A Washington County and city partnership
First authorized by Congress under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) are federal funds awarded to cities and urban counties for housing and community development projects. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development administers the program on a national level, but it's planned and controlled locally.
The major objectives for the CDBG program are:
- Meeting the needs of the low and moderate income population
- Eliminating and preventing the creation of slums and blight
- Meeting other urgent housing and community development needs.
In past years, the Washington County CDBG program has financed a variety of facilities, programs and improvements. These have included housing rehabilitation, community and senior centers, special housing for people with disabilities, extensive neighborhood improvements, and social services.
Program assists local efforts in Washington County
In 1979, Washington County's population of 200,000 made it eligible for a federal Community Development Block Grant. To date, approximately $69 million has been invested in housing and community development projects benefiting income qualified residents throughout the county. Working together, 11 cities, the county and its citizens have helped to make it all possible. The City of Beaverton has operated its own CDBG program since 1994, and the City of Hillsboro began operating its own CDBG program in 2018.
CDBG program activities
Infrastructure improvements revitalizing lower income neighborhoods with projects such as:
- street improvements
- sidewalks and aesthetics
- structural improvements
- drainage, water and sewer systems
Public facilities serving lower income neighborhoods or populations, and eliminating blight through providing facilities such as:
- senior centers, child care facilities
- multi-purpose centers
- sheltered workshops for disabled persons
- youth centers
- parks
- shelter facilities
- health facilities
- group homes
Public services providing limited social and health services for lower income residents including:
- youth at risk
- employment counseling
- health
- recreation
- mortgage foreclosure prevention
Housing improving housing conditions for low and moderate income residents through:
- loans for rehabilitation of owner- occupied housing units
- grants for repair of health and safety problems, and weatherization assistance
- project development for seniors, disabled and farm workers
- energy conservation
- housing information, referral and fair housing counseling to promote greater housing choices