NCIL - The National Council on Independent Living

NCIL Expresses Concern HUD Plan Continues the Institutional Bias

Secretary Alphonso Jackson
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street S.W., Washington, DC 20410

This letter is to provide feedback on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s draft of the 2006-2011 Strategic Plan, published on February 16, 2006 with a 30-day comment period.

The National Council on Independent Living ("NCIL") is the oldest cross-disability, national grassroots organization run by and for people with disabilities. NCIL's membershipis comprised of centers for independent living, statewide independent living councils, people with disabilities and other disability rights organizations. As a membership organization, NCIL advances independent living and the rights of people with disabilities through consumer-driven advocacy. NCIL envisions a world in which people with disabilities are valued equally and participate fully.

Given that many people with disabilities are very low-income and served by HUD’s programs, NCIL has a strong interest in the Strategic Plan to ensure that its priorities serve the needs of people with disabilities.

While reviewing the Strategic Plan, NCIL members realized that our concerns can be outlined in four broad areas;

NCIL is very supportive of HUD’s mission to “provide decency and sanitary housing for low and moderate income people in this country.” NCIL believes that people with disabilities deserve access to safe, affordable, accessible, integrated and decent housing, and looks to HUD to provide leadership in achieving that. Toward that end, NCIL believes that the HUD Strategic Plan should reflect those priorities. The following comments below are our some of our concerns regarding the plan.

I. Policies which have the effect of continuing the segregation of people with disabilities

NCIL is disappointed that HUD continues to support segregated housing for people with disabilities, such as the pledge to continue the Designated Housing Program. NCIL opposes the segregation of persons with disabilities, except in specific instances related to a disability accommodation, such as for some persons with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities/Electrical Sensitivities.
While NCIL disapproves of the past segregated history of Section 811 and Section 202, NCIL is encouraged by the relatively recent decision to allow those program funds to be layered with other funds for more integrated housing. NCIL encourages HUD to provide technical assistance and training to assist the development of integrated housing.
NCIL is pleased by HUD’s statement of support for Visitability, however, NCIL would like HUD to increase accessibility in units by mandating the use of Visitability and Universal Design principles in all HUD-funded units.
Certain HUD programs provide supportive services. NCIL is strongly opposed to forcing people to receive services as a condition of receiving housing assistance and urges HUD to ensure that receipt of these services be voluntary and portable.

II. Lack of enforcement regarding the Federal Fair Housing Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

NCIL is concerned that HUD apparently does not give Section 504 any priority in the Strategic Plan; the Fair Housing Act is repeatedly mentioned without including Section 504.
NCIL believes that much can be done to improve compliance with the Fair Housing Act and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. HUD is failing to ensure compliance with laws relating to accessibility inprograms such as CDBG, HOME, etc. This includes cases in which HUD funding is combined with other funding such as Tax Credits, USDA funds, etc.
HUD mentions a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service regarding the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, and expects to be praised because it covers compliance with federal accessibility standards. This MOU specifically excludes the LIHTC units from the Section 504requirements. NCIL would like a new MOU created which would strengthen the accessibility compliance requirements of LIHTC units.
In July 2005, HUD released a study outlining housing discrimination against people with disabilities. HUD has yet to take any further action on the study results, and there is no mention of any plans to do so. Given the high incidence of discrimination againstpersons with disabilities that was documented in the study, NCIL believes HUD should be taking additional action to both educate housing providers and enforce the rights of persons with disabilities.
The National Council on Disabilities released a report, “Reconstructing Fair Housing” that outlines some key recommendations. NCIL believes that HUD needs to strengthen current fair housing efforts by following those recommendations.
NCIL is also concerned about the focus on faith-based organizations in recent years. Some faith-based organizations historically have been not very receptive and accessible to people with disabilities, and they may be under the belief that they can continue to operate that way. NCIL urges HUD to evaluate the accessibility of faith-based organizations and their experience with persons with disabilities as a condition of awarding contracts. NCIL opposes any “waivers” of access requirements for these faith-based organizations.

There are thousands of people with disabilities trapped in nursing homes and other institutions because of a lack of community-based housing and services. NCIL believes that HUD should define these institutionalized residents as “homeless” and identify ways to develop access to community-based housing options for them.
NCIL and other disability advocates has successfully advocated for the passage of “Money Follows the Person” legislation on state and federal levels, which would require that Medicare/Medicaid funds “follow” the person as the person transitions into the community from institutional living. NCIL urges HUD to facilitate the implementation of “Money Follows the Person” by assisting with accessible and affordable housing targeted toward that population. An example is Project Access, a pilot project which assists non-elderly disabled persons in moving out of nursing homes into the community. NCIL urges that this should be quickly expanded nation-wide, and include funding for accessibility modifications.
HUD is annoyingly vague about efforts to improve housing for people with disabilities. Disability advocates have spent decades attempting to discusspolicy changes with HUD with little results. NCIL believes that HUD must change its culture to be more receptive to the concerns and suggestions of disability advocates. Disability advocates should be included in discussions on how to evaluate data collection, evaluation, and the creation of regulations for various programs. Past history shows that HUD has consistently excluded people with disabilities from those discussions, even though it has met with other industrygroups.
HUD discusses minority homeownership rates in this Strategic Plan, yet there is no mention of the homeownership rate for people with disabilities. Given the exceptionally low numbers of persons with disabilities who are homeowners (estimated as low as 3-5% for persons with disabilities receiving Social Security Income), NCIL believes HUD should be identifying how it will address this issue

Because of the funding issues with the Housing Choice Voucher program-issues that HUD created-NCIL is opposed to shifting the Mainstream Vouchers into the Housing Choice Voucher program.
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity/Electrical Sensitivity (MCS/ES) is a growing issue for many Americans, and with the recent Katrina disaster, NCIL anticipates a growing population of residents with MCS in the Gulf Coast region. HUD must be aware of the unique challenges facing people with MCS/ES, and devote resources to meet that challenge.
NCIL is concerned by HUD’s emphasis on the State and Local Housing Flexibility Act, including incorporating portions of it into the Strategic Plan. HUDalsomakes a point to mention it as a legislative goal in the Strategic Plan, yet does not bother to discuss other legislative initiatives, such as the need for additional funds, or even HR 1441, the Inclusive Home Design Act. Many parts of the State and Local Housing Flexibility Act worries NCIL, and we are dismayed by HUD’s decision to include it in the Strategic Plan.

To summarize, while NCIL has been encouraged by some HUD initiatives, NCIL believes that HUD must be more proactive about including disability advocates in the decision-making process at all levels, from CDBG programs in local communities to policy issues at HUD headquarters.

The comments outlined in this letter are not exhaustive; there are many more concerns we would like to cover. Toward that end, NCIL is requesting a meeting with HUD to discuss these issues. Specifically, we would like:

NCIL looks forward to hearing from a representative of HUD regarding this letter. Thank you for the opportunity to provide our comments.