(a) The Office shall be headed by an Executive Director (“Director”) who shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Council. The Director shall be a full-time position, for which annual compensation shall be fixed in accordance with subchapter X-A of Chapter 6 of Title 1.

(b) The Office shall have staff as approved by appropriations and federal or private grants.

(c) The Director shall:

(1) Serve as an advocate for African communities in the District;

(2) Assist community organizations in developing and submitting grant applications;

(3) Provide information and technical assistance on programs and services to the African communities to the Mayor, the Council, other District agencies and departments, and the community;

(4) Respond to recommendations and policy statements from the Commission on African Affairs (“Commission”);

(5) File an annual report on the operations of the Office with the Mayor and the Council;

(6) Identify areas for service improvement and bring these areas to the attention of the Mayor and the Commission, with recommendations for meeting these needs, including conducting or funding research and demonstration projects to test the recommendations;

(7) Ensure the necessary control, evaluation, audit, and reporting on programs funded through the Office;

(8) Accept volunteer services and funds from the public and private sectors to supplement the budget of the Office in carrying out its planning duties and responsibilities;

(9) Apply for, receive, and expend gifts or grants of money to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the Office; and

(10) Issue grants to organizations that provide services to African residents of the District in furtherance of the mission of the Office or the purposes of this chapter; provided, that grants shall be administered pursuant to the requirements set forth in part B of subchapter XII-A of Chapter 3 of Title 1 [§ 1-328.11 et seq.].

(June 8, 2006, D.C. Law 16-111, § 3, 53 DCR 2532; Dec. 24, 2013, D.C. Law 20-61, § 1064, 60 DCR 12472.)

The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 20-61 added (10) and made related changes.

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 1064 of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-130, July 30, 2013, 60 DCR 11384, 20 DCSTAT 1827).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 1064 of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-204, October 17, 2013, 60 DCR 15341, 20 DCSTAT 2311).

Section 1061 of D.C. Law 20-61 provided that Subtitle G of Title I of the act may be cited as the “Community Affairs Grant-Making Authority Authorization Amendment Act of 2013”.

Applicability of D.C. Law 20-61: Section 11001 of D.C. Law 20-61 provided that, except as otherwise provided, the act shall apply as of October 1, 2013.