2019 Annual Community Assessment Report

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9 F'r !■ i JFPrWT.7NTWr Tr, Ir'IT, #1111 tow t 1", 11 11 plit . '010 The County needs to continue to monitor its ongoing CDBG, HOME, and HTF projects to ensure timely implementation. HUD recommends that the County identify project obstacles and develop plans to address these obstacles to strengthen its programs. The CAPER was provided to the HUD Honolulu Field Office, Fair Housing and Equal Spportunity Division for review. FHEO's comments are as follows: The County continues to promote awareness and education of fair housing issues and takes actions which help minimize and eliminate the unfair treatment of individuals in housing. During PY19, the OHCD and partner agencies across the state continued to provide training to educate the community. Unfortunately, the annual Fair Housing Seminar, scheduled for April 2020 was cancelled because of the pandemic. However, virtual and phone assistance remained available. The Fair Housing coordinator helped in response to 50 inquiries via phone or email. A virtual seminar will be held next year to keep the public informed on the latest information. The County continues tomaintain a fair housing website, which provides assistance to individuals who have fair housing inquiries. In PY2019, there were approximately 1,986 hits to the website for people seeking information. The County's analysis of impediments (AI) revealed that OHCD, and other Fair Housing resources included staff that lacked training. Many staff were unaware of resources to refer to th% public. As a response, the County hosted 2 virtual trainings for departmental staff. An updated Fair Housing resource poster was created for distribution to local housing agencies or public facilities within the County. The OHCD completed eight public training sessions in FY 2019, which included 90 attendees. The OHCD also hosted the first virtual meeting for Fair Housing coordinators throughout the state, to plan and address Fair Housing concerns. The Fair Housing coordinator attended 7 training sessions, to keep informed of the latest updates available to assist the community. Any concerns regarding FHEO comments should be addressed to Mr. Jelani Madaraka, L-ead Civil Rights Analyst, HUD Honolulu Field Office Overall, the County of Hawaii is meeting its community needs by planning and executing a Consolidated Plan with a vision for the future, and by implementing this Plan through its Annual Action Plan. As a result, the County has assisted many communities and especially low- to rderate-income persons. HUD encourages the County to continue its support of various housing and community development programs, and especially wish to recognize the hard work of the County staff working on the CPD programs for their dedication. The program staff is a credit to the County and its CPD programs.