The Community Planning and Development agency within the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development administers the grant programs that help communities plan and finance their growth and development, increase their capacity to govern, and provide shelter and services for homeless people. HUD is a national program, and HUD provides funding directly to larger cities and counties, and for smaller cities and counties, generally to state government. HUD's programs include the Community Development Block Grant Program and the HOME program. One of the office’s main functions is dispersing the Community Development Block Grant as it does not directly provide full-fledged services, but instead aims to build partnerships with the public sector with the private sector, regardless if they are non-profit or not. Other grant focuses are on Indian Tribes, self-help for those who wish to own their homes, people who live in rural areas, and youth.
Structure
The agency has an Assistant Secretary who works in tandem with The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs. Within the agency is the Office of Economic Development, Office for Special Needs, and Office of Operations. The Office of Economic Development which creates Promise Zones that are meant to revamp impoverished areas by attracting private investment and increasing affordable housing. The Office for Special Needs, works to administer the homeless assistance programs HUD runs The Office of Field Support and Operations is meant to support Multifamily Headquarters, Regional Offices and their stakeholders. The current Acting Assistant Secretary is John Gibbs.
Controversies
Housing of Urban Development has been characterized as corrupt, due to the distributing of money to city bosses, and the Office of Community Planning and Development has not been without its controversies. The office has been critiqued for providing more of their grant funding to the districts of the elected officials who oversee HUD’s programs And in 1994 the office purchased software meant to view communities and their unemployment rates and income, which has been seen as an indirect way to also map crime, which would influence on what areas would receive funds.
Appropriations
For Fiscal Year 2015 the office’s appropriations Budget was 6.4 Billion Dollars, with nearly half of that intended to be used for CDBG, which has consistently been the focus of critics against wasteful spending. Homeless Assistance Grants is their second largest program with 2.1 billion dollars planned for providing Homeless Assistance, often for those who have suddenly lost their home after an emergency. The Continuum of Care Grant they disperse has been noted as being very selective and successful with granting funds to those that “effectively discharge homeless people” to permanent housing and services needed to live independently. In early 2017, President Donald Trump proposed eliminating the CBDG as it is "not well-targeted to the poorest populations" along with the HOME grants as "State and local governments are better positioned to serve their communities based on local needs and priorities."
