A new report from the Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC), Is the HOME Program Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing?, has found that HOME rental units are “disproportionately segregated by race and poverty” compared to rental housing overall, due to the statutory formula that allocates funds based on poverty rates and the requirement that funds be spent in the grantee’s jurisdiction. It recommends statutory changes to allow spending in a larger region through consortia. Much of the report focuses on three metro areas because of data limitations made detailed national analysis difficult. The authors recommend that HUD improve its reporting requirements and ensure the proposed Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (AFFH) rule that would make new fair housing analyses part of the Con Plan process is adopted and enforced.
