Community Development Block Grants Program Documents

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General CDBG Questions

1. What is a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)?

The Community Development Block Grant is a federally funded grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), aimed to assist low to moderate-income communities in community development projects. Every year, each (entitled) city with more than 50,000 people and each county with a population with more than 200,000 automatically receives this funding from the federal government. We, MO CDBG, receive these funds to distribute to non-entitlement communities. CDBG dollars can be used to fund community development projects such as:

Public Facilities: day care centers, recreational facilities, parks/playgrounds or health centers.
Public Improvements: street and sidewalk repairs/improvements, graffiti removal.
Public Services: employment services, crime prevention, childcare, health services, fair housing counseling or recreational services.
Housing Activities: housing rehabilitation, lead abatement, housing discrimination services, and emergency shelter services.
Economic Development: small business loans/grants, job training, construction and rehabilitation of commercial buildings.

Furthermore, CDBG grants are only awarded to projects which meet one of the following National objectives:

Support low and middle income (LMI) communities, considering that a minimum of 70% of CDBG funds granted to a city/ state must be used directly to benefit LMI communities.
Eliminate and prevent blight and slums.
Meet urgent needs, such as responding to natural disasters.

2. Who is eligible for CDBG funds?

Certified, non-profit 501(c) (3) organizations can apply for funding. Projects and programs must benefit low- and moderate-income individuals in CDBG eligible areas. City and county departments can also apply to provide for improvements to public property such as streets, sidewalks, and parks. Individual citizens or families are not eligible for direct CDBG funds. For more information on grants available through MO CDBG, look on our Opportunities to Apply page or contact our office at 573-751-3600.

3. Can private citizens apply for CDBG grants?

Individual citizens or families are not eligible for direct CDBG funds. There may be a program through a city, municipal, or county that you can apply for through them for a specific program such as residential buyout, down payment assistance project, etc.

4. What is the difference between an entitlement community and non-entitlement community?

An Entitlement Community is a city with more than 50,000 people or a county with a population with more than 200,000 which means those communities automatically receive CDBG funding directly from the federal government. A non-entitlement community does not meet the previous state population amounts and receives their CDBG funds from the state-funded CDBG program.

5. Can for-profit companies apply for CDBG grants?

Only Units of General Local Government can apply for CDBG funds but may include non-profit organizations as subapplicants for CDBG grants unless it is a qualified microenterprise as stated in 24 CFR 570.201(o).

6. Can private for-profit developers apply for CDBG Grants?

Only Units of General Local Government can apply for CDBG funds but may include non-profit entities as subapplicants for CDBG grants unless it is a qualified microenterprise as stated in 24 CFR 570.201(o).

7. What is a consolidated/Action Plan?

The Consolidated Plan is where a grantee decides the priority needs and specific goals for a 5-year term. These needs and goals are carried out through Action Plans, which provide a concise summary of the actions, activities, and the specific federal and non-federal resources that will be used each year to address them. You can find ours in the Plans tab of our Program Documents page.

8. Can Citizens participate in the planning/decision-making process around the use of CDBG funds?

CDBG-funded projects have a better chance of success when citizens are involved from the beginning. The CDBG law requires that a grantee must develop and follow a detailed plan which provides for, and encourages, citizen participation and which emphasizes participation by persons of low- or moderate-income, particularly residents of predominantly low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, slum or blighted areas, and areas in which the grantee proposes to use CDBG funds. The plan must provide citizens with reasonable and timely access to local meetings, information, and records related to the grantee's proposed and actual use of funds.

9. How do I obtain CDBG funds?

Contractors, as well as recipients of federal financial assistance, are required to register in the System for Award Management (SAM). This applies to the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, which requires that grantees, subrecipients, subgrantees, contractors and units of local governments register in SAM.

CDBG-DR grantees or subgrantees who aren’t registered in SAM, or who procure contractors not registered in SAM, will not be in compliance with the program and may have to return funds to HUD. See the list of registered contractors on SAM.gov.

10. Why is it called a Block Grant?

The term “block grant” refers to grant programs that provide federal assistance for broadly defined functions, such as, community development or social services. Block grants allow the grant recipient more discretion than other grants in determining how to use the funds to meet a broader program goal.

11. Where do CDBG funds come from?

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development distributes funds to each State based on a statutory formula which considers population, poverty, incidence of overcrowded housing, and age of housing. States participating in the CDBG Program award grants only to non-entitlement Units of General Local Government (UGLG).

12. When do you apply for CDBG?

When you need to apply for CDBG funds will depend on the type of funds you are applying for with CDBG. You can also join our Project Development Hours using the link at the top of our Opportunities to Apply tab where you will also find the programs available to apply for.

Missouri CDBG Questions

1. Where is the current Action Plan for MO CDBG?

You can find the Current MO CDBG Action Plan on our CDBG Program Documents webpage under the Plans tab.

2. What is expected of me as a subrecipient?

Clarification of Roles

MO CDBG: Always the Grantee

Subrecipients:

Administrators - hired by communities to handle paperwork and help a community administer the Grant within Federal and State regulations. Expected to help communities understand their grant agreements and contracts.

Communities (cities and counties) – An entity receiving the grant money for projects to help their constituents and does not make a profit.

Contractors: Entities or persons hired to complete part of a project for profit.

3. What to do about suspected fraud with any CDBG stakeholder?

Under Federal Regulations, a Subrecipient or Grant Administrator must report suspicions of Waste, Fraud or Abuse including bribery, conflict of interest(s), or gratuity violations potentially affecting the Federal award in writing in a timely manner to the Grantee. Then the Grantee will do the same to the appropriate Federal Agency for review.

4. How am I required to communicate with Tribal Organizations?

All communications to a Tribal Organization must be sent by and signed by the highest Government official of community. That includes sending emails from Government officials' email. Administrator may be carbon copied on email but no communication to a Tribal organization may be made by anyone lower than the highest ranking official.

Also, you are not required to include or ask tribes to be participate on any public hearing notices unless tribe has asked specifically asked for that information.

Preapproval Stages

1. What are the application guidelines?

When you choose a selection under the Opportunities to Apply, there is a link to Application Guidelines under the How Do I Apply? Tab.

2. What should I expect with a Risk Assessment meeting?

A Financial Monitoring Specialist with meet with you to discuss items on the Risk Assessment Checklist, which you can access in the Administrative Manual under Chapter 6 in line with the Risk Assessment training.

3. Where can I find CDBG approved Section 3 Businesses?

A list is available for download here.

4. What is the process for ER HUD Floodplains 8 step Decision-Making?

An explanation and how to follow HUD’s process is in Chapter 8 of the Administrative Manual and in the document here.

5. What should I put in a Citizen Participation Plan Public Notice?

Public Notice Template

Helpful Hints:

Projects with large community involvement and understanding are always more successful
Hearing must be posted/published for 5-full days, not including the day of posting/publication
Hold public hearing in handicapped accessible location
Make sure LEP provisions are provided if they are needed/requested
Keep an attendance list at all hearings and meetings, as well as minutes
Respond to all requests or complaints addressed at public hearings
Alter samples to match specific project
Consultation with CDBG staff is required prior to posting and posting a CDBG Public Notice, and required prior to the finalization of any Four-Factor Analysis and Language Access Plan (LAP)

6. What is the Environmental Review (ER)?

Environmental Review is a process of checking all aspects of a project to make sure it does not disrupt any natural flows within an environment. This process can be found in the Chapter 8 trainings in our Administrative Manual.

7. Can CDBG funds be added to an existing contract?

No, CDBG funds cannot be added to a contract that was signed before the environmental review is completed.

8. What is a Choice Limiting Action?

A choice-limiting action is any activity that a grantee undertakes, including committing or expending HUD or non-HUD funds, that reduces or eliminates a grantee’s opportunity to choose project alternatives that would avoid or minimize environmental impact or enhance that quality of the human environment. Examples include conducting final design work, awarding construction contracts, and/or on-site work, regardless of how these activities are proposed to be paid.

Choice-limiting actions can often jeopardize the ability to use CDBG funding once they have occurred and may require deobligation and/or repayment.

9. What is the Difference between an Environmental Review and an Environmental Survey?

An environmental review is the process of reviewing a project and its potential impacts to the environment to determine whether the project complies with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and related laws and authorities. An environmental survey provides expertise across projects in real estate, land and construction. It assesses the environmental challenges faced by developers, landowners, and investors.

After Approval/During Monitoring Stages

1. What should I look for when approving/submitting payroll forms?

The following links help with:

Payroll Checklist - Assists in ensuring payrolls include the required content.
Payroll Review Compliance Template - Assists in comparing the actual rate paid on payrolls to the state and federal prevailing wage rates.

2. How should I manage files for Monitoring and throughout the life of a project and which documents should I be keeping?

Use the monitoring checklist in Forms under Closeout in these links:

CDBG Annual Monitoring Checklist - All Sections or CDBG Annual Monitoring Checklist - DR-MIT – and use the Documentation Checklist in this link: Monitoring Documentation Checklist

Helpful Hint:

Make sure you file them immediately and keep all documents and receipts pertaining to the project.

3. How do I determine if an entity is a Subrecipient or Contractor?

Use the questions in the Subrecipient Vs. Contractor Excel document listed under Chapter 4 in the Administrative Manual to determine what an entity is for a project.

4. How do I fill out an RFF?

You can watch an explanation of this form at 03:13-05:31 in the training video here.

5. How do I fill out an ACH-EFT?

You can watch an explanation of this form at 01:43-03:12 in the training video here.

Closeout and After Closeout Procedures

1. How long do I need to keep my files and document after closing a project?

The record retention policy states to keep files for 3 years after a program/project is closed with HUD.

Program Specific

1. What should I expect in the Acquisition and Relocation Process?

The following training provides guidelines for this type of program:

Video - CH 14 Acquisition and Relocation
Slides - Ch 14 Acquisition and Relocation (Acquisition on slides 15 – 24 and Relocation slides 30 – 40)

2. What should my plan for relocation look like?

A subrecipient can create their own plan or use the state plan provided here: Chapter 19 - CDBG-DR Homeowner Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Policy v2.0

3. How long do I need to monitor an infrastructure project with LMI job creation?

Monitoring for LMI job creation needs to continue for 2 years after closeout of project is completed.

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Community Development Block Grants Program Documents

2025 Draft Action Plan

CDBG Manuals/Plans

Administrative Manual

General CDBG Information

Chapter 1 - Introduction & Administration

Chapter 2 - Direct Beneficiary Intake

Chapter 3 - Citizen Participation

Chapter 4 - Financial Management and Reporting

Chapter 5 - Cost Reasonableness

Chapter 6 - Risk Assessment and Monitoring Plan

Chapter 7 - Duplication of Benefits

Chapter 8 - Environmental Review

Chapter 9 - Procurement

Chapter 10 - Contract Management

Chapter 11 - Federal and State Labor Standards

Chapter 12 - Civil Rights

Chapter 13 - Closeout

Chapter 14 - Acquisition and Relocation

Chapter 15 - Planning

Chapter 16 - Local Voluntary Buyout Program Policy

Chapter 17 - Community Rehousing Incentive for Buyouts

Chapter 18 - Demolition

Chapter 19 - Residential Rehabilitation and Reconstruction

Chapter 20 - Affordable Multi-family Rental Recovery

Chapter 21 - Down Payment Assistance

Chapter 22 - New Single-Family Housing Construction

Chapter 23 - Infrastructure

Chapter 24 - Economic Development

Chapter 25 - Public Services

Chapter 26 - Downtown Revitalization

Plans

Archived

Forms

Financial

Environmental

Procurement Forms and Templates

Acquisition

Down Payment Assistance

Relocation/Housing Assistance

Contract Management

Labor Standards

Civil Rights

Section 3

Close-Out

Local Voluntary Buyout Program Policy

Community Rehousing Incentive for Buyouts Programs Forms

Demolition

Economic Development