1. Preparing for An Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH)
National Community Development Association (NCDA) Winter Conference – Washington DC
February 15th, 2017

2. Five reasons

3. Grantees Should Conduct their Assessment of Fair Housing
Fair Housing Act of 1968 and related Civil Rights acts still apply
In uncertain times, the more alliances the better.
How long has it been since you updated your AI?
Great tool for justifying or changing priorities in your community that policy makers and elected officials can stand behind.
What better way to show HUD your level of need?
Regardless of the tool used by the Federal Government to monitor this work, we are still responsible for complying with the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and related Civil Rights acts. Even if you have all your federal funding taken away still responsible for compliance
In uncertain times, the more alliances the better. We fall or stand together in ensuring a future for CDBG/HOME/HOPWA/ESG/McKinney all federal grants
How long has it been since you updated your AI?
Great tool for justifying or changing priorities in your community that policy makers and elected can stand behind.
This is not likely to be “news” to your community. Positions you to be a promoter instead of a defender of past and future government and private actions

4. The BASICS
Get to the HUD AFH website asap: ograms/affh/resources/#tools-for- fair-housing-planning-under-the- affh-rule
Mapping and data tool
User Interface (e-template for submitting your report)
READ ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETION OF THE AFH FIRST!
READ ALL THE QUESTIONS YOU HAVE TO ANSWER (scope and scale)
TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR COLLEAGUES WORK (lots of variation) Clackamas County, Philadelphia, Seattle, etc.
GET YOUR CITY, COUNTY, CONSORTIUM ON BOARD
Understand the task?
Willing to provide support?
Get their sense of opportunities and concerns up front
START EARLY!!!!

5. Breadth and Scope of AFH
Major Topics
Sample questions
Describe and compare segregation across the jurisdiction and region.
Does public transit provide a reliable bridge between low- asset/poverty areas and proficient schools, parks, healthcare facilities and jobs?
Are families with children or disabilities concentrated in R/ECAP tracts?
Segregation and Integration
Disparities in neighborhood assets, and exposure to environmental hazards
Disability and Access
Explain R/ECAP
Here we want you see actual topics and sample questions just to give you an idea of what is included in the plan requirements.
Major changes in this AFH compared to prior reports to HUD:
HUD will push the data to us; then we have to send it out to public asap
Much more attention to needs of people with all types of disabilities
Emphasis on participation with limited English or other primary languages

6. SPECIFICS: CONSIDER COLLABORATION
PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY
NEIGHBORING COUNTY, GRANTEES, CONSORTIUMS
REGIONAL APPROACH

7. COLLABORATION PROS & CONS
CHALLENGES
Reports require data sharing about public housing residents and regional trends and about the general population
Consultation regardless of joint submission to answer many of the questions in the AFH template
More resources to put toward strategies to address FH issues identified in your AFH
Clear roles and responsibilities' up front (Memorandum of Agreement)
Concerns about responsibility for outcomes (able to designate in AFH)
Increase the workload for production time, coordination, multiple governing bodies to review and approve
Why did SHA and Seattle joint submissions?
Shared geographic boundary and timelines for strat plans
Reliance on each other for data required
Coordinated Community Engagement -opportunity to reach protected classes, where they live and work
Leveraging strategies and investment priorities
PHA housing anchors 3 of 4 City of Seattle R/ECAPS (for now)
Inextricable relationship of City and SHA policies
Why regional planning?
Shifting concentrations of poverty – displacement
Growth and investment throughout the region
Coordination of regional transportation and access to employment opportunity, training, education facilities
Decisions on zoning, land use, and policies impact surrounding jurisdictions
Leverage provision of adequate housing choice (mix of housing types, accessible units, affordability)

8. SPECIFICS: CONSIDER CAPACITY
Who has data analysis expertise, access to key local data bases?
Who has already established relationships with protected class members in your community?
Who already does trend analysis, public surveys, media reach?
How will you fund the effort?
Who will be on your “brain trust” technical work group?
Do you have a School of public policy with lots of interns needing experience?
University resources for data analysis?
Do you have a Gates Foundation, United Way,
Philanthropic groups, managers associations,
Puget Sound Regional Council had completed 2011 FH assessment for neighborhood sustainability program (NSP)
THINK OUTSIDE YOUR CUBEY

9. Protected Classes Race Color National origin, Religion Sex (gender)
Seattle
Political ideology
Race
Age **
Religion
Ancestry
Sex
Breastfeeding in a public place
Sexual orientation
Color
Use of a Section 8 certificate *
Creed
Use of a service animal
Disability
Military status or Veteran
Gender identity
* - Not applicable to Employment or Fair Contracting cases ** - Not applicable to Public Accommodations cases
Marital status
National Origin
Parental status *
Federal
Race
Color
National origin,
Religion
Sex (gender)
Familial status
Disability
Note recent guidance about are looking at expansion to LGBTQ and Gender identity equity in programs using fed dollars
Disability access investigations up 60% between for DOJ FH complaints

10. City Technical Work Group
Public Housing - SHA
disability & Access – ADA coordinators
Demographic and Trend Analysis - OPCD
Segregation/Integration, Housing Mobility, Preservation and Community Infrastructure – OH, OPCD, HSD, Realtors/Fin. & Banking, SHA
Transportation and Access - SDOT
Disproportionate Housing Needs – OH, SHA,
Disparities in Access to Opportunity
Employment - OED
Education – DEEL, SPS
Environmental Health - OSE
R/ECAPS & Neighborhoods of Opportunity – DON, OIR,
Impact of Exposure to Poverty - HSD
Enforcement History, Monitoring & Outreach Capacity – SOCR, CAO
Map your world. Who will be interested,/allies? Who will have concerns? What levels of political authorities (local, regional) need to be involved and when?
City Demographer in Office of Planning and Community Development
Office of Sustainability and Environment
Department of Early Learning and Education
King County Public Health Department
Dept. of Transportation
Seattle Housing Authority
Office of Housing
Office of Economic Development
Department of Neighborhoods
City Attorneys Office
Human Service Department
Seattle Office of Civil Rights
Office of Refugee and Immigrants
Mayor’s office liaison

11. SPECIFICS: CONSIDER A Consultant?
Not a lot of experience either way right now
Talk to your colleagues—everyone is trying different approaches
Regardless:
Grantee must know the specifics of the data results
Grantee must be able to weave this into strategies to address issues
Grantee must ensure measuring progress over time and effectiveness of implementation
Save your resources for community engagement if you can get data analysis done?

12. SPECIFICS: CONSIDER CAPACITY
Who has data analysis expertise, access to key local data bases?
Who has already established relationships with protected class members in your community?
Who already does trend analysis, public surveys, media reach?
How will you fund the effort?
Who will be on your “brain trust” technical work group?

13. Contact Us Jennifer Yost, CDBG Administrator (206) 615-1717
Debra Rhinehart, Strategic Advisor
(206)
Link to our DRAFT 2017 AFH
information-for-grantees/community- development-block-grant---assessment- of-fair-housing

14. Early, Often & Throughout
Community consultation pre- draft
Community participation post- draft
Outreach with emphasis on reaching people in protected classes
HUD directive: “always ask: who is benefitting; who may lose access”
Getting to the “authentic voice” of protected class members
Early, Often & Throughout

15. Ask Yourself:
Who is at the table? Who is missing and why? How can I move the table to them?
Access for people with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) who can be my facilitators? What are the primary languages I will need to use to create reading/speaking access?
Remember that ASL is also a primary community language. How will people with hearing/sight impairments participate? How will people with mobility impairment get there? How would people with disabilities even know what is going on?
Use your technology: can I Skype this presentation and let people who are in different locations hear each other talk?
Think about each protected class and where R/ECAPS are and find a mode of communication; preferably one they already use
Examples:
Public housing resident councils
City scoop summer project (getting the maps/data into public hands
Participate in regional forum for planners about transportation access; but with the protected class lens
Tagging onto community celebrations and events
HUD want CE to include:
Share the data and mapping tool with the community
Get protected class members reactions to your data results
Vet your priorities for contributing factors and your work plan to address those contributing factors with the community
Stakeholders and expert analysis should be in balance as part of CE

16. Integrating AFH with other planning
Are you updating your housing & commercial use zoning code?
Is your transportation department issuing a new Pedestrian Master Plan?
Do you have local planning commissions with citizen members?
Do you have a regional growth management or planning council?
Have you talked with your City/County American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) coordinators?
Is your school district(s) updating it’s Strategic Plan?
Map out potential opportunities to integrate AFH community engagement within other efforts.

17. Intersection of Major City of Seattle Plans/Initiatives
Comprehensive Plan
Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda
Assessment of Fair Housing
Compliance with Fair Housing Act
Strategies to address unmet housing need (public, private, and non-profit)
Demographics and Job Proximity
Tenant Protections
Mitigating Impacts on marginalized populations
Fair Housing Enforcement, Land Use and Zoning Codes
Access for People with disAbilities
Be sure to note that .ppt will be available through NCDA
Be sure to note that all of these planning processes ALSO have major public participation efforts behind them. Integrate ahead of time; point out intersection of AFH and other plans afterwards
Be sure to note that Disability access is unique to AFH as well as LEP
Mention that this does not include:
Multiple RSJI initiatives
Equitable Development Implementation Plan (April 2016)
SHA Strategic Plan
Environmental Health and Equity
REET, TCs Housing Levy
Access and Equity for Limited English Populations
Risk of Displacement and Gentrification
Community Revitalization Strategies
Transit Access and equity in housing, employment, and livability across city

18. Contact Us Jennifer Yost, CDBG Administrator (206) 615-1717
Debra Rhinehart, Strategic Advisor
(206)
Link to our DRAFT 2017 AFH
information-for-grantees/community- development-block-grant---assessment- of-fair-housing