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Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) Survey

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Evaluation of the Fair Housing

Initiatives Program (FHIP)


Justification for FHIP Survey


(C-CHI-00885)


Submitted To:


U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Attn: Todd Richardson



Contact:


Jeffrey May, MURP

DB Consulting Group, Inc.

8403 Colesville Rd. 10th Floor

Silver Spring, MD 20910

(301) 589-4020

[email protected]


PART A JUSTIFICATION 3

A1) Identification of the Information Collection Error! Bookmark not defined.

A2) Circumstances that Make the Collection of Information Necessary 3

A3) How and By Whom the Data Will Be Used 4

A3.1 Project Overview 4

A3.2 Purpose of the Data Collection 5

A3.3 Who Will Use the Information 5

A3.4 Instrument--Item-By-Item Justification 5

A4) Use of Improved Technologies 6

A5) Efforts to Identify Duplication 6

A6) Involvement of Small Entities 7

A7) Consequences of Less Frequent Data Collection 7

A8) Special Circumstances 7

A9) Consultations outside the Agency 7

A10) Payments to Respondents 7

A11) Arrangements and Assurances Regarding Confidentiality 7

A12) Sensitive Questions 8

A13) Estimate of Annualized Burden Hours 8

Exhibit 1 8

A14) Estimated Record Keeping and Reporting Cost Burden on Respondents 8

A15) Estimated Cost to the Federal Government 8

A16) Reasons for Changes in Burden 8

A17) Tabulation Plans, Statistical Analysis, and Study Schedule 9

A18) Expiration Date Display Exemption 9

A19) Exceptions to Certification 9

PART B STATISTICAL METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION Error! Bookmark not defined.

B1) Potential Respondent Universe Error! Bookmark not defined.

B2) Sampling Method and Respondent Universe Error! Bookmark not defined.

B3) Procedures to Deal with Non-Response Error! Bookmark not defined.

B4) Pre-Testing of Procedures Error! Bookmark not defined.

B5) Persons Responsible for Statistical Aspects of the Design Error! Bookmark not defined.

ANNEX 10

Annex A 11

FAIR HOUSING INITIATIVES PROGRAM WEB SURVEY IN TELEPHONE INSTRUMENT GUIDE FORMAT 11

Annex B 22


Evaluation of the Fair Housing Initiatives Program Web Survey

PART A JUSTIFICATION


A1) Circumstances that Make the Collection of Information Necessary


The Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) FY 2007 Annual Performance Plan (APP) specifies six strategic goals. They are to: (1) increase homeownership opportunities; (2) promote decent affordable housing; (3) strengthen communities; (4) ensure equal opportunities in housing; (5) embrace high standards of ethics, management, and accountability; and (6) promote the participation of faith-based and community organizations. Associated with each goal are several strategic objectives; the FY 2007 APP links these goals and objectives with HUD's policies, programs, budget resources, and impacts on communities. It links measures of desired societal outcomes, such as increasing homeownership rates, with programmatic indicators of outputs from HUD programs. It also cites key external factors, such as macro-economic conditions, consumer confidence, mortgage interest rates, tax policies, and the like, that affect those outcomes, but that are typically beyond HUD's control.


One of HUD's outcome indicators measuring performance with respect to strategic goal Number 5—embracing high standards of ethics, management, and accountability—is improving accountability, service delivery, and customer service of HUD and its partners. According to the APP:


This strategic objective reflects HUD’s extensive use of the partnership model as a fundamental aspect of its operations. HUD’s partners include state and local governments, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, and other federal agencies, as well as Congress, for developing the course of Departmental policies and providing budget resources. Desired management improvements and accountable, measurable performance improvements must both be developed in conjunction with and accomplished through the actions of our partners.


HUD has completed the Office of Management and Budget’s Program Assessment Rating Tool evaluation on 25 major program areas, representing over 80 percent of HUD’s budget, to identify areas in need of actions to improve the focus of performance measures and establish efficiency measures. HUD continues to work with the Office of Management and Budget to develop and use efficiency measures for major programs and to reduce the number and improve the focus of performance measures covering the Department’s core goals and objectives (p.60).


The data collection outlined in this package will provide otherwise unavailable information essential to measuring the current effectiveness of the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) and potentially offering new measures that can be used to annually assess FHIP’s effectiveness. One of the activities planned as part of the evaluation of the FHIP program is conducting a web, and for a subsample of non-respondents, a telephone survey of recipients of FHIP funds in FY 2003, FY 2004, and FY 2005. To estimate the amount of time it would require to respond to the proposed survey, two former executive directors of FHIP organizations completed the survey as they would have when they were running their FHIP programs. This data collection activity is authorized under [12.U.S.C. 1701z-1], which reads as follows:




TITLE 12--BANKS AND BANKING

CHAPTER 13--NATIONAL HOUSING

Sec. 1701z-1. Research and demonstrations; authorization of

appropriations; continuing availability of funds

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is authorized and

directed to undertake such programs of research, studies, testing, and

demonstration relating to the mission and programs of the Department as

he determines to be necessary and appropriate. There is \1\ authorized

to be appropriated to carry out this title [12 U.S.C. 1701z-1 et seq.]

$35,000,000 for fiscal year 1993 and $36,470,000 for fiscal year 1994.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

\1\ So in original. Probably should be ``are''.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------


(Pub. L. 91-609, title V, Sec. 501, Dec. 31, 1970, 84 Stat. 1784; Pub.

L. 94-375, Sec. 23(a), Aug. 3, 1976, 90 Stat. 1078; Pub. L. 95-128,

title II, Sec. 204, Oct. 12, 1977, 91 Stat. 1129; Pub. L. 95-557, title

III, Sec. 305(a), Oct. 31, 1978, 92 Stat. 2097; Pub. L. 96-153, title

III, Sec. 304, Dec. 21, 1979, 93 Stat. 1112; Pub. L. 96-399, title III,

Sec. 303, Oct. 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 1639; Pub. L. 97-35, title III,

Sec. 337, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 414; Pub. L. 98-181, title IV,

Sec. 466(a), Nov. 30, 1983, 97 Stat. 1236; Pub. L. 100-242, title V,

Sec. 564, Feb. 5, 1988, 101 Stat. 1945; Pub. L. 101-625, title IX,

Sec. 951(a), Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4417; Pub. L. 102-550, title IX,

Sec. 901, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3866.)


References in Text


This title, referred to in text, is title V of the Housing and Urban

Development Act of 1970, Pub. L. 91-609, Dec. 31, 1970, 84 Stat. 1784,

as amended, which is classified generally to section 1701z-1 et seq. of

this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title of 1970 Amendments note set out under section 1701 of this

title and Tables.


Codification


Section was enacted as part of the Housing and Urban Development Act

of 1970, and not as part of the National Housing Act which comprises

this chapter.



A2 How and By Whom the Data Will Be Used


A2.1 Project Overview


This survey is being conducted as part of a larger process and outcome evaluation that will use data from this survey, in-depth interviews with fewer than nine agencies, and various sources of administrative data. The overall study will provide a program history, identify different agency types and approaches to pursuing fair housing enforcement and education activities, and attempt to identify what value FHIP agencies add to the enforcement process by comparing the quality and outcomes of complaints filed with HUD by FHIP agencies to similar cases filed without FHIP agency involvement.


This FHIP agency survey will show how FHIP grantees use the funds they receive from HUD to conduct fair housing activities. It will also show how other monetary resources are implemented and how much of their activities are fair-housing related. It will also show which activities are common to FHIP grantees throughout the nation and which are regional or local.


The data collected from the different organizations will be compared to determine what activities can be used to effectively and efficiently assess the program annually.


A2.2 Purpose of the Data Collection


As indicated, the purpose of the data collection is to determine how FHIP agencies use the funds they receive from HUD; for what activities; and to determine what data might be used to annually track program performance.


A2.3 Who Will Use the Information


HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), in conjunction with HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FH&EO), will use this information to assess the effectiveness of the FHIP program and the activities undertaken by its grantees.

A2.4 Instrument--Item-By-Item Justification


Respondents will consist of approximately 184 fair housing organizations in the United States. The instrument consists of questions that have not been used in a survey of this type. The survey can be divided into ten parts:


Contact Information. Contact information on the respondent is being collected to allow for follow-up calls to clarify responses, if necessary.


Organization Mission. Two short questions are presented to respondents to determine the mission of the organizations for which they work. HUD is using the questions to understand the variety of fair housing organizations throughout the country and the priority fair housing has within that organization.


Organization Structure. Five questions and subparts are presented to respondents to show what proportion of FHIPs are nonprofits or other types of organization, if they are members of other civil rights organizations, and the characteristics of their boards of directors. These data will be used to see if organizational structure, relationships with other organizations, and board of director affiliation impact on the priorities and approach of FHIP agencies.


Organization History. Three questions and subparts are presented to respondents to learn about the history of the FHIP organization. HUD wants to know about the organization, including how long it has been in existence, how long it has been providing fair housing services, and its organizational stability.


Service Area and Population. Six questions and subparts are presented to respondents to learn about the service area and population of the organization. HUD wants to determine if there are differences in capacity and approach based on service area and targeted population. HUD also wants to assess the approximate national coverage of FHIP agencies. That is, approximately what proportion of the US population is reasonably served by FHIP groups? HUD also want to understand how FHIP agencies market their program and how most clients report they learned about fair housing groups.


Technology. One question with five subparts ask about what technology the FHIP grantees use in their daily work. Use of technology can substantially increase the efficiency and effectiveness of organizations. There is anecdotal evidence that FHIP groups have very different technology capabilities. The survey will document if limited use of technology is a problem for these agencies.


Employees. Five questions and subparts are presented to respondents to learn about the employees of the FHIPs. HUD wants to know the demographics, education, experience, staff longevity, and training/certifications of the staff that work for these agencies. This information is critical for understanding organizational effectiveness and stability.


Budget. Five questions and subparts are presented to respondents to learn about the financial stability of fair housing organizations. One of the core goals of this evaluation, for HUD, is to understand the financial stability of fair housing organizations from year-to-year. The questions ask about total budget, sources of funding for fair housing activities, and general budget stability from year-to-year.


Enforcement Activties. Thirty-three questions and subparts are presented to respondents to learn about how FHIP agencies undertake enforcement activities and how important the Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI) Grant for doing that work. HUD wants to create a typology of activities conducted by PEI organizations and determine how much investigation and testing are conducted by these organizations.


Education and Outreach Activities. Ten questions and subparts are presented to respondents to learn about Education and Outreach Initiative (EOI) Grant activities. HUD wants to create a typology of activities conducted by EOI organizations and determine how much funding of EOI activities was conducted by FHIP and what activities were covered by other resources.


FHIP Program Overall. Six questions and subparts are presented to respondents to get their thoughts about the FHIP program overall. Do the agencies see any implementation problems? What are their most significant organizational challenges? What is there view on potential program changes? This information will help HUD in its policy discussions on making changes to the program.



A3) Use of Improved Technologies


The survey will be conducted by web-based technology as first choice. DB Consulting will make full use of the latest methodological and technical developments in web-based surveying. However, since most recipients of the FHIP funding are nonprofit agencies, HUD will also employ telephone interviewing for a sub-sample of agencies that do not respond to the web-based survey.

A4) Efforts to Identify Duplication


There is no other national survey assessing the current effectiveness of FHIP. Prior to this submission, a literature search as well as an inquiry of experts found no other comparable survey. Experts consulted included staff in HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, and organizations located in other communities across the country that are primarily involved in fair housing.


A5) Involvement of Small Entities


All respondents to this survey will be FHIP-funded recipients for FY 2003, FY 2004, and FY 2005. Most of these entities are small non-profit organizations. The cost to these organizations is the time to complete the survey. In addition, the survey is being conducted by DB Consulting, a small business.



A6) Consequences of Less Frequent Data Collection

With this survey, HUD intends to measure the effectiveness of the FHIP through use of fair housing enforcement activities and public information campaigns relating to federal fair housing laws over the past year. Less frequent measurement will allow more time to go by without the benefit of information about the outcomes of private fair housing groups’ efforts to enhance public awareness of fair housing laws and enforcement, which, in turn is presumed to reduce discriminatory actions. There are both significant public costs and adverse consequences to discriminatory actions such as less diverse areas having a lower income tax base.



A7) Special Circumstances


The proposed data collection activities are consistent with the guidelines set forth in 5 CFR 1320.6 (Controlling Paperwork Burden on the Public--General Information Collection Guidelines). There are no special circumstances that require deviation from these guidelines.



A8) Consultations outside the Agency


In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, HUD published a Notice in the Federal Register announcing the Agency's intention to request an OMB review of this data collection. The Notice was published on December 11, 2006, (Docket No._FR-5403-N-11) in Volume 71, Number 237, page 71551, and provided a 60-day period for public comments. A copy of this Notice appears in the Annex. No comments were received based on this publication.


One very experienced FHIP grantee was consulted on the survey who provided extensive comments on burden, question clarity, and policy utility. In response to those comments, several questions were dropped and/or shortened. Other questions were clarified and some new questions were added.



A9) Payments to Respondents.


No payments are being made to respondents who voluntarily agree to participate in this data collection.



A10) Arrangements and Assurances Regarding Confidentiality


The data set to be provided to the Government from this survey will not contain any identifying information—such as name, address, etc.—that would permit disclosure or identification of respondents.


A11) Sensitive Questions


The questions being asked are not considered sensitive.



A12) Estimate of Annualized Burden Hours

Total annualized burden hours are estimated at 199. Exhibit 1 provides detailed information on the estimated respondents’ time to complete the data collection and the total respondents’ burden for the data collection effort.


Exhibit 1


A


B


C


D


E


F


G


Number of Respondents


Burden per Respondent (Minutes)


Total Annual Burden (Minutes)


Number of Responses


Total Respondent Burden (Minutes)


Total Burden per Respondent


Total Project Burden (Hours)






(A x B)




(C x D)


(B x D)



184

65

11,960

1

11,960

65

199




A13) Estimated Record Keeping and Reporting Cost Burden on Respondents

The cost burden to respondents is the time required to respond to the FHIP Web survey questions, including the time to look up information. The survey is requesting information from the FHIP agencies that cannot be obtained any other way. No additional record keeping is required.


A14) Estimated Cost to the Federal Government


The total contracted cost to the Federal government for the study is $500,000. This includes the design, all data collection, and the cost to analyze and report the results. The contractor has 303 hours and $30,143 budgeted for completion of this survey.


A15) Reasons for Changes in Burden


The change in burden is occurring because this is a new survey, and no prior burden exists.

A16) Tabulation Plans, Statistical Analysis, and Study Schedule


When the data collection is completed by the contractor, they will then analyze the data and prepare an initial report for HUD. The report will include the analysis of the collected data to determine the typologies requested by HUD and may result in recommendations for performance measures that could be used annually. Data collection is scheduled to begin in June 2007. A report is scheduled to be delivered in November 2007.



A17) Expiration Date Display Exemption

Any reproduction of the data collection instrument will prominently display the OMB approval number and expiration date.

.


A18) Exceptions to Certification


This submission, describing data collection, requests no exceptions to the Certificate for Paperwork Reduction Act (5 CFR 1320.9).





ANNEX


The Annex contains:

  • the FHIP web and telephone survey; and,

  • a copy of the Federal Register announcement for the survey.

Annex A











FAIR HOUSING INITIATIVES PROGRAM WEB SURVEY IN TELEPHONE INSTRUMENT GUIDE FORMAT




Please take a few minutes to complete this survey. DB Consulting is conducting a program evaluation of the Fair Housing Initiatives Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This study is intended to provide HUD with an in-depth understanding of how fair housing agencies function and what role FHIP funds play in supporting their operation. This information may be used by HUD as part of future budget justifications for the program, design of new performance measures, and program changes. Your response to the survey is critical to the success and validity of this research.


Your participation in this survey is voluntary. The questions have been approved by the United States Office of Management and Budget, number xxxxxx. It is estimated that it will take you between 45 and 90 minutes to complete the survey. If you do not have time to complete the survey in one sitting, you can return to it at a later time. After collecting the data and preparing an analysis file, DB consulting will remove identifying information, such as name and detailed location, about your specific organization. HUD will only be provided the data file after the identifying information has been removed.


Note that this is a survey of all FHIP agencies receiving grants between FY 2003 and FY 2005. Most of the questions, however, ask about what you did in 2006 or Fiscal Year 2006, whether or not you received a grant in FY 2005. This is intentional, as we are interested in how groups operate in years when they get funding and when they do not get funding. When a reference is made to the year 2006, you may choose to use data on your fiscal year or on the calendar year, whichever is easier for you.


CONTACT INFORMATION

In case we need to follow up with you to clarify any response, please provide the following contact information:

A) Name of Primary Person Completing Survey:

B) Title:

C) Phone Number:

D) Email:



QUESTIONS

Organizational Mission

As part of this evaluation, HUD is trying to understand the variety of models fair housing organizations use nationwide and in what context of the agency’s mission does their fair housing work fall. The following questions asked about your organization’s mission and structure:


1) What is the overall mission of your organization?


2) How does fair housing fit within your overall mission?

Exclusive role

Primary role

Significant role among several

Secondary role

Minor role



Organization Structure

3) Which of the following describes your organization?

Non-profit

State government

Local government


4a) Does your organization have a Board of Directors?

Yes

No


4b) If yes, what is the size of your organization’s Board of Directors (including vacancies) ? _______

4c) How many of the Board of Director positions are currently vacant? _________


4d) Does your Board of Directors include representatives from:

(a) Other civil rights organizations Yes No

(b) Legal professionals Yes No

(c) Residents of the target service area Yes No

(d) Landlords or landlord organizations Yes No

(e) Real estate agents/organizations Yes No

(f) The lending industry (such as bankers) Yes No

(g) Government agencies Yes No

(h) Faith Based/Clergy Yes No

(i) Other non-profits Yes No

(j) Unions/Labor Organizations Yes No

(k) Individuals representing themselves Yes No


4e) How many board members have been on the board for:

(a) 10 years or longer?

(b) 5 to 10 years?

(c) 2 to 5 years?

(d) Less than 2 years?


5a) Is your agency an operating member of the National Fair Housing Alliance?

Yes (skip to 6)

No



5b) If No, is your agency a supporting member of the National Fair Housing Alliance?

Yes

No


6) Is it a member of any civil rights organizations?

Yes

Specify ________________________________________

No


7) Is it affiliated with other organizations?

Yes

Specify ________________________________________

No


Organization History

As part of this evaluation, HUD wants to know about organization history and where and whom it generally serves. This information will help understand more about FHIP organization stability and the overall geographic coverage by FHIP agencies nationwide.


8) In what year was your organization founded (legally incorporated)?


9) In what year did it first become active in fair housing activities?


10a) Has your agency’s involvement in fair housing activities been continuous since that time or has it been discontinuous (that is, stopped doing fair housing activities at some point and then restarted)?

Continuous (skip to 11)

Discontinuous


10b) If discontinuous, why did it stop providing fair housing services?


10c) If discontinuous, in what year did it become active in fair housing activities for the most recent period of continuous activity?



Service Area and Population

11a) Please describe your organization’s fair housing primary service area? (That is, the area where you primarily market your program and where most of the clients you serve live).

Targeted neighborhood(s)

A single city

A single county

A single metropolitan area

Multiple cities and/or counties outside of a metropolitan area

Statewide

Multiple states (specify) _______________________

Nationwide

Other (specify) _________________________


11b) What is the approximate population of your fair housing primary service area? (That is, the number of people in the area where you primarily market your program and where most of the clients you serve live). ___________________


12a) In 2006, did your organization primarily market to a specific population or populations?

Yes

No (skip to 13)


12b) If yes, what population(s) did your organization primarily market to in 2006 (you may select more than one)?

Persons with Disabilities

Families

African Americans

Hispanics

Asians

Native Americans

Immigrants

Low-Income

Women

Men

Other

Specify _____________________________________


12c) In 2006, did your group limit its fair housing services to only families below a specified income threshold (such as low-income)?

Yes

No



13) Please indicate whether or not your organization provided the following fair housing services in 2006 (you may select more than one)?

Education and Outreach Yes No

Investigations Involving Testing Yes No

Non-Testing Investigations (such interviewing friendly witnesses) Yes No

Referrals to pro-bono or contingency attorneys Yes No

Research Involving Testing Yes No

Other Yes No

Specify _____________________________________


14) If your organization provided other services beyond fair housing in 2006, what were the three largest types of programs provided?

(a) Largest:

(b) Second Largest:

(c) Third Largest:


15a) How do you market your fair housing services? Check each activity you used in 2006.

Yellow pages

Radio advertisement

Newspaper advertisement

Bus advertisement

Internet advertisement

Brochures

Newsletters

Presentations to organizations/civic groups

Other

Specify _____________________________

Specify _____________________________

Specify _____________________________


15b) Does your organization have a web page?

Yes

No


16a) Do you ask clients how they became aware of your fair housing services?

Yes

No (skip to 17)



16b) Please indicate (by numbering 1,2,3), the three most common ways clients reported that they learned about your agency?

Yellow pages ________

Radio advertisement ________

Newspaper advertisement ________

Bus advertisement ________

Internet advertisement ________

Internet search (Google, Yahoo, etc) ________

Friend, neighbor, or relative ________

Brochures ________

Newsletters ________

Presentations to organizations/civic groups ________

Referral from another agency ________

Other ________

Specify_____________________ ________


Technology

17a) In 2006, approximately how many of your regular staff had a working computer available for their exclusive use?

“All” “Most” “Roughly Half” “A few” “None”


17b) In 2006, approximately how many of your regular staff had a working computer available for their exclusive used that also had access to the internet?

“All” “Most” “Roughly Half” “A few” “None”


17c) In 2006, did your organization have a working fax machine?

Yes No


17d) In 2006, did your organization use audio recorders in its fair housing testing? (select only one)

Yes, all of the time Yes, some of the time No Not legal in our state We do not do testing


17e) In 2006, did your organization use any of the following information services as part of its fair housing work?

(a) Westlaw Yes No

(b) LexisNexis Yes No

(c) Census Data Yes No

(d) Other Yes No

Specify _____________________________

Specify _____________________________

Specify _____________________________


Employees

At the core of any organization are its employees. HUD wants to know about the characteristics of fair housing employees, their education levels, fair housing training and experience, and length of tenure in employment.


18) How many employees does your overall organization have?

(a) Full time (35-hour workweek - include volunteers who fill regular staff positions, exclude temporary staff and professional services conducted by third-parties such as accounting, bookkeeping, and legal counsel)?

(b) Part time (less than 35-hour work week - include volunteers who fill regular staff positions, exclude temporary staff and professional services conducted by third-parties such as accounting, bookkeeping, and legal counsel)?


18c) How many employees work on fair housing activities as a regular part of their job?

(a) Full time?

(b) Part time?


19a) How many of your fair housing staff (both full-time and part-time) provided the following fair housing services in 2006. Please distinguish between primary (more than 50%) responsibility and occasional responsibility (less than 50%):

Responsibility

Primary

Occasional

Total

(a) Intake?

(b) Education and Outreach?

(c) Investigation?

(e) Testing?

(f) Statistical Analysis/Research?

(g) Legal Referrals?

(h) Policy Issues?

(i) Advocacy?

(j) Other? Specify_______________


19b) How many of your fair housing staff (both full-time and part-time) belong to each of these racial/ethnic groups?

(a) Non-Hispanic White?

(b) Non-Hispanic African-American?

(c) Non-Hispanic Asian?

(d) Non-Hispanic Pacific Islander?

(e) Non-Hispanic Native American?

(f) Non-Hispanic Other or Multi-Race?

(g) Hispanic White?

(h) Hispanic African-American?

(i) Hispanic Asian?

(j) Hispanic Pacific Islander?

(k) Hispanic Native American?

(l) Hispanic Other or Multi-Race?


19c) How many of your fair housing staff (both full-time and part-time) are women, and how many are men?

(a) Women?

(b) Men?


19d) How many of your fair housing staff (both full-time and part-time) have the following as their highest level of education completed?

(a) Less than high school graduate?

(b) High school graduate only?

(c) 2-year college degree?

(d) 4-year college degree?

(e) Masters degree?

(f) Law degree (J.D.)?

(g) Doctorate (Ph.D.)?

(h) Not Known?


19e) How many of your fair housing staff (both full-time and part-time) have worked for your agency..

(a) More than 10 years?

(b) 6 to 10 years?

(c) 3 to 5 years?

(d) 1 to 2 years?

(e) Less than 1 year?


19f) How many of your fair housing staff (both full-time and part-time) have worked on fair housing issues, whether or not with your agency ...

(a) More than 10 years?

(b) 6 to 10 years?

(c) 3 to 5 years?

(d) 1 to 2 years?

(e) Less than 1 year?



19gi) How many staff in 2006 had responsibility for coordinating tests? _____


19gii) If you had a test coordinator(s) in 2006, please describe the testing-related training the test coordinator(s) had received and when they received that training.





19hi) How many staff in 2006 had responsibility for doing complaint intake? _____


19hii) If you had intake staff in 2006, please describe the intake-related training that they have received and when they received that training.





20a) Over the past five years how many different Executive Directors have you had for your organization?


20b) If different than the Executive Director, over the past five years how many different Fair Housing Program Directors have you had for your organization?


21) How much did your organization spend in FY 2006 on fair housing related staff training and continuing education?

$


Budget

One of the core goals of this evaluation is to understand the financial stability of fair housing organizations from year-to-year. The following questions ask about total budget, sources of funding for fair housing activities, and general budget stability from year-to-year.


22) What was your organization’s TOTAL operating budget for its fiscal year 2006?

$


23) What was your organization’s FAIR HOUSING operating budget for its fiscal years:

(a) 2004? $

(b) 2005? $

(c) 2006? $



24) For the organization’s fiscal year 2006, please indicate the amount of dollars from each source that supported your FAIR HOUSING operations, please distinguish between enforcement activities and education and outreach activities (if unable to differentiate between activities, please provide the “Total” amount and indicate “DK” under “Enforcement” and “Education and Outreach”):


Enforcement

Education & Outreach

Total

(a) FHIP PEI

$

$

$

(b) FHIP EOI

$

$

$

(c) FHIP FHOI

$

$

$

(d) CDBG from City, County, or State

$

$

$

(e) Other funding from City, County, or State

$

$

$

(f) HUD Housing Counseling Funds

$

$

$

(g) Proceeds from fair housing settlement(s)

$

$

$

(h) Realtors

$

$

$

(i) Bankers/Mortgage Companies

$

$

$

(j) Landlords or Associations

$

$

$

(k) Foundations

$

$

$

(l) Charitable Donations

$

$

$

(k) Specify




___________________________________

$

$

$

___________________________________

$

$

$


25a) Over the past five years, would you describe your funding FROM ALL SOURCES for fair housing activities to be:

Generally increasing over time

Relatively stable from year-to-year

Up and down modestly from year-to-year

Up and down significantly from year-to-year

Generally decreasing over time


25b) Please explain what most affects the stability of your fair housing funding from year-to-year:





26a) In the past five years (since 2001), has your organization received funds from settlements as a result of lawsuits or administrative complaints?

Yes

No



26b) If yes, what is the total amount your organization has received from settlements in the past 5 years as a result of as a result of lawsuits or administrative complaints? $



Enforcement Activities

Please answer the following questions if your organization conducted any enforcement activities in 2006, whether or not you received a PEI grant. Enforcement activities involve receiving, initiating, and/or investigating fair housing complaints.


27) Did your organization receive and/or investigate fair housing complaints in 2006?

Yes

No (skip to 60)


Inquiries


28) How do you track and log fair housing inquiries (An inquiry is the initial request for assistance on an allegation of what appears to be unlawful housing discrimination)? (check all that apply)

(a) Each inquiry is recorded in a database

(b) Each inquiry is recorded in a paper file

(c) Inquiry is noted in some other format

(d) Inquiries are not tracked


29) Are any of the following items collected at time of initial contact?

(a) Name Yes No

(b) Address Yes No

(c) Phone Yes No

(d) Nature of Inquiry Yes No

(e) Intake specialist response Yes No


30a) From how many individuals or organizations (excluding your agency) did the agency receive a fair housing inquiry in 2006?


30b) How many FAIR HOUSING investigations were “agency initiated” (for example, initiation of a systemic investigation based on renting patterns in a community)?



31) How many of the FAIR HOUSING inquiries and other investigations in 2006:

(a) Led to fair housing complaints filed with HUD or FHAP? or none

(b) Led to fair housing suits filed in court? or none

(c) Were resolved by your organization outside of HUD/FHAP or court? or none

(d) Were investigated but no discrimination was confirmed? or none

(e) Still under investigation? or none

(f) Led to evidence being referred to the Department of Justice? or none

(g) Were referred to a state licensing agency? or none

(h) Were referred to the State Attorney General? or none

(i) Were referred to a state non-FHAP agency? or none

(f) Resulted in some other outcome?

Other Outcome 1: ______________________________

Other Outcome 2: ______________________________

Other Outcome 3: ______________________________


32) What are the total number of FAIR HOUSING inquiries where the agency conducted some sort of an investigation in 2006 (an investigation is any proactive work by the fair housing agency to obtain evidence to validate the potential complaint)?


33a) How many of the FAIR HOUSING inquiries from individuals were investigated using FHIP PEI funds?

or none

33b) How many of the “agency initiated” FAIR HOUSING investigation were conducted using FHIP PEI funds?

or none


34) In 2006, of investigations undertaken, how many were:



What proportion of inquiries investigated were investigated

with PEI funds?


Number

All

Some

None

(a) Rental

(b) Sales

(c) Lending

(d) Insurance

(e) Other







35) In 2006, did your FHIP investigate any inquiries involving the following protected classes? If yes, were any investigated using PEI funds?

(a) Race yes no ; With PEI? yes no

(b) Color yes no ; With PEI? yes no

(c) National Origin yes no ; With PEI? yes no

(e) Familial Status yes no ; With PEI? yes no

(f) Sex yes no ; With PEI? yes no

(g) Religion yes no ; With PEI? yes no

(l) Design and Construction yes no ; With PEI? yes no

(m) Disability (excluding design and construction) yes no ; With PEI? yes no

(h) Other _________________ yes no ; With PEI? yes no


36) Did you do any investigations in 2006 that used consultants or specialists?

Yes

No (skip to 38)


37) For investigations that used consultants or specialists, what types of service did they provide?

(a) Engineering/Architecture Yes No

(b) Statistical Analysis Yes No

(c) Other Yes No


Fair Housing Testing

38) Does your organization conduct fair housing tests?

Yes

No (skip to 60)


For organizations conducting fair housing tests:


39) Is there a staff person charged with coordinating tests?

Yes

No (skip to 41)


40) If yes, approximately how much of that person’s time in a year is dedicated to coordinating tests?

All”

Three-quarters”

Roughly Half”

One-quarter or less”


41) Do you have documented tester training manual?

Yes

No (skip to 43)


42) If yes, please describe how you developed the tester training manual (you may indicate more than one)?

Primarily locally developed

Primarily NFHA developed manual

Primary Housing Discrimination Study (HDS) manual

Other ___________________________________


43) Indicate if any testers were recruited in 2006 from the following methods:

Referrals from current testers Yes No

Informal referrals from staff acquaintances Yes No

Social service agencies Yes No

Graduate school Yes No

Actors guilds or similar Yes No

Advertising in a public paper or posting flyers Yes No

No testers recruited in 2006


44) Of the testers conducting tests in 2006, about what proportion were NEW testers in 2006?

All”

Three-quarters”

Roughly Half”

One-quarter or less”


45) Of the testers conducting tests in 2006, about what proportion had attended a tester training session in 2006?

All”

Three-quarters”

Roughly Half”

One-quarter or less”


46) How did you compensate the majority of your testers in 2006?

Volunteers (no compensation)

Paid an honorarium or stipend

Paid staff (hourly or salary)


47) Approximately what proportion of your testing in 2006 was based on a complaint of discrimination from an individual complainant (excluding your own “agency initiated” tests or tests initiative at the request of HUD or a FHAP agency)?

All” “Most” “Roughly Half” “A few” “None”


48) Approximately what proportion of your testing in 2006 was “agency initiated” (for example, initiation of a systemic investigation based on renting patterns in a community)?

All” “Most” “Roughly Half” “A few” “None”


49) Were any tests conducted in 2006 in response to a request from HUD or FHAP agency?

Yes

No

50) Did your agency conduct any tests in 2006 for the housing industry as part of a “self-testing” program?

Yes

No


51) Did your agency conduct any tests in 2006 as part of a research project (such as to measure the level of discrimination in your community)?

Yes

No


52) Did your agency conduct any tests in 2006 for compliance testing in response to a settlement or court order?

Yes

No


53) How many TOTAL fair housing tests were conducted by the agency in 2006?


54) How many TOTAL fair housing tests were conducted by the agency in 2006 that were funded with FHIP PEI funds?


55) Please indicate if in 2006 you conducted one or more of the following type of fair housing test:

(a) Rental yes no

(b) Sales yes no

(c) Lending yes no

(d) Insurance yes no










56) Please indicate if in 2006 you conducted one or more of the fair housing test for these protected classes:

(a) African American yes no

(b) Hispanic or Latino yes no

(c) Asian yes no

(d) Native American yes no

(e) Pacific Islander yes no

(f) Other Race yes no

(g) Other Color yes no

(h) Religion yes no

(i) Sex yes no

(j) National Origin yes no

(k) Familial Status yes no

(l) Design and Construction yes no

(m) Physical Disability (excluding design and construction) yes no

(n) Sensory Disability (excluding design and construction) yes no

(o) Mental Disability (excluding design and construction) yes no

(p) Other yes no


57) Approximately what proportion of your testing is done through in-person visits?

All” “Most” “Roughly Half” “A few” “None”


58) Approximately what proportion of your testing based on individual (non “agency-initiated”) complaints in 2006 resulted in some type of enforcement action?

All” “Most” “Roughly Half” “A few” “None”


59) Approximately what proportion of your agency initiated testing in 2006 resulted in some type of enforcement action?

All” “Most” “Roughly Half” “A few” “None”



Education and Outreach Activities

Please answer the following questions if your organization conducted any education and outreach activities in 2006, whether or not you received an EOI grant. Education and outreach activities are activities that include developing education materials, analyzing local impediments to housing choice, providing housing counseling and classes, convening meetings that bring together the housing industry with fair housing groups, developing technical materials on accessibility, and mounting public information campaigns.


60) Did your organization undertake any FAIR HOUSING education and outreach activities in 2006?

Yes

No (skip to 70)


61) Please indicate which of the listed fair housing education materials your organization uses in its education and outreach activities (please only indicate a brochure is used if 10 or more individuals received or used the material in 2006).

Fair Housing: Equal Opportunity for All (English/Spanish) - HUD

Fair Housing Act Design Manual - HUD

Fair Housing for HOME Participants - HUD

Fair Housing Planning Guide - HUD

Putting Your Home on the Loan Line is Risky Business (English/Spanish) - Federal Reserve


62) If you used other educational materials in 2006 created by an outside group, please provide the names and source of each (for example, a brochure developed by the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), your state’s civil rights office, or another fair housing group):

i. Name: __________________________________ Source: ______________________________

ii. Name: __________________________________ Source: ______________________________

iii. Name: __________________________________ Source: ______________________________


63) Has your organization developed its own education materials (only indicate “yes” if the materials are currently used in your education and outreach activities)?

Yes

No (skip to 65)


64) For educational material developed locally, please provide a title, purpose, target audience, language, and if its development was paid for with the FHIP EOI grant (if more than three developed, list three used most often in 2006).

i. Title of locally developed material ___________________________________________________________

Purpose (ie. How to spot a predatory loan) ___________________________________________________

Target Audience (ie. Hispanic homebuyers) ___________________________________________________

Language (ie. English) ____________________________________________________________________

Funded with current or past EOI grant: Yes No


ii. Title: ________________________________________________________________________________

Purpose: ______________________________________________________________________________

Target Audience _________________________________________________________________________

Language : ______________________________________________________________________________

Funded with current or past EOI grant: Yes No


iii. Title: ________________________________________________________________________________

Purpose: ______________________________________________________________________________

Target Audience _________________________________________________________________________

Language : ______________________________________________________________________________

Funded with current or past EOI grant: Yes No


65) Please describe any fair housing education material that you think HUD should be developing and producing.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________


66) What types of Education and Outreach activities did your organization undertake in 2006? For each, indicate if it was undertaken at all followed by whether or not it was funded all or partially with FHIP EOI funds.

(a) Develop education materials? yes no ; With EOI? yes no

(b) Distribute education materials? yes no ; With EOI? yes no

(c) Analyze local impediments to housing choice? yes no ; With EOI? yes no

(d) Provide housing counseling and classes? yes no ; With EOI? yes no

(e) Convene meetings that bring together the housing industry with fair housing groups?

yes no ; With EOI? yes no

(f) Develop technical materials on accessibility? yes no ; With EOI? yes no

(g) Mount media campaign(s)? yes no ; With EOI? yes no

(h) Training to landlords/management agencies? yes no ; With EOI? yes no

(i) Training to real estate agents? yes no ; With EOI? yes no

(j) Training to lenders? yes no ; With EOI? yes no

(k) Training to local government officials? yes no ; With EOI? yes no

(l) Other (specify) yes no ; With EOI? yes no


67) How many total people received direct fair housing education or training from your organization in 2006?


68) How many separate organization’s did you provide fair housing training to their staff in 2006?



69) Do you undertake customer service survey of individuals after they receive training?

Yes

No


FHIP Program Overall

This final section of the survey is seeking information on challenges with current FHIP program implementation and your opinions on possible program changes.


70) To what extent have there been implementation problems, notable hardships, or significant costs associated with the administration of your FHIP grant?

(a) Implementation Problems yes no

(b) Notable hardships yes no

(c) Significant costs yes no

(d) If yes to any, please specify _____________________________________________________________


71) What are the most significant challenges for organizations fair housing program?


Very significant

Somewhat significant

Not at all significant

Consistent funding for enforcement operations

Consistent funding for education and outreach activities

Staff retention

Staff expertise/training

Other_____________



72) Please rate your agreement with the following statements about HUD’s role in supporting private fair housing organizations with appropriation levels held constant?


Agree a lot

Agree a little

Disagree a little

Disagree a lot

HUD should set standards for FHIP agency investigations

Standards for testing should be developed so FHIP agencies could have “certified testing programs”

Make all PEI grants 3-year awards, but have fewer PEI and EOI grants each year

Discontinue PEI 3-year awards and fund more EOI grants

Discontinue PEI 3-year awards and fund more PEI grants

Reinstate the FHOI Program and have fewer overall PEI grants


73) In your own words, in what ways do the services your group provide add value to promoting and enforcing fair housing laws?




74) Please tell us what things you see as being problems with the FHIP program and what you think might be done to fix those problems.





75) Please use the following space to provide any further comments on either the challenges facing FHIP agencies, HUD’s role in supporting FHIP agencies, or concerns that were not captured in the survey.




Thank you very much for your participation in this survey. If you have any questions regarding the survey please contact the survey director, xxx of DB Consulting group, toll-free at 1-888-xxx-xxxx or email at [email protected].

Annex B


Federal Register Notice

11


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File TitlePART A
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File Modified2007-04-12
File Created2007-04-11

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