Preparing for An Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH)

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?

4. The BASICS • Get to the HUD AFH website asap: https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/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

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

7. COLLABORATION PROS & CONS PROS CHALLENGES 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 • 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

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?

9. Protected Classes Federal • Race • Color • National origin, • Religion • Sex (gender) • Familial status • Disability Seattle • Age ** • Ancestry • Breastfeeding in a publicplace • Color • Creed • Disability • Gender identity • Marital status • National Origin • Parental status * • Political ideology • Race • Religion • Sex • Sexual orientation • Use of a Section 8 certificate * • Use of a service animal • Military status or Veteran * - Not applicable to Employment or Fair Contracting cases** - Not applicable to Public Accommodations cases

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

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 Jennifer.Yost@seattle.gov Debra Rhinehart, Strategic Advisor (206) 684-0574 Debra.Rhinehart@seattle.gov Link to our DRAFT 2017 AFH http://www.seattle.gov/humanservices/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

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

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?

17. Intersection of Major City of Seattle Plans/Initiatives Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda Assessment of Fair Housing Comprehensive Plan Compliance with Fair Housing Act Strategies to address unmet housing need (public, private, and non-profit) Tenant Protections Demographics and Job Proximity Mitigating Impacts on marginalized populations Fair Housing Enforcement, Land Use and Zoning Codes Access for People with disAbilities REET, TCs Housing Levy Environmental Health and Equity 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 Jennifer.Yost@seattle.gov Debra Rhinehart, Strategic Advisor (206) 684-0574 Debra.Rhinehart@seattle.gov Link to our DRAFT 2017 AFH http://www.seattle.gov/humanservices/information-for-grantees/community-development-block-grant---assessment-of-fair-housing