Consolidated Plan, Annual Plans & Reports

The Department of Community and Economic Development is responsible for developing and executing The Consolidated Plan for Housing and Community Development (Consolidated Plan). The Consolidated Plan required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) (24CFR Section 91.115) is designed to help states and local jurisdictions to assess their affordable housing and community development needs and market conditions, and to make data-driven, place-based investment decisions.

The Consolidated Plan serves as a framework to identify housing and community development priorities that align and focus funding from HUD’s Community Planning and Development Programs:

• Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program
• HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program
• Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Program
• Disaster Recovery Resources
• National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF), administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA)
• Housing Opportunities for Persons with Aids (HOPWA) Program, administered by the PA Department of Health

The Consolidated Plan identifies the housing, community development, homelessness, public service, and economic development needs of the non-entitled municipalities of the Commonwealth. It establishes goals and objectives in addressing those needs and charts the course for expenditure of housing and community development funds over a period of five years in resolving the needs.

There are a few critical components of the Consolidated Plan, including:

1. Consultation and Citizen Participation. Through the Consolidated Plan grantee jurisdictions engage the community, both in the process of developing and reviewing the proposed plan, and as partners and stakeholders in the implementation of Community Planning and Development (CPD) programs. By consulting and collaborating with other public and private entities, grantees can align and coordinate community development programs with a range of other plans, programs, and resources to achieve greater impact.
2. The Consolidated Plan. The Consolidated Plan, which may have a duration of between 3 and 5 years, describes the jurisdiction’s community development priorities and multiyear goals based on an assessment of housing and community development needs, an analysis of housing and economic market conditions and available resources.
3. The Annual Action Plan. The Consolidated Plan is carried out through Annual 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 the priority needs and specific goals identified by the Consolidated Plan. However, rather than describing specific projects to be funded, a State’s Annual Action Plan must specify its method of distributing funds to eligible units of local government and nonprofits, or the activities to be undertaken by the state-run programs in the coming year.

Annual Action Plan

Annually, the Commonwealth submits the Annual Action Plan to HUD detailing how each federal year’s allocation of funds will be utilized and the planned annual method to distribute funds.

Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report

At the conclusion of each program year, DCED reports to HUD the accomplishments and outcomes achieved as a result of the allocation of funds. The Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) details the use of funds, progress toward attaining the goals and individual and community beneficiaries.

Annual Action Plans and Reports