[Federal Register: January 13, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 8)]
[Notices]
[Page 1996-1998]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13ja04-67]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-4909-N-01]
Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment on
the Evaluation of the Welfare to Work Voucher Program, Follow-on Survey
Data Collection
AGENCY: Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement described
below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department
is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.
DATES: Comments Due Date: March 15, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and should
be sent to: Reports Liaison Officer, Office of Policy Development and
Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street,
SW., Room 8226, Washington, DC 20410.
[[Page 1997]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Dornan at 202-708-0614 ext. 4486
for copies of the proposed data collection instruments and other
available documents.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department will submit the proposed
information collection to OMB for review, as required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended).
The Notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and
affecting agencies concerning the proposed collection of information
to: (1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2)
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information; (3) Enhance the quality, utility,
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) Mininize the
burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond;
including through the use of appropriate automated collection
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of responses.
This Notice also lists the following information:
Title of Proposal: Evaluation of the Welfare to Work Voucher
Program, Follow-on Survey Data Collection.
Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The
fundamental goal of this evaluation is to assess the impacts of
receiving a Welfare to Work voucher on improving the housing locations
of families with children, on their obtaining and retaining employment,
on their levels of welfare dependency, and on the well-being of their
children. To assess these program impacts, a large body of data has
been collected from a variety of administrative sources, and additional
information will be collected using the follow-on survey.
The evaluation assesses impacts in five primary areas that may be
affected by receiving a housing voucher:
[sbull] Housing assistance and services;
[sbull] Employment and earnings;
[sbull] Income, benefits, and food security;
[sbull] Housing mobility and neighborhood environment; and
[sbull] Household composition, family, and child well being.
It is important to distinguish between the analysis that will be
conducted using administrative files and Census data and the analysis
that requires follow-on survey data. Many of the outcomes of interest
can be measured only through participant surveys. These survey-measured
outcomes include important dimensions of adult and child well-being,
such as receipt of education and training, family health, children's
educational outcomes, household composition and family formation, and
families' satisfaction with their neighborhoods. Participant surveys
also allow researchers to investigate details about the employment
experience not available from administrative records including job
quality (hours worked per week, hourly wages, fringe benefits); job
location; methods of job search; and barriers to employment.
The proposed survey data collection will offer powerful new
evidence concerning the effects of tenant-based rental assistance on
the self-sufficiency and well being of low-income families.
The experimental design used in the evaluation enables one to draw
rigorous inferences about the effects of housing vouchers on family
well-being, independent of all other factors affecting the lives of
program participants. Random assignment serves to assure that the
treatment and control groups are well matched on both observed and
unobserved characteristics at the time of their entry into the study.
It thus establishes the strongest possible foundation for understanding
whether housing vouchers can assist welfare families in achieving
greater financial independence or otherwise improving their lives.
This study and its survey component are especially timely in light
of federal and state changes in welfare policies over the past decade,
reducing the numbers of families eligible for public assistance and
limiting the time period over which they can receive benefits. Housing
vouchers may help low-income families become employed and may also help
them meet financial needs as they transition from welfare.
The planned follow-on survey, in conjunction with an analysis of
outcomes derived from Census data and administrative sources, will
capture the experiences of treatment and control group members over a
period of approximately four years. A follow-up interval of this length
is important to measuring the impact of vouchers, as the typical length
of stay in vouchers is three years, and the effects of a voucher on
family well-being may take time to emerge.
Members of affected public: Individuals and households that applied
to participate in the Welfare-to-Work voucher program in the six
evaluation sites (Atlanta and Augusta, Georgia; Fresno and Los Angeles,
California: Houston, Texas; and Spokane, Washington) will be
interviewed as part of this data collection effort.
Estimation of the total numbers of hours needed to prepare the
information collection including number of respondents, frequency of
response, and hours of response:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time to
Interview respondent Number of complete Frequency (per Total burden
respondents (minutes) respondent) (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Adult head of core household.................... 3,900 30 1 1,950
Adult head of core household, responses 2,613 7 2 610
regarding 2 children...........................
Adult head of core household, responses 1,170 7 1 137
regarding 1 children...........................
Total....................................... 3,900 41 1 2,697
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 1998]]
States of the proposed information collection: Pending OMB
approval.
Authority: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.
Dated: January 2, 2004.
Darlene F. Williams,
General Deputy, Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and
Research.
[FR Doc. 04-606 Filed 1-12-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-62-M