How PHAs Can Use Funds to Meet LEP Requirements

HUD has recently published new guidance.

Individuals who don’t speak English as their primary language and have limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand English may be a person with limited English proficiency (LEP). These individuals may be entitled to language assistance for a particular service, benefit, or encounter. Federal laws applicable to language access include Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Title VI regulations, and Executive Order 13166.

The order mandates that recipients of federal financial assistance take reasonable steps to ensure that people with LEP have meaningful access to all federally funded programs. For HUD, such programs and activities would include proactive outreach to non-English-speaking people who are eligible applicants for, and residents of, government-subsidized housing. According to HUD, all providers of federal funds, including recipients of housing subsidies, must take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to core programs and activities by LEP persons.

HUD recently published a notice for public housing agencies administering Public Housing and/or Housing Choice Voucher programs titled “Guidance on Eligibility Uses for PIH Program Funds Related to Persons with Limited English Proficiency” (Notice PIH 2024-04). The notice provides information on complying with LEP requirements and provides information on the eligible uses of program funding for activities to benefit people with LEP.

LEP Compliance Requirements

To comply with LEP requirements, every PHA, and certain other grantees, should conduct a three-step process. First, the PHA should conduct a four-factor analysis. Second, the PHA should develop a Language Access Plan. Finally, the PHA should provide appropriate language assistance.

Four-factor analysis. While designed to be a flexible and fact-dependent standard, the starting point is an individualized assessment that balances the following four factors:

1. The number or proportion of LEP persons served or eligible to be served;
2. The frequency with which LEP individuals come in contact with the program;
3. The nature and importance of the program, activity, or service provided by the program to people’s lives; and
4. The resources and costs that a certain service option would present and at what point the costs would present a material burden.

HUD’s intent is to find a balance that ensures meaningful access by LEP persons to housing while not imposing undue burdens, financial or otherwise.

Language Access Plan. After conducting the four-factor analysis, the notice says PHAs should develop a Language Access Plan. This plan may include the following:

• Identifying people with LEP who need assistance;
• Identifying staff who may have contact with people with LEP;
• The language assistance provided;
• Conducting effective outreach to the LEP community;
• Training staff;
• Determining important documents;
• Translating informational materials;
• Providing interpreters for meetings;
• Connecting with and developing community resources to help with language services; and
• Creating a time frame for updating the Language Access Plan with input from the community.

Additionally, PHAs and certain other grantees should also ensure the Language Access Plan:

• Identifies informational material that needs to be translated;
• Incorporates procedures for providing appropriately translated notices to persons with LEP and interpreters for meetings;
• Contains procedures for frontline staff to identify when a person has language access needs and how to assist them;
• Develops community resources, partnerships, and other relationships to help with the provision of language services; and
• Makes provision for monitoring and updating the Language Access Plan while seeking input from the community and other stakeholders.

Language assistance services. HUD says PHAs should implement the Language Access Plan after it has been developed and provide the appropriate services to the appropriate populations. Some language assistance services that can be provided include oral interpretation, bilingual staff, telephone service line interpretation, written translation services, notices of availability of LEP services, or referrals to community liaisons proficient in the language. The PHA may also employ the services of another organization in implementing its plan. It can have another organization supply interpretation services as needed, use a telephone service line interpreter, or contract another agency in the same community with bilingual staff to provide interpretation services.

Public and Indian Housing (PIH) Program Funds Use

The notice has details about which funds may be used to provide assistance for LEP individuals.

Operating fund. PHAs may use their operating fund to ensure meaningful access for people with LEP within the Public Housing program. In this situation, activities related to services may include providing appropriately translated notices, including notices of eviction and notices advising persons with LEP of free language assistance. In-person interpretation assistance is necessary for termination and eviction hearings due to the significance of these interactions, and the PHA should provide qualified and trained interpretation services. Similarly, a PIH grantee could use operating funds to create a greeting message for telephone numbers with options in multiple languages.

Capital funds. PHAs can use their capital fund program grant to address LEP requirements. Small, non-troubled PHAs may use this funding for any eligible cost under the operating fund, including providing meaningful access for people with LEP in the Public Housing program. Other PHAs may use up to 10 percent of their annual capital fund grant for management activities.

Management improvements are noncapital activities that are project-specific or PHA-wide improvements needed to upgrade or improve the operation or maintenance of the PHA’s projects, to promote energy conservation, to sustain physical improvements at those projects, or correct management deficiencies.

PHAs must be able to demonstrate the link between the management improvement and the correction of an identified management deficiency. The PHA must identify LEP requirements as a management deficiency and include the LEP work items in the Capital Fund Five-Year Action Plan in order to use capital funds for management improvement activities that facilitate access for persons with LEP in Public Housing.

For example, PHAs can use up to 10 percent of an annual Cap Fund grant for Management Improvements to upgrade their online systems for program participant applications to allow future residents to apply in languages other than English; train PHA staff to better serve with LEP; or for facilitating communication during resident consultation for the development, financing, and/or modernization of Public Housing developments, such as hiring or contracting a qualified interpreter or translator equipped to communicate in different languages so that persons with LEP who are in Public Housing are properly informed during relocation counseling.

Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) administrative fees. PHAs may use administrative fees and administrative fee reserves for HCV and project-based voucher activities and materials.

Mainstream, Emergency Housing Voucher Administrative fees. PHAs may use the mainstream administrative fees and administrative fee reserves for addressing LEP requirements within the program. PHAs may use EHV administrative and services fees for complying with LEP requirements. HUD says PIH grantees should consult the competitive grant Notice of Funding Opportunity and/or Grant Agreement to determine the eligible use of funds for meeting LEP requirements.