients,  funding instruments, and oversight processes used. Information on how  technical assistance is provided also is contained in appendix I.
As shown in figure 1, between fiscal years 1998 and 2002, the annual  funding for all of HUD’s technical assistance programs ranged from $108  million to $181 million. These sums accounted for less than 1 percent of  HUD’s overall budget, which averaged about $28 billion in each of those  years.
Technical assistance funds fluctuated each year because the funds for  specific technical assistance programs increased or decreased or because  technical assistance programs were introduced or discontinued in any  given year. For example, technical assistance funding increased by about  53 percent from fiscal year 1998 to 1999. During this time, the technical  assistance funds (1) increased from $9 million to $17 million for the Office  of Troubled Agency Recovery, (2) were initiated in 1999 with $11 million for  Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency, and (3) increased from $18  million to $25 million for Section 4 capacity building. From fiscal year 2001  to 2002, estimated, technical assistance funding fell by more than 11  percent, primarily because the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction funds  returned to the $5 million level, following a one-time $17 million increase in  fiscal year 2001 to build capacity to comply with a new regulation; the  HOME funds were reduced from $22 million to $12 million; HOPE VI funds  were reduced from $10 million to $6.3 million; and the Drug Elimination  Grant Program and its technical assistance funds were abolished.
Figure 2 illustrates the breakdown of the cumulative technical assistance  funding from fiscal years 1998 through 2002, by program office. Not  surprisingly, the two offices that administer the largest number of programs  have the largest share of the overall technical assistance budget.
section_title: Technical Assistance Programs Vary by Program, Provider, and Recipient
paragraphs: While the overriding purpose of technical assistance is to improve the  ability of program participants to administer HUD’s programs more  effectively, each HUD program office determines its own approach and  administers technical assistance according to its program needs. Table 2  describes the purpose of the technical assistance as defined by the five  HUD program offices.
HUD provides appropriated funds for both its primary programs and  related technical assistance programs. It distributes the program funds to  program participants, such as state and local governments and other  participating organizations, and it awards the technical assistance funds to  providers, which use the money to deliver technical assistance to  recipients. Figure 3 illustrates this process.
The recipients of HUD’s technical assistance are generally those entities or  organizations that administer HUD’s programs. They also vary by program  and include state and local governments, public and Indian housing  authorities, tenants of federally subsidized housing, property owners  receiving federal housing subsidies, special interest groups, institutions of  higher learning, community- and faith-based organizations, national and  civil rights and disability groups, industry groups, and the public.
The providers of technical assistance can be HUD officials, but typically  they are entities or organizations that receive funding from HUD to deliver  such assistance. Providers, which also vary by program, include state and  local governments; community-based, for-profit, and nonprofit  organizations; and resident service organizations.
We visited with technical assistance providers in selected locations across  the country to observe the various methods that each of the five program  offices used to deliver technical assistance to recipients. The following  cases detail the recipients, providers, and purposes of the technical  assistance provided.
The recipients of CPD’s technical assistance are local nonprofit  organizations, state and local governments, and other organizations  participating in and receiving funds through HUD’s community  development programs. The providers of these technical assistance  programs are for-profit and nonprofit organizations and government  agencies that have demonstrated expertise in providing the guidance  and training that program participants can use. For 2 days, we observed  a technical assistance provider for the HOME Program work with two  community housing development organizations in Arkansas. The  purpose of the technical assistance was to help the organizations plan  for and improve their procedures for developing low-income rural  housing. Over the 2 days, the technical assistance provider evaluated the  housing built by the community development organizations with HOME  Program funds and advised them on HUD-mandated procedures for  counseling prospective low-income home buyers.
The recipients of technical assistance provided through the Office of  Public and Indian Housing’s Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency  Program’s capacity building funds are associations of public housing  residents that HUD has determined lack the capacity to administer  Welfare-to-Work Programs or conduct management activities. The  providers of the technical assistance are resident and other nonprofit  organizations. We observed a 1-day conference conducted by a  Massachusetts statewide public housing tenant organization in  conjunction with several other organizations. The training was designed  to increase the knowledge and build the capacity of public housing  agencies, their residents, and state and local officials involved in  planning and rulemaking. The conference topics included income  recertification, methods of influencing housing legislation, public  housing safety and security, and private-market housing initiatives. A  Boston HUD employee served as a panel member during one of the  training sessions.
The recipients of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity’s  technical assistance include state and local fair housing enforcement  agencies, public and private nonprofit fair housing agencies, and other  groups that are working to prevent and eliminate discriminatory  housing practices. According to an official from the Office of Fair  Housing and Equal Opportunity, providers of technical assistance are  HUD staff and qualified, established fair housing enforcement agencies.  We observed a fair housing employee in HUD’s San Francisco regional  office provide technical assistance training to 10 employees of  California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The objective  of the training was to help the state agency process fair housing  complaints more effectively, and the topics included tips on  investigating fair housing complaints, theories of discrimination, and  case conciliation and evidence.
The recipients of technical assistance provided through the Office of  Housing’s Outreach and Technical Assistance Grants are tenants living  in federally subsidized properties affected by mortgage restructuring  through the Mark-to-Market Program. The providers of technical  assistance are small or large community-based organizations that focus  on improving tenants’ ability to understand the restructuring of their  Section 8 property. In Columbus, Ohio, we observed a meeting between  the potential new owners of a HUD property that was scheduled to  undergo financial restructuring and two organizations representing the  tenants who lived there. The purpose of the meeting, coordinated by a  technical assistance provider, was to give tenants a role in the  restructuring process and to keep them apprised of potential changes to  their building. Topics discussed at the meeting included rent  stabilization, building renovations, security systems, and modifications  for handicapped accessibility.
The recipients of technical assistance provided through the Office of  Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control’s Technical Studies Programs  include state, local, and tribal governments; private property owners;  and individuals who are maintenance and renovation workers. The  providers of technical assistance include academic, for-profit, and  nonprofit organizations and state and local governments. We observed a  technical assistance provider conduct mandatory classroom training for  about 50 owners and workers of federally subsidized properties at a  Philadelphia housing authority maintenance facility. The recipients  hoped to become qualified to remove lead-based paint hazards from  their HUD-assisted properties by learning safe work practices at the  training. The course covered such topics as lead exposure and  maintenance work, lead safety, and quality assurance.
section_title: HUD Selects Most Technical Assistance Providers through a Competitive Process
paragraphs: HUD selects technical assistance providers both competitively and  noncompetitively. Sixteen of the 20 technical assistance programs used a  competitive selection process. Since Congress specifies by statute that the  organizations are to provide the technical assistance under three of CPD’s  programs, HUD distributes the funds for those programs noncompetitively.  The fourth noncompetitive program, the Fair Housing Assistance Program,  is noncompetitive because the funds, including those for technical  assistance, are distributed through a formula grant to all eligible state and  local fair housing enforcement agencies. The process for obtaining an  award also varies by funding instrument. HUD has a set policy explaining  the policies and protocols for using the various funding instruments  (contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements).
subsections: section_title: Funding for Technical Assistance May Be Awarded Competitively or Noncompetitively
paragraphs: When HUD selects technical assistance providers competitively, it awards  funding through contracts, grant agreements, and cooperative agreements.  HUD refers to these three award mechanisms as funding instruments. The  following text provides descriptions of these mechanisms:       A contract is used when the principal purpose of the award is the  acquisition by purchase, lease, or barter of property or services for the  direct benefit of the government. According to the Director of the Office  of Departmental Grants Management and Oversight, contracts are the  award instrument that gives HUD the most control because HUD simply  directs the contractor to do a specific task. For example, a program  official in the Office of Native American Programs told us that her office  retains decision-making authority by issuing contracts that enable her to  control the technical assistance providers’ use of funds and outreach to  recipients.
A grant agreement is used when the principal purpose of the  relationship between the awardee and HUD is the transfer of money or  property for a public purpose and substantial federal involvement is not  anticipated.
A cooperative agreement’s purpose is similar to a grant agreement’s  purpose but is generally used when the awarding agency anticipates the  need for close federal involvement over the life of the award. The  cooperative agreement stipulates the nature, character, and extent of  the anticipated involvement. A HUD official told us that a cooperative  agreement generally gives HUD less control than a contract, but more  control than a grant agreement.
HUD’s Office of Departmental Grants Management and Oversight provides  basic guidelines on when to use a contract, grant agreement, or cooperative  agreement. According to HUD, a program office, when selecting the  appropriate funding instrument to be used, should first look to the  program’s authorizing legislation for authority to enter into a contract or  other type of arrangement.
Noncompetitive awards are specified by statute or based on a formula.    Specifically, Congress appropriates technical assistance funds  noncompetitively for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the  Enterprise Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and Youthbuild USA under  the Community Development Block Grants Fund; these funds are  administered by CPD. The Housing Assistance Council also receives  noncompetitive funds appropriated by Congress under the Community  Development Block Grants Fund; these funds are administered by CPD and  HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research. Congress also  appropriates noncompetitive funds for the National American Indian  Housing Council technical assistance programs; these funds are  administered by the Office of Public and Indian Housing and the Office of  Policy Development and Research. In addition, HUD’s Office of Fair  Housing and Equal Opportunity uses a formula to distribute Fair Housing  Assistance Program funds. These noncompetitive, technical assistance  programs totaled $50.1 million in fiscal year 2001, which was about 25  percent of the technical assistance funding for that year; they totaled about  $54.5 million, or 30 percent of the fiscal year 2002 technical assistance  funding.
section_title: Processes for Obtaining Competitive and Noncompetitive Funding Vary
paragraphs: For a contract, prospective technical assistance providers respond to a  HUD request for a proposal; for a grant or cooperative agreement,  providers respond to a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). In practice,  HUD has issued the funding notices for the majority of its grants and  cooperative agreements, including its technical assistance funding, in a  single notice called the SuperNOFA (Super Notice of Funding Availability).
Applicants submit contract proposals, or grant or cooperative agreement  applications, to HUD staff who use a deliberative decision-making process  that is based upon established evaluation criteria contained in a formal  request for proposal or SuperNOFA to make the final selections and  announce the awards. Contract proposals are managed through HUD  headquarters or designated contracting offices, while applications for  grants or cooperative agreements for some technical assistance programs  are submitted to both headquarters and the field office in which the  applicant is seeking to provide services.
During the course of our review, HUD officials and technical assistance  providers commented on the length of the competitive cooperative  agreement awards process, particularly in CPD. The comments typically  dealt with the time needed for technical assistance providers to negotiate  with HUD field offices to complete the additional steps that CPD requires.    The Director of HUD’s Office of Departmental Grants Management and  Oversight told us that she knew of instances in which contracts and grants,  as well as cooperative agreements, had taken 1 year or more to complete.  An assessment of this issue was beyond the scope of this review.
Any award, regardless of the type of funding instrument, has a fixed  performance period. The contract request for proposal or NOFA will  stipulate the proposed period of performance and whether additional  funding can be provided beyond the period of performance without further  competition.
section_title: Although Program Offices Have Oversight Procedures in Place, HUD Does Not Require Impact Measures for Technical Assistance
paragraphs: The five offices that administer technical assistance have basic oversight  procedures in place. Such procedures usually include monitoring the  technical assistance provider’s performance by reviewing payment  requests and financial reports and the recipient’s written evaluation of the  technical assistance provider’s performance. Most program offices require  technical assistance providers to submit quarterly, annual, or close-out  reports—or a combination of these reports—on the status of their  technical assistance programs, which are to be reviewed by HUD program  staff. Headquarters or field office staff may be directly responsible for  oversight, depending on which office administers the technical assistance,  although headquarters offices are ultimately responsible for ensuring that  the appropriate oversight is conducted.
HUD does not offer any central guidance on, or require its program offices  to directly measure, the impact or outcomes of the technical assistance  programs that they administer. The Government Performance and Results  Act of 1993 (GPRA) requires that program officials develop performance  measures and track performance relative to the goals in their strategic and  annual plans. However, according to the Director of HUD’s Office of  Departmental Operations and Coordination, this requirement does not  apply to the related technical assistance programs. In his view, if the  technical assistance supports the program and the program is doing well,  then the technical assistance is having a positive impact. However, GPRA  emphasizes the importance of establishing objective and quantifiable  measures at each organizational level that can be linked to the overall  agency program goals. Without specific measures on the impact of its  technical assistance, HUD cannot demonstrate the incremental value of the  assistance.
The Director of the Office of Departmental Grants Management and  Oversight told us that her office is not planning any initiatives to coordinate  how program offices are measuring the impact of their technical assistance  programs because her office does not have jurisdiction over program  policy in the establishment of technical assistance criteria. An official from  HUD’s Massachusetts CPD told us that without this guidance, it is unclear  how the impact of these services should be measured. We found a wide  range of HUD processes for measuring the impact of technical assistance,  ranging from CPD’s Section 4 capacity building organizations that  document detailed evaluations of their accomplishments; to CPD’s Rural  Housing and Economic Development Program that collects annual  outcome data; to the Public and Indian Housing’s Resident Opportunities  and Self-Sufficiency Program, which has no established process and  measures on a grant-by-grant basis.
While some program officials have said that it is difficult or not even  possible to measure the impact of technical assistance, other program  offices do have impact measures in place.
A Public and Indian Housing field official from the Office of Native  American Programs told us that he has seen nationwide training courses  that he believes are inefficient and expensive. While he believes that  local one-on-one training would be more productive, he does not believe  he could measure whether attendees are retaining the information  received at the nationwide training courses or whether one-on-one  training would be more effective. By contrast, a Public and Indian  Housing official said that the office conducts evaluations after the  technical assistance for drug elimination is provided and then follows- up with a 6-month evaluation to measure recipients’ retention of  information.   We also spoke with a technical assistance provider who  administers multiple questionnaires to measure recipients’ retention of  material taught at homeless training programs.
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity field officials in San Francisco said  that they measure the success of their program—to educate state and  local organizations on fair housing procedures—by the number of cases  they have to send back for more information. They also said that the  reduction in the number of cases sent back to local organizations from  42 in 1998 to 3 in 2001 after training was provided indicates that the  technical assistance is working. Similarly, staff from HUD’s Chicago  CPD reported that they measure the success of technical assistance  programs aimed at teaching local groups how to apply for federal grants  by the number of grantees that submit proper paperwork.
section_title: Conclusions
paragraphs: HUD spends millions of dollars each year on technical assistance,  distributing the funding through several types of instruments to a wide  variety of providers and recipients for a wide variety of purposes. Yet, HUD  does not require its program offices to measure the impact of this technical  assistance, has not developed guidance for its program offices to measure  the impact of the assistance, and has no plans to require its program offices  to develop such guidance. Even though some officials maintain that they  cannot measure the impact of technical assistance, other officials have  developed and are using measures that seem to be reasonable indicators of  the impact of their technical assistance programs. Although such measures  may not be practicable for every program, HUD cannot demonstrate the  effectiveness of its technical assistance without some indication of its  impact. Furthermore, without such measures, HUD cannot (1) ensure  accountability for the over $100 million that Congress sets aside each year  for technical assistance or (2) demonstrate the incremental value of its  technical assistance—that is, how much more its programs are achieving  with the technical assistance than they would have achieved without it.  Finally, since technical assistance is an important means through which  HUD oversees and influences expenditures of program funds—which are  about 100 times greater than expenditures of technical assistance funds—it  would seem logical for each of its program offices to develop guidance to  ensure that the technical assistance programs are producing the intended  results.
section_title: Recommendations for Executive Action
paragraphs: To determine whether HUD’s technical assistance programs are helping  HUD programs to meet their goals, we recommend that the Secretary of  Housing and Urban Development require the program offices that provide  technical assistance programs to determine the practicability of measuring  the impact of these services and, where appropriate, establish objective,  quantifiable, and measurable performance goals. In addition, we  recommend that the Secretary provide guidance to the program offices on  how to establish such impact measures.
section_title: Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
paragraphs: We provided the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban  Development with a draft of this report for his review and comment. In a  letter dated September 25, 2002, HUD’s Director, Office of Departmental  Operations and Coordination, said that the department would take the  necessary steps to implement the report’s recommendations. He also  provided four observations for our consideration.
First, the Director said that our draft did not clearly define capacity  building programs before combining them with technical assistance. We  added more detailed definitions of technical assistance and capacity  building to this report.
Second, he said that although both the Fair Housing Assistance Program  and the Fair Housing Initiatives Program contain technical assistance  components, they are not primarily technical assistance programs. We  recognize that these programs contain functions that go beyond technical  assistance and capacity building. The funding levels that we list in this  report for these programs were supplied by HUD program staff on the basis  of their best estimates of the percentages of the budgets that supply  technical assistance and capacity building.
Third, he said that the department’s performance-based funding  instruments provide HUD with the means to measure performance and, in  some cases, quantify the impact of its programs. We agree that HUD  requires performance-based reporting. We state in this report that the five  offices that administer technical assistance have basic oversight  procedures in place, and that the procedures generally ensure that an  activity was performed before payment is made. However, there is a  difference between, for example, reviewing payment requests and reports  to ensure that a funded activity took place and measuring the impact of that  performance. Our draft report pointed out that while some HUD offices  assess the impact of their technical assistance, others do not. Thus, while  HUD’s performance-based funding instruments may provide the means to  measure performance, HUD’s offices do not always do so.
Fourth, he believes that impact measures, such as improvements in a  participant’s proficiency in administering programs, could be difficult and  expensive to develop and implement for many technical assistance  programs. We agree that there are cases where measuring the impact of  technical assistance may not be practical. We acknowledge that in this  report; we recommend that HUD determine the practicability of measuring  the impact of the services and, where appropriate, establish measurable  performance goals. However, we do not believe that HUD should downplay  the importance of measuring the impact of the technical assistance it  provides. As stated in our report, technical assistance is an important  means by which HUD can influence how billions of dollars of federal  program funds that HUD passes through to other public and private  organizations are spent. By measuring the impact of its technical assistance  and demonstrating that the assistance is producing the intended impact,  HUD can show that it is positively influencing the expenditure of program  funds.
Also, HUD staff suggested technical corrections to the draft. In particular,  HUD staff said that the Office of Housing’s Housing Counseling Program  should not be included as a capacity building program. Although HUD  could award grants to build the capacity of local, nonprofit housing  counseling organizations, the program officer said that HUD does not use  the program to increase the administrative capabilities of the counseling  organizations. She said that HUD requires that the counseling organizations  be in operation for at least 2 years before receiving funds and only allows  the funds to be used for direct service delivery. We agreed to remove  Housing Counseling from our list of technical assistance programs. We  made other technical corrections where appropriate. The full text of HUD’s  letter appears in appendix II.
section_title: Scope and Methodology
paragraphs: To determine how many technical assistance programs Congress has  authorized and how much they cost, we reviewed agency and  congressional budget documents that identified technical assistance  programs HUD provided between fiscal years 1998 and 2002. The data  included each program’s funding authorization during the 5-year period;  whether the services were to be provided through a contract, grant  agreement, or cooperative agreement; and whether the award mechanisms  were competitive or noncompetitive.
To determine why HUD provides technical assistance programs and who  receives and provides them, we reviewed documents that included the  notices of funding availability, congressional justification estimates, HUD’s  technical guidance memorandums, public laws, and other documents that  described the purpose of the technical assistance programs and eligible  providers and recipients. We interviewed officials in five HUD program  offices in headquarters and four regional field offices to determine HUD’s  guidance on how the funding could be used. We also visited seven sites  across the country to observe the provision of technical assistance  programs.
To determine how HUD selects technical assistance providers, we  reviewed applicable laws and HUD notices of funding availability. We  obtained data related to HUD’s selection process and were able to  determine which programs HUD awards competitively and  noncompetitively. For competitive awards, we discussed the scoring  process and the length of time involved. We also identified the types of  organizations that generally receive competitive awards for each of the  programs in our review, such as nonprofit organizations. For  noncompetitive awards, we discussed the award process and identified the  eligible recipients of funds, such as Indian tribes and other organizations.  We did not evaluate the extent to which HUD complied with the applicable  contracting statutes, regulations, and policies.
To assess how HUD oversees the programs and measures their impact, we  reviewed applicable laws, interviewed HUD officials at headquarters and in  the regional field offices to document impact measurement processes, and  observed technical assistance providers during our site observations. We  obtained information from technical assistance providers on how they  adhere to HUD’s reporting requirements and measure the impact of the  technical assistance.
Unless you publicly announce its contents earlier, we plan no further  distribution of this report until 30 days after the date of this letter. At that  time, we will send copies of the report to interested congressional  committees and Members of Congress; the Director, Office of Management  and Budget; and other interested parties. We will also make copies  available to others on request. In addition, the report will be available at no  charge on the GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me  at (202) 512-7631. Key contributors to this report were Elaine Boudreau,  Bess Eisenstadt, Andy Finkel, Diana Gilman, Julia Roberts, and Kathy  Trimble.
section_title: Technical Assistance/Capacity Building Program Details
subsections: section_title: A. Office of Community Planning and Development
paragraphs: Provide formula funds to states and  local governments (participating  jurisdictions) to implement local  housing strategies designed to  increase the supply of housing for  low-income persons.
Technical assistance training  improves the ability of participating  jurisdictions to effectively design  and implement HOME strategies.
Provide assistance to develop the  capacity and ability of community  development corporations and  community housing development  organizations to undertake  community development and  affordable housing projects and  programs.
Technical assistance training, and  capacity building funding are used  to enhance the administrative  capabilities of community  development corporations and  community housing development  organizations.
Provide grants to metropolitan cities,  urban counties, consortia, and  states for technical assistance,  program management, and  analytical support.
Technical assistance training  improves the skills, knowledge  management, and administration  practices of participating  jurisdictions.
Provide disadvantaged young adults  with education and employment  skills through rehabilitating and  constructing housing for low-income  and homeless people.
Technical assistance training is  used to teach agencies how to  help youths learn housing  construction job skills and  complete their high school  education.
Increase the availability of decent  and affordable housing for rural,  low-income people.
Capacity building funding provides  local housing organizations with  seed money and technical  assistance training to teach the  skills needed to improve  communities.
Fund projects that will fill gaps in  locally developed systems to assist  homeless persons move toward  self-sufficiency and permanent  housing.
Technical assistance training  promotes the development of  housing and supportive services  as part of the “continuum of care”  approach.
Build capacity at the state and local  level for rural housing and economic  development and support innovative  housing and economic development  activities in rural areas.
Capacity building funding is used  to carry out functions, including the  hiring/training of staff, purchasing  software, obtaining expertise from  outside sources, and developing  accounting systems and strategic  plans.
Technical assistance and/or capacity building Cooperative agreement  (competitive)
Grant and cooperative  agreement (noncompetitive)
Grant, contract, and cooperative  agreement (competitive)
Contract (competitive)
Cooperative agreement  (noncompetitive)
Cooperative agreement  (competitive)
Grant (competitive)
Provide housing assistance and  supportive services to address the  needs of persons living with HIV/AIDS  and their families.
Capacity building funding is used to  train communities to create  comprehensive housing strategies and responsive area programs in  sound management practices.
Coordinate and support the recovery  of troubled PHAs, thereby ensuring  the provision of decent, safe, and  affordable housing for all public  housing residents, and provide  support to the Department of Housing  and Urban Development (HUD)  regional offices for nontroubled PHAs  with identified or suspected  deficiencies.
Technical assistance training is  used to help troubled PHAs and PHAs  with identified deficiencies to develop  and implement solutions to improve  performance.
Replace and revitalize severely  distressed public housing with  physical, management, and social and community service  improvements.
Technical assistance trains PHAs and  their residents by assessing the needs  for resident services and planning for  community and economic  development.
Link public housing residents with  supportive services, resident  empowerment activities, and  assistance in becoming economically  self-sufficient.
Technical assistance training and  capacity building funding increases  resident participation in housing  development management decisions.
Provide grants for antidrug and  anticrime efforts.
Technical assistance training combats  drug abuse and related crime in public  and Indian housing communities.
Support the inspection of Indian  housing units and assist in the  training, oversight, and management  of Indian housing and tenant-based  assistance.
Technical assistance training provides  contractual services to tribes or tribally  designated housing entities.
Provide culturally relevant, decent,  safe, sanitary, and affordable housing  for native people in American Indian  communities and Alaskan native  villages.
Technical assistance trains in  specialized areas of Indian housing  management, finance, and budgets.
Tribes or tribally  designated housing  entities 15. Capital Fund Program  Provide grants to PHAs for capital  improvement and management  activities, including modernization and development of public housing.
Technical assistance training ensures  effective implementation and  monitoring of the Capital Fund  Program and assists in the delivery of  services to eligible PHAs.
Technical assistance and/or capacity building Contract and cooperative  agreement (competitive)
Contract and cooperative  agreement (competitive)
Contract and cooperative  agreement (competitive)
Grant (competitive)
Grant and contract  (competitive)
Contract (competitive)
Contract (noncompetitive)
Contract, interagency  agreement, and cooperative  agreement (competitive)
Allow low-income families to  choose and lease or purchase safe,  decent, and affordable privately  owned rental housing.
Technical assistance trains PHAs to  improve voucher program  administration and management.
Encourage state and local fair  housing enforcement agencies to  assume a greater share of the  responsibility for administration and  enforcement of their fair housing  laws and ordinances.
Capacity building funding is used to  build enforcement capacity of  existing and new state local fair  housing enforcement agencies to  enforce the rights granted under the  Fair Housing Act.
Assist projects that inform and  educate the public about their  rights and obligations under the  Fair Housing Act and substantially  equivalent State and local fair  housing laws.
Technical assistance training  increases the number of referrals to  HUD of fair housing complaints and  other information regarding  discriminatory practices.
Capacity building funding increases  the number of referrals to HUD of fair  housing complaints and other  information regarding discriminatory  practices from new fair housing  enforcement organizations.
FHOI establishes new fair housing  enforcement organizations in  underserved areas and provides  support to newly established fair  housing enforcement  organizations. PEI provides  funding to private fair housing  organizations for activities related  to enforcing the Fair Housing Act  and substantially equivalent state  and local fair housing laws.
D. Office of Housing—Office of Multifamily Housing Assistance Restructuring Supports the Mark-to-Market  program that restructures HUD’s  multifamily housing Section 8  properties by lowering their rents  to market levels and reducing their  mortgage debt if necessary to  permit a positive cash flow.
Capacity building funding provides  predevelopment grants to nonprofits  to purchase Mark-to-Market  properties with the aim of getting  more nonprofits into property  ownership and management.
Same as above description.
Technical assistance training is used  to educate Mark-to-Market property  tenants about the restructuring  process, how it may affect them, their  rights, and what they can do to  participate in the process.
Technical assistance and/or capacity building Contract (competitive)
Cooperative agreement-formula  driven (noncompetitive)
Grant (competitive)
Grant and cooperative  agreement (competitive)
Grant (competitive)
Grant (competitive)
Evaluate and reduce lead- based paint hazards, especially  in housing rented or owned by  low-income families.
Technical assistance training  and capacity building funding  help recipients evaluate and  control housing-related, lead-  based paint hazards, and  provide outreach and education  activities.
Technical assistance and/or capacity building Grant and contract  (competitive)
HUD staff only use technical assistance funding for travel expenses.
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