Overview of CDGB Disaster Recovery, as presented by Leslie Bean of CDM Smith at the 2015 Hurricane Conference.

1. Overview of CDBG Disaster
Recovery
March 31, 2015; 8:30 a.m. – Noon
Vince Lintz, Program
Manager
Leslie Bean, Housing
Manager

2. Agenda
• Introduction – Poll Audience
• Difference in Regular CDBG and CDBG-DR
• Eligible Activities
• Waivers
• Unmet Needs Assessment
• Action Plan
• Public Participation
• Program Implementation
• Best Practices
• Lessons Learned
• Document Guide

3. Difference in Regular CDBG and CDBG-DR
• The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is
a flexible program that provides communities with resources
to address a wide range of unique community development
needs. Beginning in 1974, the CDBG program is one of the
longest continuously run programs at HUD. The CDBG
program provides annual grants on a formula basis to general
units of local government and States.
• CDBG –DR is appropriated by Congress as a special CDBG
appropriation in response to a particular disaster. The funds
are to help cities, counties and State recover form
Presidentially –declared disasters. The funding may be
awarded months or even up to a year after the disaster. This
program allows even more flexibility.

4. Difference in Regular CDBG and CDBG-DR
• Regular entitlement and state non-entitlement CDBG
programs are managed by the funded entities respective
HUD CPD Field Office .
• Any HUD CDBG –DR disaster awarded project over $ 500
million has direct oversight by HUD headquarters. Those less
than $500 million are also managed by their HUD CPD Field
Office.

5. Difference in Regular CDBG and CDBG-DR
• HUD’s CDBG was authorized under Title I of the Housing and
Community Development Act (HCDA) of 1974 as amended . It
was the consolidation of eight different programs under
communities competed nationally for funds.
• The Development of viable communities providing decent
Housing ,suitable living environment and expanded economic
opportunities.

6. Eligible Activities
• Each funded CDBG activity except for program administration
and planning must meet one of the following National
Objectives :
– Benefit low and moderate income (LMI) persons
– Aid in the prevention of or elimination of slums or blight
– Meet urgent need

7. Eligible Activities
• CDBG –DR funding is used for recovery efforts involving
economic development , housing , Infrastructure and
prevention of any further damage to affected areas . An
important thing to remember is the duplication of benefits
from other funding source such as Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), Small Business Administration
(SBA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers to name a few. The
cumulative amount of assistance cannot exceed the total
need . This duplication can happen when assistance is
received from multiple funding sources.

8. Eligible Activities
• National Objectives for CDBG-DR
Just like the regular CDBG program any funded activity must
meet one of the 3 program National Objectives :
Benefit ( LMI) persons of low and moderate income
Aid in the prevention of slum or blight
meet an urgent community development need

9. Eligible Activities
• Action Plans and Citizen Participation
• All eligible governments must develop and submit an Action
Plan for Disaster Recovery before they can receive CDBG –DR
funding. The Action Plan will describe all the needs,
strategies, and projected uses of the Disaster Recovery funds.
• Disaster Recovery waivers may include a streamline citizen
participation process relative to the Action Plans there fore
removing the se plans from the grantee’s regular Consolidated
Plan assessments.

10. Waivers
• Under the CDBG-DR appropriation laws, the secretary may
waive, or specify alternative requirements for, any provision
of any statute or regulation that he secretary administers ( as
long as the waiver would not be inconsistent with the overall
purpose of Title I of the Housing and Community
development Act of 1974)
• Past waivers can be obtained by going to
• www.onecpd.info/cdbg-dr
• Peer CDBG –DR grantees or their websites
• Contacting your CPD representative

11. Waivers
• Other Federal Requirement waivers under CDBG-DR
• Valuation:
• Payment for pre-flood values for buyouts in floodplain may be
based on either pre-flood or post flood values.
• In using CDBG-DR funds the grantee must uniformly apply
whichever method they choose.
• One for One replacement waiver:
• One for one replacement of low and moderate income units is
waived . Units damaged by the disaster and you are using
CDBG-DR funds to demolish because the units are not suitable
for rehabilitation.

12. Waivers
Relocation Assistance Waiver
• Section 104(d) relocation assistance requirements are waived
to the extent they differ from the URA and its regulations at
49 CFR 24 following waivers to buyouts and other activities
assisted by the funds covered FR-5250-N-01 and included in
an approved Action Plan.

13. Unmet Needs Assessment
(Submit before action plan or before)
• Write the assessment after receive FEMA assistance
• Use data from FEMA Assessments
• Prioritize Remaining Need
• Area Wide vs. individual benefit

14. Unmet Need Assessment
• After every disaster a CDBG Disaster grantee must:
– 1. Determine what the overall effects of the disaster
– 2. Prioritize and develop a plan to respond to most critical needs
not being addressed with other sources
– 3. Implement the plan completing activities in an efficient and
timely manner

15. Unmet Needs Assessment
• At a minimum you should asses the three main cores of
recovery:
• Housing
• Infrastructure
• Economy
• By doing this will determine how you best allocate the CDBG-
DR funding

16. Unmet Need Assessment
• Periodic Data Updates
• It is important to note that following a disaster, data is in a
constant state of improvement, moving from estimated to
actual. Shortly following a disaster, data is very preliminary,
involving greater degrees of estimation. As conditions become
more accurately accounted for at a detailed level, damage
estimates become increasingly more accurate. Grantees will
need to collect data periodically and evaluate any changes to
confirm that their initial assumptions remain relevant.
However, it is understood that jurisdictions must make
decisions at various points throughout the recovery process,
using the best data available at

17. Unmet Needs Assessment
• Post-Disaster Continuum
• There are typically three overlapping stages to post-disaster
efforts: immediate response, short-term recovery and long-
term recovery. Response efforts include the initial efforts
accurately focused on the health and safety of individuals and
the environment in the days and weeks following an incident.
Short-term recovery begins to move a community from crisis
to transitional support by repairing infrastructure or providing
transitional housing. Long-term recovery refers to the efforts
undertaken to re-establish a health, functioning community
that will sustain itself over time.

18. Action Plan
• Determine which activities best address your unmet needs
• Planning/Administration
• Citizen Participation
• Hard Copy Plan vs. DRGR Plan
• Distributing Funds
• Performance/Expenditure Schedule

19. Program Implementation
• Developing policies and procedures
• Staffing
• Documentation
• MIS
• MOU with applicable resources
• Communication with supporting agencies and politicians
• Quality Control
• Reporting

20. Best Practices/Lessons Learned
(i.e. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly)
• Develop program policies and procedures before starting
program and accepting applications
• Conduct a test pilot of files
• Promote program through various avenues
• Train staff on a continuous basis
• Staffing
• Develop a robust tracking system

21. Best Practices/Lessons Learned
(i.e. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly)
• Do not start program before receiving a “blessing” from
interested parties.
• Do not assume that any person can be a grant manager
and/or case manager
• Do not be afraid of change and admitting when you are wrong
• Take the time to implement the program you designed. Do
not assume you will fix it in the end.

22. Document Guide
(Index)
• http://www.hud.gov/ofices/cpd/communitydevelopment/pro
grams/drsi/index.cfm
• Federal Register Notices

23. Questions
• Leslie Bean; beanlj@cdmsmith.com
• Vince Lintz; lintzvc@cdmsmith.com