10 TAC § 20.9 Fair Housing, Affirmative Marketing and Reasonable Accommodations

1. 10 TAC § 20.9 Fair Housing, Affirmative Marketing and Reasonable Accommodations November 2, 2017

2. Fair Housing • Fair Housing Act • Duty to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing

3. 10 TAC § 20.9, Fair Housing Affirmative marketing plan required at application • List least likely to apply populations 30 day application period • Neutral, random selection process Language Access Plans

4. Outline • Determining least likely to apply populations • How to use TDHCA’s tool • Completing HUD Form 935.2B • Technical Assistance guidance • Creating an equivalent plan • The rule, applicability • 30 day application period • Neutral, random selection process • Homeownership counseling • Record keeping • Limited English Proficiency, Language Access Plans

5. Affirmative Marketing and Procedures • Recipients of federal & state funds must have an Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing plan (“AFHMP”) • Submit an AFHMP with new contracts or new types of activity • Submit at a minimum of every three years • Use HUD form 935.2B, Single Family Housing or an equivalent form

6. How to determine populations least likely to apply • Use the Department’s tool OR • Use another method, provide a detailed explanation of the methodology used Persons with disabilities must always be identified as least likely to apply.

7. Using HUD Form 935.2B http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=935-2b.pdf NA Estimated # SFD only SFD only Approx. date to start marketing activities NA Service area Name the program type (such as Amy Young Barrier Program, HOME HBA, HOME TBRA) NA SFD only = applicable to Single Family Development program only. 7

8. Using HUD Form 935.2B 2: Type of Affirmative Marketing Area 3: Direction of Marketing Activity NA Determine populations from tool Note, persons with disabilities must always be identified as least likely to apply

9. Using the Department’s Tool Go to the Compliance Forms webpage: http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/pmcomp/forms.htm Click on the Single Family Affirmative Marketing Tool

10. Using the Department’s Tool Click on your region and activity type

11. If using the Department’s tool, check boxes on the HUD form for these least likely to apply populations.

12. HUD Form 935.2B 4c: Marketing Program: Community Contacts Least likely to apply population

13. SF Affirmative Marketing Technical Assistance Guide Available on the Compliance Forms webpage: http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/pmcomp/forms.htm Single Family Affirmative Marketing Tool • Single Family Affirmative Marketing Tool • HUD 935.2B Affirmative Marketing Form (Current Version – PDF) • Single Family Affirmative Marketing Technical Assistance Guide (PDF) • How to Use Community Commons to Identify Areas of Outreach (PDF) • Source document, Single Family Affirmative Marketing Tool (PDF) • Language Access Plan, Guidance and Example Plan (DOC)

14. SF Affirmative Marketing Technical Assistance Guide Possible approaches to identifying community contacts: • Reach out to local groups representing those least likely to apply • Use various online tools to locate information about organizations in the region, county, or service area. • Additional searches might also be performed by using online resources such as the following: www.policymap.com, www.211texas.org, www.onestarfoundation.com(fee-based service). Examples of such organizations could be health clinics, community action agencies, or other community-based charitable organizations such as Salvation Army.

15. How to Identify Community Contacts • Consider contacting your local city or county Planning and Development Department and/or utilize Nonprofit and business directories from your local Chamber of Commerce Offices. • Utilize Community Commons (https://www.communitycommons.org/maps-data/) to access and map race and ethnicity data in the service area or region.

16. HUD Form 935.2B Community Contacts Single Family Affirmative Marketing Technical Assistance Guide (PDF) Least likely to apply population: People with Disabilities • Local Center for Independent Living (“CIL”), list of CILs and associations in Texas. CILs serve persons with all disability types; not all counties are covered: http://www.txsilc.org/page_CILs.html • Aging and Disability Resource Center (“ADRC”) – intake and referral for persons with physical disabilities and intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) - all counties are covered: https://www.dads.state.tx.us/contact/search.cfm • Local Intellectual and Developmental Disability Authority (LIDDA) – serves persons with IDD - all counties are covered: https://www.dads.state.tx.us/contact/search.cfm • Local Mental Health Authority (LMHA) – serves persons with Mental Illness and Substance Use disorders -all counties are covered: https://www.dshs.texas.gov/mhservices-search/ • Local non-profits in your area serving people with disabilities • Call 211 and ask about resources for people with disabilities in your area, reach out to groups serving people with disabilities in your community

17. HUD Form 935.2B 6a: Fair housing Training Administrators must include as an attachment to HUD Form 935.2B or an equivalent AFHMP, a waitlist policy including any Department approved preferences used in selecting Applicants from the list. Insert additional information here and/or attach additional sheets as needed.

18. HUD Form 935.2B 6a: Fair housing Training TDHCA’s online training (available for free, 24/7) at:  https://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/fair-housing/presentations.htm Texas Workforce Commission offers fair housing trainings. To request a training, visit TWC's Training page (www.twc.state.tx.us), call 512-463-2642, or email your request to CRDTraining@twc.state.tx.us

19. If You Opt to Create an Equivalent AFHMP Include the following: • Population(s) least likely to apply • Methods of outreach, organizations • Methods to collect and periodically evaluate data • Describe fair housing trainings for Administrator's staff • Describe applicable counseling programs and educational materials offered to Applicants • If your method results in different populations identified as least likely to apply than TDHCA’s tool provide a detailed explanation of the methodology used

20. Applicability Affirmative marketing is required as long as the Administrator is accepting applications and/or until all dwelling units are sold in the case of single family homeownership programs

21. 30 Day Application Followed by a Neutral Random Selection Process • All Administrators must accept applications from possible eligible Applicants for a minimum of a 30 calendar day period rather than a first- come, first-served basis when selecting among eligible Applicants • At the close of the 30 day period Administrators will select Applicants through a neutral random selection process developed by the Administrator

22. Applicability • Administrators that currently have an existing list of Applicants and are not accepting new Applicants or establishing a waitlist are not required to affirmatively market until preparing to accept new Applications, but must develop a plan.

23. Options for Administrators with an Existing Waitlist Under new Reservation System Participation Agreements and Contracts awarded after August 24, 2017: • Administrators with an existing waitlist may choose to close their waitlist and serve all households on that waitlist in the first-come, first-served order. • When the Administrator is nearing the bottom of the waitlist it should begin to affirmatively market the program, opening up the program to new Applicants. • Administrators should finish serving the existing Households on the waitlist. All new Applicants will be held for 30 calendar days and then selected based on the neutral random selection process.

24. Preferences Allowed for Amy Young Barrier Removal Program Administrators of the Amy Young Barrier Removal Program may have a preference prioritizing Households to prevent displacement from permanent housing, or to foster returning to permanent housing related to inaccessible features of the unit.

25. Using Preferences - Amy Young Barrier Removal Program If Administrator has written preferences: • Households at risk of displacement from permanent housing, or to foster returning to permanent housing related to inaccessible features of the unit. • In addition, the Administrator must use objective criteria to rank households by severity of need (or other attribute, such as income level) in order to create a pool of similarly situated households. Example: • The administrator identifies 30 households at risk of displacement • From those 30 households 4 are identified at “critical risk” as defined by a documented, objective method • Administrator will enter those 4 households in a pool and use a neutral random selection process to select the order of the 4 households to assistfirst.

26. Neutral Random Selection Process – Excel • List applicants on an excel spreadsheet (list by order in which the application was received or in alphabetical order) • Assign a number to each applicant • Use the Excel “=RAND()” function to randomly generate numbers between 0 and 1. Do that for each applicant in the appropriate row.

27. Neutral Random Selection Process – Excel Every time the spreadsheet is updated, the random numbers are regenerated, so once the random functions are run, copy the data over to a new tab; paste values only, so the random numbers stay. Sort the table in the random number order. That will be the order in which the applicants are being selected/served.

28. Random number table • Let’s say there are 10 applicants. Take out the random number table (or search for one online) and randomly point to a page and row with your eyes closed. Do not start from the top on page 1. • Starting where you randomly pointed, assign two digits each to each applicant, going from left to right. If you run out of numbers, go down a row.

29. Random Number Table • If the random number row says: 65285 97198 12138 53010 94601, then you assign 65 to the first applicant, 28 to the second, 59 to the third. Ignore spaces between blocks and rows, and just pick the numbers as if they were one long sequence of numbers. • The numbers selected for each applicant are 62, 49, 09, 92, 15, 84, 98, 72, 87, 59 • The applicants will be served in ascending order based on the random number assigned to that applicant.

30. Neutral Random Selection Process – Methods Document process and order of applicants selected List names, assign a number, draw numbers from a hat. That will be the order in which the applicants are being selected/served

31. 30 Day Application Period After Administrators have allowed for a 30 calendar day period to accept applications and used a neutral random selection process to assist Households, they may accept applications on a first-come, first-served basis, which are added to the bottom of the list.

32. Conduct an Analysis at Close Out An analysis of the AFHMP must be conducted at the close out of the contract or Activity and attached to any subsequent AFHMP submitted for the same program.

33. Homeownership Programs - Mobility Counseling (5) Administrators offering homeownership or rental assistance that allow the Household to relocate from their current residence must provide the Household access to mobility counseling. For homeownership, mobility counseling may be included in homeownership counseling and education trainings.

34. Homeownership Programs - Mobility Counseling (A) Mobility counseling must, at a minimum, include easily understandable information that the Household can use in determining areas of opportunity within a service area, it must at minimum provide the following: poverty rates, average income information, school ratings, crime statistics, available area services, public transit, and other items the Administrator deems appropriate to fair housing. Administrators may use resources offered by "Community Commons" as a tool in identifying areas of opportunity in their community. This data resource can be located at https://www.communitycommons.org/

35. Denials, Notification, and Record Keeping • In the case of any Applicant denial, a letter providing the specific reason for the denial must be provided to the applicant within seven calendar days of the denial. • Administrators must keep a record of all denied Applicants including the basis for denial. Such records must be retained for the record retention period described by the Agreement or other sources.

36. Provide Applicants with Eligibility Criteria Administrators must provide Applicants with eligibility criteria, which shall include the procedures for requesting a reasonable accommodation to the Administrator's rules, policies, practices, and services, particularly as it relates to the application process.

37. Limited English Proficiency §20.9 (d)(1) Administrators must have a Language Assistance Plan that ensures persons with Limited English Proficiency ("LEP") have meaningful access and an equal opportunity to participate in services, activities, programs, and other benefits.

38. Limited English Proficiency • Materials that are critical for ensuring meaningful access to an Administrator's major activities and programs, including but not limited to Applications, mortgage loan applications, consent forms and notices of rights, should be translated for any population considered least likely to apply that meets the threshold requirements of Safe Harbor LEP provisions as provided by HUD and published on the Department's website.

39. Limited English Proficiency Steps to complete a language access plan and a sample LAP available here: http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/pmcdocs/LAP-Guide.doc

40. Limited English Proficiency Steps to complete a language access plan and a sample LAP available here: http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/pmcdocs/LAP-Guide.doc

41. Resources • HUD LEP FAQs: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/promotingfh/lep-faq • LEP Federal Guidance: http://www.lep.gov/ • See FR-2007-01-22 for further guidance

42. Contact Information TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS 221 E. 11th Street, Austin, TX 78701 P.O. Box 13941, Austin, TX 78711-3941 Phone: 512-475-4595 Toll Free: 800-525-0657 Web: www.tdhca.state.tx.us Email: suzanne.hemphill@tdhca.state.tx.us