Anything measured in the Logic Model should be in a large central database, so that you have all the info in one place. The current system is basically useless. The data collected should be feeding all the goals in this strat plan. It does not, at this time. If it's not feeding the goals, why, why, why are we doing it? Why not require clients to fill out the forms with quill pens, by candlelight, which would be about as smart as the current system? The Government Performance and Results Act is the usual excuse. Great. How about actually putting all that data collected into one great database, and correlating it to community health measures? This is not rocket science, I met a guy at USDA who was doing this 10 years ago.

There needs to be a limit on the number of years Residents can continue to accept Section 8 funds (vouchers/project based assitance). Granted some Residents (Disabled or Elderly Residents) would be the exception to this rule. However, there are too many indivuiduals taking advantage on the Section 8 Program. There should be a 3 to 5 year time frame for individuals/families to remain on assistance. During this 3 to 5 year while they are on assistance, they must be training for a job, obtaining education, volunteering to help them gain experience for a job or some other type of job skills training. There so many Non-Profit agences, and other type of agencies who are in need of volunteers to help out....many of the volunteer position may lead to actual enployment for residents.

Allowing residents to keep drawing Section 8 funds year after year only inhibits thier ability to find gainful employment and eventually move out of
Section 8 housng assitance. If residents could find employment they move off of asstance and it will free up a slot for someone on the waiting list for housing assitance. But allowing residents to stay year after year only inhibits their want/need to find employment because they know they have "free" or almost "free" housing. When the MF loans come into to Production there should be a requirement that the Owner must put into place a Network Learning Center that will allow residents to learn job skills, find gainful employment, educational opportunities. This concept would not cost much more than a Communty Room and getting local colleges, conuselors, Temp Angencies, etc others to come talk with residents. I think it will make a difference and start moving residents from housng assistance to learning to help themselves and show the next generation a life outside of government assistance.

Reports mostly now address piecemeal areas, and they are not tied together into any kind of comprehensive Risk Management, as a rule.

Every report should be required to have some reference to the comprehensive Risk Management Plan for that program, and for the Department generally. Doing this would deal with IG audit findings IN ADVANCE, because it would show areas that are not covered, and many areas are not covered. Also, EVERY REPORT SHOULD BE LISTED, at a website just like HUD Ideas in action, so that people can make comments on how useful reports are, how they can be improved, etc. In the past, HQ never listened to field staff suggestions for improvement to forms, well I never saw it. Why not have a site just like this one, to comment on forms?

Force is one way to do things. But cooperation always works better. Who is really forced to recycle, for example? People do it because it is a good idea. As we measure community health, and the effects of what is going on- why not adapt this idea? Dale Carnegie talks about the power of people putting their names on things. Why not let clients report, voluntarily, on donations to their program, to a central database sorted by program, project, neighborhood, and so on. Report the donations of food, goods, and services. If nothing else, it would point out just how much volunteer work and donations are already in existence. I have seen some of this done as a pilot, and it is staggering, now. If it got some serious marketing, and attention, it would be far bigger. Wouldn't it be interesting if the different measures of community health were combined into a scoreboard- and friendly competitions resulted. I remember a resort community that divided up the people into 2 groups, and positive activities in the community were given points- to either reds, or blues, and at the end of the summer a winner was announced. Heck, we see that among the 4 houses of Hogwarts. What do you get, now, for doing great things in your community? Ignored, or at best bored looks. Where can you report your anecdotes? If someone does something great for you, in your community, is there a single website where you can write up a note of appreciation? Surely we can take away our most powerful tool- our attention- from the vilification and demonization and fearmongering of the TV news, and put it just a little on something positive? If you had such a site, it would help encourage others. I'm not saying a specific form or report to delete, I'm saying to expand how we think BEYOND the form or report mentality into cooperative efforts. HUD has many unique qualities, it touches so many areas, and we are not leveraging this, because we are so addicted to reports, and numbers, instead of getting the job done.

At the regional field sessions this summer in Denver, Kansas City, and D.C., HUD employees submitted and voted on ideas on which rules or reports should be streamlined or eliminated. This was one of the top 9 ideas.

This idea has been merged with the idea, "Consolidated plans must include disaster planning".

Description: The plans are usually silent on this issue. Immediate shelter locations and surplus storage provisions should be clearly part of a plan. There should be medium range goals discussing how to get people back to their homesites. There should be longer term goals that allow for the planning of replacement subdivisions, etc. Disaster planning is central to repairing markets...