January 2008

In This Issue

• Fiscal Year 2008 Federal Budget
• Funding for Advising Home Owners Facing Foreclosures
• Federal Funding Opportunities
• Funding Tip

Fiscal Year 2008 Federal Budget

In the final days of December, Congress passed a $474 billion omnibus appropriations bill, H.R.2764, for FY 2008. Coupled with the $459.3 billion for Defense spending (PL 110-116), the only one of 12 appropriations bills passed by the Congress and signed by the president, the omnibus adheres to the $933 billion budget request of the president, who signed the bill on December 26, 2007.

The funding levels for programs of interest to civil legal services providers are:

• Department of Housing and Urban Development
  
  
  • Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program: $3,593,430,000
    $117 million below the FY 2007 level of $3,710,916,000, but a rejection of the much deeper cut of $1.1 billion proposed by the president.
    
  • Homeless Assistance Grants: $1,585,990,000
    a $145 million increase over the FY 2007 level of $1,441,600,000.
    
  • Fair Housing: $24,000,000
    a $4 million increase over the FY 2007 level of $20,000,000.
    
  • Housing Counseling: $50,000,000
    an $8 million increase over the FY 2007 level of $42,000,000.
    Read more about the $180 million appropriation for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation below.
    
  
  
• Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women
  
  
  • STOP: $183,800,000
    a decrease of $3 million from the FY 2007 level of $187 million.
    
  • Legal Assistance for Victims: $36,660,000
    down by $2,560,000 from the FY 2007 appropriation of $39,220,000.
  • Rural Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Enforcement Assistance: $40,420,000
    an increase $1,520,000 of from the FY 2007 level of $38,900,000.
    
  
  
• Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime
  

  The cap on spending from the Crime Victims Fund for FY 2008 is only $590 million, $35 million less than the $625 million cap in FY 2007. Because the money for the Crime Victims Fund program doesn't come from taxpayer dollars (its revenue comes from fines, forfeitures and fees levied against federal criminal offenders), reducing the cap doesn't generate actual savings.

  The cut has sparked a scramble among some victims-rights groups to get the funds reinstated, although most concede that little can be done until the FY 2009 budget is completed. Until then, the losers from this move will likely be victim-support programs, especially those at the local level.

  Even before the current cap reduction, money for state grants had been dropping, from $395.9 million in FY 2006 to $370.6 million in FY 2007. With the lowering of the cap and increased costs in other programs, state grants will drop to $328.5 million for FY 2008.

• IRS Low-income Taxpayer Clinics
  $9,000,000, an increase from the FY 2007 level of $8,000,000.
  

Funding for Advising Home Owners Facing Foreclosures

In an effort to assist borrowers facing potential home foreclosures as the sub prime mortgage crisis deepens, Congress provided a one-time appropriation of $180,000,000 in the omnibus appropriations bill for FY 2008 to the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (NRC) for mortgage foreclosures mitigation assistance for owner-occupied homes.

NRC is a Congressionally-chartered nonprofit corporation that has been providing housing counseling since 1978. The legislation charges NRC with managing a competition for grants to housing counseling organizations "with demonstrated experience in this field."

The conference report accompanying the appropriation directs NRC to award at least $50,000,000 within 60 days of the bill's enactment (December 26, 2007). Up to $80,000,000 more could be allocated during this first round of competition.

Clearly, a large amount of funding will be allocated very quickly during the coming months to provide housing counseling assistance aimed at mitigating potential foreclosure situations. The funds are targeted to states and metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) facing high rates of defaults and foreclosures through NRC's National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) Program.

NFMC funding requires a 20 percent match from recipients for the first $500,000 awarded and a 10 percent match for sums exceeding that level. This matching requirement can be waived in areas facing particularly high default rates and severe economic problems.

Funds from the NFMC can be used primarily for verification of income and eligibility and negotiating workout plans with lenders. These funds could provide a useful supplement to organizations providing these services along with representation in cases where predatory lending or other abusive practices might provide remedies for the borrower.

There are several potential ways in which legal aid programs might participate in the NFMC. There are only three eligible categories of recipients under the legislation:

1. HUD-approved housing counseling intermediaries;
2. NRC-approved housing counseling intermediaries; and
3. state housing finance agencies.

The best possible means through which legal aid programs might become involved is through working with the one eligible legal aid provider intermediary in the country - West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS), headquartered in Jackson, Tennessee. WTLS Executive Director Steve Xanthopoulos and Housing Project Director Carol Gish attended the early January meeting of eligible grantees at NRC and are prepared to submit a proposal by the February 8 deadline that includes a number of sub-grantee legal aid programs that serve targeted areas. The fact that the legal aid community is widespread, serving the entire country, in both urban and rural areas, provides an opportunity to submit a particularly attractive proposal for funding.

Sub-grantees of intermediaries are not required to be HUD-approved housing counseling agencies. However, the intermediary that awards sub-grants to counseling agencies that are not HUD-approved must assure that the sub-grantees meet or exceed the standards required for HUD approval.

If you are interested in learning more about the program, contact Don Saunders at NLADA. If you think your program might be interested in participating as a sub-grantee, you should contact Steve Xanthopoulos immediately.

Federal Funding Opportunities

• FY 2008 Rural Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking and Child Abuse Enforcement Assistance Program
  http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/docs/fy2008-ruralsolicitation.pdf
  Deadline: January 31, 2008 for required online registration at Grants.gov;
  February 26, 2008 application deadline
  

  The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) has announced that it is seeking applications for the Rural Domestic Violence Program.

  The primary purpose of the Rural Program is to enhance the safety of victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking and child victimization by supporting projects uniquely designed to address and prevent these crimes in rural jurisdictions. The Rural Program recognizes that victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking and child abuse living in rural jurisdictions face unique barriers to receiving assistance and additional challenges rarely encountered in urban areas. The geographic isolation, economic structure, particularly strong social and cultural pressures and lack of available services in rural jurisdictions significantly compound the problems confronted by those seeking support and services to end the violence in their lives and complicate the ability of the criminal justice system to investigate and prosecute domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking and child victimization cases.

  Eligible entities for this program are states, Indian tribes, local governments and nonprofit, public or private entities, including tribal nonprofit organizations, to carry out programs serving rural areas or rural communities. Applicants not located in rural states, or not serving rural areas in non-rural states, will not be considered for funding. The following states are designated as "rural" based on the 2000 census: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont and Wyoming. By statute, at least 75 percent of the total amount of funding made available for this program shall be allocated to eligible entities in these rural states.

  In addition, by statute, no less than 25 percent of FY 2008 funds for the Rural Program will be set aside for activities that meaningfully address the needs of victims of sexual assault.

  All applicants who intend to apply for FY 2008 funding under this program are encouraged to submit a non-binding letter of intent to OVW by February 4, 2008.

• FY 2008 Legal Assistance for Victims Grant Program
  http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/docs/fy2008-lav-solicitation.pdf
  Deadline: February 20, 2008 for required online registration at Grants.gov;
  March 5, 2008 application deadline
  
  

  The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) has announced that it is seeking applications for the Legal Assistance for Victims (LAV) Grant Program. The LAV Grant Program is intended to increase the availability of civil and criminal legal assistance necessary to provide effective aid to adult and youth victims of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault who are seeking relief in legal matters arising as a consequence of that abuse or violence.

  The LAV Grant Program awards grants to law school legal clinics, domestic violence victims’ shelters, bar associations, sexual assault programs, private nonprofit entities, Indian tribal governments and tribal organizations, territorial organizations, legal aid or statewide legal services, and faith- and/or community-based legal service providers. Grant funds may be used to provide direct legal services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in matters arising from the abuse or violence and to provide enhanced training for lawyers representing these victims.

  The objective of the LAV Grant Program is to develop innovative, collaborative projects that provide quality representation to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

  In FY 2008, OVW will give priority to applications which propose to provide victims with "holistic" legal representation. Holistic representation goes beyond a victim’s need for a protection order and includes representation in other legal proceedings directly related to a client’s experience of violence which are likely to increase the victim’s safety and security, such as: child support, child custody, legal separation or divorce, unemployment compensation and/or housing. Applicants who effectively demonstrate that they will provide holistic legal representation may be eligible for as much as 10 bonus points.

  Continuation applicants should analyze their most recent progress reports and identify the degree to which those progress reports demonstrate that holistic legal services were provided. OVW will also analyze grantee progress reports as part of its internal review. If progress reports indicate that services were largely limited to protection order assistance, the applicant should explain how continued funding would be used to facilitate the provision of more holistic representation.

  OVW is also particularly interested in funding projects that respond to the unmet legal needs of victims of sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence and dating violence within six special interest categories outlined on their website. Applicants are not required to address these special interest categories. In addition, OVW encourages all applicants to develop programs to reach diverse and traditionally underserved populations, including racial, cultural, or ethnic minorities; persons with disabilities; language minorities; or victims of sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence and dating violence in rural or inner-city areas.

  All applicants who intend to apply for FY 2008 funding under this program are encouraged to submit a non-binding letter of intent to OVW by February 20, 2008.

• Special Improvement Projects
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/HHS-2008-ACF-OCSE-FI-0005.html
  Deadline: March 4, 2008
  

  The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) in the Department of Health and Human Services has put out a solicitation for special improvement projects which further the national child support mission of ensuring that all children receive financial and medical support from their parents and which strengthen the ability of the nation's child support programs to collect support on behalf of children and families. Faith-based and community organizations are eligible to apply and OCSE invites applications for partnerships with entities such as courts and/or tribunals, which have the ability to address the needs of harder-to-serve populations, such as low-income non-custodial parents and culturally diverse populations.

  For FY 2008, approximately $800,000 is available for all priority areas. A non-Federal match is not required. Given that the purpose of these projects is to improve Child Support Enforcement (CSE) programs, it is critical that applicants who are not Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (IV-D) agencies have the cooperation of IV-D agencies to operate these projects. Preference will be given to applicants representing CSE agencies and applicant organizations that have letters of commitment or cooperative agreements with CSE agencies.

• Assets for Independence Demonstration Program
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/HHS-2008-ACF-OCS-EI-0053.html
  Deadline: March 25, 2008
  

  The Office of Community Services (OCS), in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the Department of Health and Human Services, is accepting applications for grants to establish and administer Assets for Independence (AFI) projects. Grantees provide an array of supports and services to enable individuals and families with low incomes to become economically self-sufficient for the long-term. A primary feature of each AFI project is that project participants are given access to special matched savings accounts called Individual Development Accounts (IDA), in which participants save earned income for the purchase of a home, for business capitalization, or to attend higher education or training. Grantees also ensure that participants have access to financial literacy education and coaching including training on money management and consumer issues.

  There is $19 million allocated for this program, and OCS anticipates making 55 to 65 awards. Project and budget periods are for five years, and applicants should submit a budget for the full five-year project period.

  As a condition of their AFI grant, grantees must provide non-Federal funds to support their project in an amount at least equal to the Federal AFI grant amount. The difficulty of finding non-Federal funding for the matching requirement has limited the competition for these grants in the past. Applicants should keep in mind that the match isn't required until at the end of the grant cycle, and grantees have generally been able to attract private funding for the match, once the federal portion is approved.

  This is a standing announcement. Application due dates will be January 15 and March 25 in 2008, 2009 and 2010. This announcement supersedes the standing announcement published in the Federal Register on February 2, 2005.

Funding Tip

TechSoup Stock Refurbished Computer Initiative

TechSoup Stock (TSS) is an online product donation service that connects nonprofits with technology product donations from more than 20 leading hardware and software providers. All products are available either for donation, or for prices that are deeply discounted just for nonprofits.

TSS serves 501(c)(3) nonprofits, public libraries and Canadian nonprofits and charitable organizations. TechSoup Stock charges an administrative fee for each product, which typically compares to four to 20 percent of the product's published retail value.

This fee covers handling, ground shipping and customer support. TechSoup Stock offers only high-quality computers formerly used by large corporations. These are machines that typically are phased out after two to three years of use and are in very good condition. Since January 2002, TSS has distributed more than 866,000 technology products worth over $245 million.