National Community Development Week Celebrated Locally

Highlighting the Successes and Importance of Federal Grants

April 10, 2023 – National Community Development (NCD) Week is the Los Angeles County’s (County) annual opportunity to celebrate the impact and longstanding accomplishments of the Federally-funded Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Programs.

For nearly 50 years, the CDBG Program has been an important resource for communities to devise programs and activities to address infrastructure, affordable housing, and community and economic development needs. The County’s CDBG Program, which is administered through the Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA), is the largest, among urban counties in the nation, serving over 1 million people in unincorporated areas and an additional 1.4 million living in 48 participating cities. The Program’s success is in its flexibility, allowing local governments to directly address community needs, targeting about 99% of allocated funds to benefit low- and moderate-income persons through activities which include housing rehabilitation; public services for groups, such as seniors, youth, and those who are unhoused; economic development activities; and making public facilities, housing, and sidewalks accessible for persons with disabilities.

For over 30 years, the HOME Program has provided vital funding to help communities improve access to affordable housing. The Los Angeles County’s HOME Program promotes and facilitates affordable and special needs housing to County residents living in its unincorporated areas and 48 participating cities. Since the Program’s inception in 1992, the LACDA has overseen the administration of over $331 million in HOME funds into the County’s housing market. The HOME Program’s added benefit is its ability to leverage local funding. The total leveraging ratio for its rental projects is approximately 4.7 times, for a total of over $965 million made available for local housing since 1992.

NCD Week serves as an important venue for educating communities and law makers about these critical locally-led projects and services. The goal is to bring renewed awareness to the Federal investment necessary to sustain CDBG and HOME. This year marks the 37th year of this national effort to actively promote awareness, education, and advocacy for these much-needed Programs. The County is taking this opportunity to celebrate NCD Week and to commemorate the continued successes of the CDBG and HOME Programs that significantly impact Los Angeles County residents.

Emilio Salas, LACDA Executive Director, said, “We support National Community Development Week and value the impact that CDBG and HOME have made in our community. These Federal grant Programs help build stronger and more resilient communities, which help us live up to our mission to Build Better Lives and Better Neighborhoods.”

While these Programs’ accomplishments are far-reaching and severely needed, past national budget cuts have overshadowed their merits. The CDBG Program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, is to receive $3.30 billion. The HOME Program will receive $1.5 billion in FY 2023. This week marks an opportunity to highlight the importance of continuing to fund these programs which are needed to provide valuable services to youth, seniors, families, capital improvements throughout communities, and aid in the production and preservation of needed housing.