HOME-ing in on distributional equity: An analysis of the HOME Investment Partnerships program

• In Event: Unstable Homeownership: Heirs' Property, Contracts for Deed, and Homeowner Assistance

Abstract

In recent years, the affordable housing crisis has become increasingly dire for renters and homeowners alike. Efforts to mitigate the shortage of affordable housing are largely funded through federal block grants. While such grants foster experimentation and innovation for affordable housing policies and programs, they also have the potential to exclude local under-resourced jurisdictions in need of assistance. Studies suggest the capacity of a local government to be a driver of inequitable block grant fund allocation. In this paper, I analyze the distributional equity of federal funds allocated through the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) block grant, the largest block grant designed specifically for affordable housing activities. While many urban counties and metro cities qualify for direct federal funding by meeting a block grant allocation formula threshold, there are many jurisdictions that do not. I consider the distributional equity of funds allocated via two alternative venues for HOME funds specifically designed to facilitate distributional equity: competitions for state funds (i.e., state recipients) and the collaborative local jurisdictions that collectively qualify for direct federal funds (consortia). Using grant program activities data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, I explain the relationship between need, organizational capacity, and access to HOME funds across local jurisdictions. I first establish whether the HOME grant is distributed proportional to need across jurisdictions. I will then assess the impact of various measures of organizational capacity on the distribution of funds. Finally, I will compare two funding alternatives for local jurisdictions: subgrants from the state and funding through consortia. This analysis extends past studies of intergovernmental grants to include a grant that has not yet been studied in this context. While much of the literature on intergovernmental grants has focused heavily on the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), the HOME Investment Partnerships block grant is topically adjacent to the CDBG but differs in structure, scope, and scale. The results of this study identify key considerations for HOME block grant effectiveness.

Author

• Laura Elizabeth McCann, University of Arizona
  Presenting Author