Promoting CDBG and HOME in Los Angeles County

1. Promoting CDBG and HOME in Los Angeles County Concurrent Session #1 Presented by Scott Stevenson, Manager Los Angeles County Community Development Commission

2. Some “small” facts about Los Angeles County • Population of over 13 million people, larger than 42 states. • There are 88 ethnically diverse cities in the county where over 100 languages are spoken. • The Los Angeles Urban County program has the largest CDBG allocation of all urban counties at $30M. The HOME allocation is $11M. • Funds are allocated among 47 small cities, 5 Supervisor Districts, 70 CBOs and 12 different County Departments.

3. Q: How to tackle the “elephant”? • A: Anyway you can through macro and micro approaches • Macro = Broad based outreach, non-client specific • Micro = Outreach targeted to clients or specific groups of clients e.g. participating cities, community-based organizations, county departments

4. Macro outreach – some based in Con Plan citizen participation requirements • Annual community meetings for One Year Action Plan – Five meetings, one in each Supervisor District • Outreach for Con Plan needs assessment • Stakeholder focus groups derived from client agencies • Identify broad CDBG areas – affordable housing, economic development, special needs, public facilities – shows breadth of CDBG use

5. Macro – cont’d • Use CDBG proclamations by your governing body • Use demographics to best advantage in community that you are outreaching to: • Project types aligned e.g. “young” population, consider marketing CDBG to serve youth through services and park facilities improvements • Public notices – Identify CDBG in languages prevalent in an area – Spanish, Russian, Chinese among some in L.A. County

6. Macro – cont’d • Try to connect CDBG to an image or concept that is reinforced through repetition or reuse • Marketing art, newsletters, webpages, letterhead

7. Micro, client agency-targeted outreach • Utilize client agency processes to the extent feasible • Each participating city has its own public participation process through public noticing and public hearings before Boards and Councils where info about CDBG is communicated • Press releases and media advisories must include the source of project funding which is verified through monitoring

8. Micro, client agency-targeted outreach – cont’d • Maintain regular contact with client agencies on CDBG happenings • We hold quarterly meetings with our participating cities on legislative and program information • Electronic newsletters are sent to all agencies on a regular basis • Monthly contact with all agencies on project oversight and implementation

9. Micro, client agency-targeted outreach – cont’d • Strive to make CDBG administratively-friendly for your client agencies • Eliminate duplicative processes • Make information readily accessible • Use technology to reduce staff and other costs

10. Promoting the HOME Program • Use e-newsletter on best practices and successful projects • Partner with non-profits who have contacts in the development community • Promote CHDO training through national organizations • Support client agencies with technical assistance • Cross reference HOME program with other housing resources such as bond programs • Conduct regular seminars for lenders, realtors and developers and promote HOME among the resources available for housing development and rehabilitation programs