Community Development News (fwd)

General Interest Community Development News
Week of May 16 - May 30, 1995

This edition is limited to federal register announcements.


*** HOUSING COUNSELING AGENCIES
*** On May 24, HUD announced the availability of Fiscal Year (FY)
1995 funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) for HUD-approved housing counseling agencies to
provide housing counseling to homebuyers, homeowners, and renters.
HUD anticipates that a maximum of $ 9.5 million dollars will be
available through this Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). All
housing counseling agencies approved by HUD as of the publication
date of this NOFA may apply for FY 1995 funding. This includes: (1)
Multi-State, regional, or national intermediary organizations, and
(2) local housing counseling agencies that do not elect to affiliate
with a HUD-approved intermediary organization. For more info, read
60 FR 27538 or call Mr. Marion Connell at 202/708-0614.



*** GLASS CEILING MEETING
*** The purpose of the Commission is to, among other things, focus
greater attention on the importance of eliminating artificial
barriers to the advancement of minorities and women to management
and decisionmaking positions in business. The Commission has the
practical task of: (a) Conducting basic research into practices,
policies, and manner in which management and decisionmaking
positions in business are filled; (b) conducting comparative
research of businesses and industries in which minorities and women
are promoted or are not promoted; and (c) recommending measures to
enhance opportunities for and the elimination of artificial barriers
to the advancement of minorities and women to management and
decisionmaking positions.

Even if you can't attend the meeting, you can still find out what
happened by calling Rene A. Redwood at 202/219-7342.



*** RESEARCHING SCIENCE-BASED BUSINESSES
*** According to federal register announcemnet 60 FR 28026 (May 26),
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects to award project
grants for certain areas of research to science-based small business
firms through Phase I of its Small Business Innovation Research
(SBIR) Grants Program. This program will be administered by the
Office of Grants and Program Systems, Cooperative State Research,
Education, and Extension Service. Firms with strong scientific
research capabilities in the topic areas listed below are encouraged
to participate. Objectives of the three-phase program include
stimulating technological innovation in the private sector,
strengthening the role of small businesses in meeting Federal
research and development needs, increasing private sector
commercialization of innovations derived from USDA-supported
research and development efforts, and fostering and encouraging
participation of women-owned and socially and economically
disadvantaged small business concerns in technological innovation.

The total amount expected to be available for Phase I of the SBIR
Program in fiscal year 1996 is approximately $ 3,500,000. The
solicitation is being announced to allow adequate time for potential
recipients to prepare and submit applications by the closing date of
September 1, 1995. The research to be supported is in the following
topic areas:

1. Forests and Related Resources
2. Plant Production and Protection
3. Animal Production and Protection
4. Air, Water and Soils
5. Food Science and Nutrition
6. Rural and Community Development
7. Aquaculture
8. Industrial Applications
9. Marketing and Trade

For more information, read the federal register notice.



*** ANALYZING STATE AND NATIONAL POLICYIES AFFECTING THE POOR
*** The U.S. is experiencing profound social changes relating to the
economic security and functioning of families and the well-being of
children. The manner by which government reacts to or precipitates
these changes also is in flux. In order to inform the public and
policy makers about these social trends and their causes,
consequences, and cures, the Department of Health and Human Services
is soliciting applications for a cooperative agreement to a
university-based institution. ASPE expects to fund this Research
Center for a period of five years. The first year funding is at
least $ 1,500,000. We expect a total funding of approximately $ 7.5
to $ 8.0 million over the five year funding period. (See Part I,
Available Funds)

Cooperative Agreements are assistance mechanisms and subject to the
same administrative requirements as grants; however, they are
different from either a grant or a contract. Compared to a grant,
they allow more involvement and collaboration by the government in
the affairs of project, but provide less direction of project
activities than a contract. The Terms of Award are in addition to
not in lieu of otherwise applicable guidelines and procedures. The
closing date for submitting applications under this announcement is
September 14, 1995.

For more info, call 202/690-8794 and ask about federal register
notice 60 FR 26446 of May 17.



*** FINAL RULE: SENIOR COMMUNITY SERVICE
*** As authorized by title V of the Older Americans Act (OAA), the
Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) fosters and
promotes useful part-time opportunities in community service
activities for persons with low incomes who are fifty-five years old
or older. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the
Department of Labor (DOL or Department) administers the program by
means of grant agreements with eligible organizations, such as
governmental entities and certain public and private non-profit
agencies and organizations. On May 17, the DOL issued a final rule
regarding the Senior Community Service Employment Program. For more
information, call Charles Atkinson at 202/219/4778.



*** COMMUNITY SERVICE: FUNDS FOR ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS ONLY
The Urban Community Service Program program provides grants to
urban academic institutions to work with private and civic
organizations to devise and implement solutions to pressing and
severe problems in their urban communities. The program furthers the
National Education Goal of assuring that every American will be
literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to
compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and
responsibilities of citizenship, by affording students in urban
universities an opportunity to learn more about the problems in
their communities and participate in developing solutions to these
problems.

Only institutions that have been *previously* notified that they
have met the program's eligibility criteria and have been designated
as urban grant institutions by the Secretary are eligible to apply
for this year's competition. The deadline for submitting a
designation request to compete for fiscal 1995 grants was March 1,
1995; and eligible institutions were notified by letter dated April
12, 1995. The Secretary will not accept additional designation
requests until after this year's competition. To receive funding,
eligible institutions must send in their applications by June 30,
1995.

For future reference, organizations interested in the Urban
Community Service Program but not yet eligible to apply for funds
might want to read federal register annoucement 60 FR 26877, which
was issued May 19.



*** FINAL RULE: RURAL LOANS
*** The Rural Business and Cooperative Development Service (RBCDS)
is the successor to the Rural Development Administration (RDA),
which is the successor to the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA). In
federal register annoucement 60 FR 26350 (May 17), RBCDS amends the
Business and Industry Loan Servicing regulations to clarify the
procedure for categorizing and classifying loans according to
payment frequency criteria. The intended effect is to clarify
procedures for classifying and categorizing loan payment history.
For more information, call Kenneth Henning at 202/690-3809.



*** NOFA: SUPPORTIVE HSNG FOR ELDERLY
*** According to 60 FR 27612 (May 24), HUD announces that it is
funding supportive housing programs for the elderly. This document
describes the following: (a) The purpose of the NOFA, and
information regarding eligibility, submission requirements,
available amounts, and selection criteria; and (b) application
processing, including how to apply and how selections will be made.
For more information, read 60 FR 27612. Deadline, July 24, 1995.



*** YOUNG WORKERS' OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH/SAFETY
*** The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces
the availability of fiscal year (FY) 1995 funds for a cooperative
agreement program for enhancing young workers' occupational health
and safety through community education efforts. The Public Health
Service (PHS) is committed to achieving the health promotion and
disease prevention objectives of Healthy People 2000, a PHS-led
national activity to reduce morbidity and mortality and improve the
quality of life. This announcement is related to the priority area
of Occupational Health and Safety. (For ordering a copy of Healthy
People 2000, see the Section Where to Obtain Additional
Information.)

Applications may be submitted by public and private, non-profit and
for-profit organizations and governments and their agencies. Thus,
universities, colleges, research institutions, hospitals, other
public and private organizations, agencies whose principal interest
is the welfare of youth, State and local governments or their bona
fide agents, federally recognized Indian tribal governments, Indian
tribes or Indian tribal organizations and small, minority- and/or
women-owned businesses are eligible to apply.

Approximately $ 200,000 is available in FY 1995 to fund one to two
awards. It is expected that the award(s) will begin on or about
September 30, 1995, and that the award(s) will be made for a
12-month budget period within a project period up to 2 years.
Funding estimates may vary and are subject to change.

For more info, read 60 FR 26887, which was issued May 19.



*** NOFA: SUPPORTIVE HSNG FOR DISABLED
*** On May 24, HUD annouced the availability of funds for programs
for supportive housing for persons with disabilities. federal
register annoucement 60 FR 27600 describes the following: (a) The
purpose of the NOFA and information regarding eligibility,
submission requirements, available amounts, and selection criteria;
and (b) application processing, including how to apply and how
selections will be made. Deadline, July 24, 1995.


***** The General Interest Community Development News is put
***** together by the National Economic Development and Law
***** Center, which can be reached at HN0186 (HandsNet) or
***** HN0186@handsnet.org (Internet). Send e-mail to
***** Tony Daysog....(By the way, if you haven't already,
***** won't you join $LSPCOMDEV, the mass mailing list by
***** which delivery of this newsletter is EASILY facilitated?)

***** YES! I admit it: it's easier for me to send you federal
***** register annoucements than it is to send these announcements
***** AND summaries of interesting news articles -- especially
***** when my work load is pretty heavy at the Law Center. So,
***** if you will, please bear with my laziness -- for now. Thanx.
*****


Sent: May 30, 1995 1:44 pm PDT Item: R008tYP



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