Housing Report: July 20, 2005
Senate Marks Up HUD Appropriations Bill
Senate to Mark-Up GSE Legislation
Affordable Housing Finance Cabinet Met in Denver
Senate and OMB Staff Tour Section 202 Community
Stillman Knight, Jr. Retires From HUD
Opportunity to Comment on Handbook 4350.3 Change 2
HUD System Problems Delay Contracts
New Medicare Prescription Drug Assistance Fact Sheets
Size of Housing Projects for Persons with Disabilities
Elderly Housing and Services to Occupy Historic Theater
Affordable Housing Serves as Basis for Affordable Assisted Living
HUD Acknowledges Regulatory Reform Groups
5th Annual Neighborhood Networks Week
Housing Report
Policy
The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up their version of the HUD budget for FY 2006 last week, providing $742 million for the Section 202 account, including $53 million for service coordinators. More detailed information will be available once the bill language and report are published. So stay tuned. The House has already passed its bill and provided $741 million for the Section 202 program and its components. For more information, contact Alayna Waldrum at
awaldrum@aahsa.org.
Although the summer recess is fast approaching, the Senate Banking Committee is still expected to mark up their version of GSE reform legislation prior to the recess next week. Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) continues to work with the minority on the Committee to produce a consensus bill including an affordable housing fund for the production, preservation, and rehabilitation of housing for low and very low income families as is included in the House version of the GSE Reform legislation, HR 1461.
There is still time to send your Contact Congress letter at
www.aahsa.org, encouraging passage of legislation that will provide a dedicated stream of funding for affordable housing from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
AAHSA's Affordable Housing Finance Cabinet held its first working meeting in Denver last week. Chaired by Tom Slemmer of National Church Residences and Brian Pollard of Lancaster Pollard Mortgage Company, the Cabinet agreed to identify short term and long term goals in defining new financing models and administrative and regulatory reforms that will be necessary to increase the supply of affordable senior housing with services and to preserve the affordable housing that we have now. Cabinet members from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, National Equity Fund, MassHousing, a state housing finance agency, and Lancaster Pollard described the financial products that are available now for the production and preservation of affordable supportive housing as a basis for discussing gaps in and critical elements of financing that the Cabinet will consider as part of their scope of work. For more information, contact Nancy Libson at
nlibson@aahsa.org.
Staff from Senator Rick Santorum's (PA) office and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) visited St. Mary's Court in Washington D.C. to tour of the facility and to speak with management, operations and service coordinator staff about the issues and challenges they face in serving elderly residents. In an effort to help Congressional and Administration staff better understand the affordable senior housing programs AAHSA has been arranging tours to several D.C. area member facilities. While staff can learn a lot from these tours nothing would be more valuable than inviting your members of Congress to visit your facility this August.
Senator Santorum has been a big supporter of service programs and recently co-sponsored S.705 the Meeting the Housing and Services Needs of Seniors Act, introduced by Sen. Paul Sarbanes (MD), to increase coordination among federal programs that serve the elderly. St. Mary's Court is a 25 year old, 140-unit, 202/8 community located close to George Washington University. For information or help on setting up a visit contact Louise Maus at
lmaus@aahsa.org.
Stillman Knight, HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing, retired from HUD last week. Knight was a good friend and great supporter of AAHSA during his 2 year tenure and will be sorely missed. We do not currently know who will replace Knight at HUD, but we will keep you posted as soon as we find out. After some time off, Knight will join the National Housing Partnership Foundation where he will be working on preservation issues. AAHSA staff and members wish him the best of luck.
Management and Operations
On July 20, HUD published Change 2 to Handbook 4350.3. The draft Change 2 to the occupancy handbook is posted only until Aug 2. Comments must be submitted by Aug 9 to HUD. The draft posts the changes chapter-by-chapter as they will be incorporated into the body of the original text at
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/mfh/rhiip/drafthdbk/
hdbk4350.cfm. The 6-page transmittal at
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/mfh/rhiip/drafthdbk/
transmittal.pdf provides the key to identifying where the changes actually are. Anyone wishing to contribute to AAHSA's consolidated comments submission can send them to
cbloom@aahsa.org.
HUD recently announced that multifamily assisted housing payments had been delayed due to problems with Department's systems support and infrastructure. Ninety-five percent (95%) of the insufficient funds errors for payments are related to pending funding actions for the months of July and August. In the announcement, HUD stated that they were working to resolve the system infrastructure problems to ensure payments are made as quickly as possible. HUD plans to provide weekly progress updates via e-mail to the field offices and HQ staff.
Several new fact sheets have been developed by CMS to help providers, caregivers and consumers better understand the coming 2006 Prescription Drug Assistance program. From a general eligibility standpoint, one targeting low income residents is available at
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medicarereform/
limitedincomeresources11105.pdf. And another, specifically designed for HUD business partners, is posted on the AAHSA website at
http://www.aahsa.org/pubs_resources/
housing_reports/documents/hud_medicare.pdf.
New and Notable
A recently released report, "Implications of Project Size in Section 811 and Section 202 Assisted Projects for Persons with Disabilities," suggests that project size does not strongly influence either costs or service in Section 811 and 202 housing programs. The study finds that size is less important in satisfaction than meeting disabled residents' needs, preferences, and requirements for supportive services. Researchers collected data on housing and services by speaking with state policymakers, interviewing project sponsors, making site visits to 50 projects in 10 metropolitan areas, and interviewing residents. This evaluation underscores the importance of flexibility in project size, given cost and service accessibility; a project design that maximizes independence, privacy, and interdependence of residents with community; and a need for further cost analyses and financing mechanisms to expand affordable housing for the disabled. The full report is available at
http://www.huduser.org/publications/pubasst/
sec811-202.html.
California affordable housing developer, BRIDGE Housing Corp. has joined forces with Institute on Aging, a nonprofit provider of senior health services, to build a $60 million housing and care facility in a renovated 1940s movie theater in San Francisco. BRIDGE will be responsible for the 150 units for low-income seniors, located on the building's top four floors. The Institute will consolidate its various service locations to the first two floors of the facility, including medical care, meals, transportation, elder-abuse prevention and activities. For more information visit
http://www.knowledgeplex.org/news/102189.html
With $6 million from HUD, Mary Immaculate Health/Care Services rehabbed 106 of the 300 elderly housing units in Marguerite's House in Lawrence, Massachusetts for assisted living residents. The new units include amenities such as wider hallways, roll-in showers, individual thermostats, and full kitchens with handicapped-accessible appliances and adjustable-height countertops.
With the housing costs subsidized, residents pay 30 percent of their income for rent and a $1,350 monthly fee for assisted-living services, which can be covered by Medicaid and local charitable funding. This creates an affordable alternative to the $3,000 that most assisted living facilities in the state charge. According to Elissa Sherman, president of the AAHSA affiliate, Massachusetts Aging Services Association, Marguerite's House is one of the largest facilities in the state serving low-income seniors. For more information visit
http://www.knowledgeplex.org/news/102144.html
In the recent issue of Breakthroughs, HUD cited 14 communities for their work in reducing regulatory barriers in developing affordable housing. The communities were recognized and received the inaugural Robert L. Woodson, Jr. Award. The issue is available on the Regulatory Barriers Clearinghouse (RBC) website at
http://www.huduser.org/rbc/newsletter/vol4Iss3.html
HUD's 5th Annual Neighborhood Networks Week will take place August 1-6, 2005 with many national and local events to highlight the benefits of shared computer centers. The program began in 1995 to encourage property owners to establish multiservice community learning centers in HUD insured and assisted properties. For more information visit
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/mfh/nnw/
nnweek2005.cfm and to forward any proposed events to Laura Cole at
Laura_Cole@hud.gov so they can be to the website.
Last Updated : 1/19/2006 11:38:26 AM
