2022 Annual Action Plan Draft Available for Review
A virtual public hearing to obtain citizen comments on the draft 2022 Annual Action Plan was held Thursday, April 14th, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
A recording is available here: https://bit.ly/37kDIWv Passcode: uL54G..tDuring this meeting, state agencies invited public comments regarding the allocation of approximately $36 million in funds for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), and the National Housing Trust Fund (HTF) programs for the 2022 program year beginning July 1.
A draft of the proposed 2022 Annual Action Plan may be viewed here. (Attached)
The comment period will extend for 30 days beginning April 3, 2022, and ending at 4:30 p.m., May 3, 2022. If you were unable to attend the meeting, written comments may be addressed to: Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Attn: Grants Division, 1 Commerce Way, Ste. 601, Little Rock, AR 72202, or by email to Jean Noble, Plan Coordinator, at JNoble@ArkansasEDC.com. The deadline to submit comments at the above address is 4:30 p.m. on May 5, 2022.
Persons needing interpreters or other accommodations are requested to telephone the Arkansas Economic Development Commission at 501-682-7682 so arrangements may be made in advance.
Contingency Provision: All proposed activities' budgets will be proportionally increased or decreased from the estimated funding levels to match allocation amounts.
What is CDBG?
Congress created the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program in 1974 to benefit low- and moderate-income persons, prevent and eliminate conditions of slum or blight, and address other urgent community development needs. AEDC has administered the State CDBG program since 1983, when Housing and Urban Development (HUD) moved the administration of the funds to the states. In Arkansas, the CDBG program is also known as the Arkansas Community and Economic Development Program (ACEDP).
Who is eligible?
Eligible applicants include cities and counties with a population of under 50,000 with a low- to moderate-income (LMI) population of at least 51 percent, or for projects which benefit a targeted eligible clientele. Larger entitlement cities receive their own funding and are not eligible for funds from this program. They include Conway, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Hot Springs, Jacksonville, Jonesboro, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Rogers, Springdale, Texarkana, and West Memphis.
Only cities and counties may apply for CDBG grants. Grants cannot be made directly to non-profit or for-profit groups or individuals. However, cities and counties may apply for projects that will benefit non-profit groups, for-profit companies, or LMI persons.
How are the funds distributed?
Each year, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) holds public meetings and hearings across the state to obtain citizen input on community needs. Based on that input, the agency prepares a plan to prioritize and distribute the grant funds that are part of its federal CDBG allocation. A draft of the plan is published and made available for public comment.
Arkansas Community & Economic Development Grant Program (ACEDP)
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
State’s Program for Small Cities
July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022
2021 Allocation: $18,858,821
Guidelines and Application
Complete information regarding each program’s application and selection criteria will be made available online. Application guidelines will provide specific details on the application questions, deadlines for completing applications, threshold requirements, and any other necessary items. Application workshops will be held throughout the program year.
1. Guidelines
2021-2022 ACEDP Application Guidelines
2. Application
General Assistance
The General Assistance set-aside is designed to provide cities and counties with the opportunity to apply for grant assistance for a variety of public infrastructure and public facility projects. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission is currently accepting proposals for grant funding under the General Assistance set-aside of the Arkansas Community and Economic Development Program.
Only non-entitlement cities and counties are eligible to apply. All projects must address a national objective for the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG): benefit to persons of low to moderate-income, elimination of conditions of slum and blight, or assistance in addressing an urgent community need.
Grants will be for an amount between $75,000 and $1,000,000. Priority will be given to projects which meet a well-documented need that are ready to proceed, to communities with lower average incomes, and to projects that address priorities cited in the state's Consolidated Plan. Proposals must be submitted no later than 4:30 p.m. on March 31, 2021. Grant awards will be made before July 1, 2021.
Since grants may only be made to cities or counties, interested parties should contact their Mayor or County Judge about sponsoring an application. All funded grants will be required to employ a professional administrator. Administrative fees will be paid from the grant. It is strongly recommended that applicants seek assistance in completing the application from the Planning & Development District that serves their area, or from a private or non-profit professional administrator who has received training from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
Download:
2021-2022 General Assistance Application
2021-2022 Water Wastewater Application
Part I: General Information/Cover Page
2021-2022 Economic Development Application (for local governments)
CDBG-CV (CARES Act Funding):
The CARES Act, enacted March 27, 2020, appropriated $5 billion in CDBG-CV funds to allocated to about 1,250 States, local governments, and insular areas. HUD anticipates that grantees will fund tens of thousands of activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus with this funding. To address these challenges, CDBG-CV and CDBG grants are a flexible source of funding that can be used to pay costs that are not covered by other sources of assistance, particularly to benefit persons of low and moderate-income.
The State of Arkansas anticipates receiving $26,387,954 in “Rounds 1, 2 and 3” grant funds from HUD to be amended into the 2019 Annual Plan.
Method of Distribution
| Non-Entitlement Local Government Set-Aside: Public Services and Public Facilities, CDBG-CV1 | 46% | $12,218,424 |
| Food Assistance | 18% | $4,680,000 |
| Rental Assistance | 22% | $5,760,000 |
| Economic Development-Microenterprise, CDBG-CV1 | 9% | $2,410,133 |
| State Administration | 5% | $1,319,397 |
| Total CBDG-CV Allocation | $26,387,954 |
HUD provides the State with “maximum feasible deference” to create additional policies, be more restrictive than HUD in policies and interpretation of regulations, and to determine how funds will be distributed. Additionally, the State may choose not to fund certain types of projects although they are eligible. Of the total funds received, 70% must be spent on activities that benefit low- to moderate-income persons. For this grant program, HUD has removed the 15% public services cap.
CDBG-CV1: Public Services and Public Facilities
An amount equal to the CDBG-CV1 Allocation ($10,818,424) along with a dedicated homeless shelter set-aside of $1,400,000 of will be made available to and set-aside for non-entitlement units of general local government through a competitive application process, using the application below, for a variety of public services and public facility activities determined by those non-entitlement governments to be unmet needs, which directly prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Usage of this allocation of funds include availability of funding to units of local government (UGLGs) for public services (e.g., meals on wheels programs, employment training, assistance to food banks, health services, etc.), and public facilities, and direct assistance to microbusinesses.
CDBG-CV: Food Assistance
CDBG-CV funds in the amount of $4.68 million will be made available through a partnership and Subaward Agreement with the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance (“the Alliance”), the only statewide anti-hunger organization in our state. The Alliance works with the six Feeding America food banks, hundreds of food pantries, school districts, senior centers, out of school programs, companies, and elected officials. The Alliance works in multiple ways: securing food for food banks, serving as lead partner for the No Kid Hungry campaign, assisting with SNAP outreach, teaching low-income families how to shop and cook healthy on a budget, and advocating for food policies to help those they serve.
Given the extraordinary need due to the coronavirus pandemic, and based on what the Alliance is seeing with the distribution of CARES Act and other funds, and the amount of time over which these funds will be distributed, the Alliance suggests the following as the method of distribution of CDBG-CV funds, which will be more specifically detailed in the Subaward Agreement:
| State Food Purchasing Program | 34% | $1,600,000 |
| Agency and Food Bank Grants | 17% | $811,300 |
| Arkansas Beef Project | 31% | $1,460,000 |
| Out of School Programs | 13% | $600,000 |
| Administration | 5% | $208,700 |
| Total Food Assistance Set-Aside | $4,680,000 |
CDBG-CV: Rental Assistance
CDBG-CV funds in the amount of $5.76 million will be made available in partnership with the Arkansas Community Action Agencies Association (ACAAA), to provide the payment of actual rent (up to FMRV) for up to 2.5 months. This set-aside is designed to support the provision of short-term rental assistance to individuals and families statewide who are experiencing housing instability, as well as landlords who are experiencing loss of revenues due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary halt by the CDC on residential evictions to help prevent further spread of the virus. The Arkansas Fresh Start COVID-19 Housing Stabilization Program will be implemented by the statewide network of Arkansas Community Action Agencies, with program and communications support, and training and technical assistance to be provided by the Arkansas Community Action Agencies Association.
The State has also provided $4.24 million in Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) funding to the program, bringing the total expected program funding up to $10 million.
The application provided below is for all CDBG-CV1 “Round 1” competitive applications. Any eligible applicant must follow the instructions and information within this Application Package in order to apply for CDBG-CV1 resources.
Download:
Duplication of Benefits Worksheet
3. Low- to Moderate-Income (LMI) Limits Data
Administrative Procedures Manual
The ACEDP manual is intended as a reference manual for professional administrators and others who administer ACEDP grants. Included in the manual are the forms and reports that are required for documentation of compliance with federal and state laws and ACEDP policies. The manual was written primarily as a reference tool and not as a training document.
Please visit our page on the Administrative Procedures Manual to read and download the documents.
Consolidated Plan, Annual Action Plans & Performance Reports
The State of Arkansas receives federal funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for four statutory formula programs. The goals of the programs are to provide decent housing, provide a suitable living environment and to expand economic opportunities.
The plan determines the priorities for addressing those needs and defines the strategy for using available resources. The Consolidated Plan serves as a single document for meeting the planning and submission requirements for the state to receive HUD funds.
2020 Consolidated Annual Performance & Evaluation Report (CAPER and PER)
2020-2024 Consolidated Plan and 2020 Action Plan
Public Hearing Presentation, June 10, 2020
Substantial Amendment to the 2019 Annual Action Plan (updated for CDBG-CV CARES Act funds)
CDBG Disaster Recovery Funds
The State of Arkansas has been awarded supplemental CDBG funds from two different appropriations to address the effects of five presidentially-declared disasters in 2008. The first round of funding for $25,042,358 closed in September of 2009. Pre-applications under this first round were submitted by eligible cities and counties through the eight Planning and Development Districts in the state.
The second round of funding for $70,181,041 was released in the spring of 2010. This round covers 71 of Arkansas's 75 counties.
For more information, including Action Plans and Performance Reports, please see our CDBG-DR page.
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
In 1995, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that entitlement communities - communities receiving direct federal funding from Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnership and Emergency Shelter Grant programs - must conduct a study of existing barriers to housing choice. This required study is referred to as the Analysis of Impediments (AI) and is part of entitlement communities' consolidated planning process.
The purpose of the AI is to examine how state and local laws, private, public and non-profit sector regulations, administrative policies, procedures and practices are impacting the location, availability and accessibility of housing in a given area. The AI is not a Fair Housing Plan - rather, it is an analysis of the current state of fair housing choice in Arkansas and identifies specific barriers that need to be addressed if future fair housing initiatives are to be successful.
Citizen Participation Plan
SAM.GOV
SAM.GOV (System of Awards Managements) is where users register to do business with the federal government, find exclusion records, and perform other tasks. The system provides a modern portal for entities to register, update, renew, and check the status of their registration in the rebranded SAM.gov. Federal and non-federal users will be able to search for registrations and exclusions. The site also houses the Department of Labor Wage Determinations, and the Assistance Listings to find federal programs and their corresponding CFDA numbers.
Community Development
