WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2006-Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Thomas Dorr today announced the selection of organizations in 11 states to receive $954,000 in Rural Housing Technical and Supervisory Assistance (TSA) grants. Over 1,800 families will receive counseling and assistance as they seek to obtain or maintain adequate housing.

"These grants will assist organizations that reach out to rural residents in need of safe, affordable housing," said Dorr. "It's part of the Bush Administration's goal to provide homeownership opportunities and increase the number of minority homeowners."

The Administration's goal is to increase minority homeownership by 5.5 million by the end of the decade. Since the goal was announced, more than 2.5 million minority families have become new homeowners.

The TSA grant program provides eligible organization with funds to assist low income rural families in obtaining adequate housing to meet their needs or continue occupancy of existing housing. The grants support counseling and home delivery programs. TSA projects provide low income families with credit counseling, loan packaging and delinquency counseling services.

In South Dakota, a $100,000 grant will be provided to the Sisseton-Wahpeton Housing Authority to assist low income Native American families in obtaining repair loans for their homes. The Homeownership Consortium of Alabama, Inc., headquartered in Montgomery, will receive $100,000 to provide educational outreach and technical assistance to 750 families in 11 counties that sustained damages during last year's hurricane season. The Kentucky River Foothills Development Council/Gateway Community Service Organization of Richmond will receive $100,000 to provide technical assistance and educational outreach to about 150 low and very low income Kentucky families for homeownership training and credit counseling. A complete list of the loan and grant recipients is available by going to: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.

USDA Rural Development's mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life in rural communities. As a venture capital entity, Rural Development has invested over $72 billion since the beginning of the Bush Administration to provide equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure. Over 1.2 million jobs have been created or saved through these investments. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA's web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.