Program Evaluation Division
CURRENT PROJECTS:
Costs of Homelessness
Limited research to date has suggested that it may be more cost-effective to direct assistance to homeless people than it is to withhold such assistance. For example, if providing housing and services substantially reduce the need for expensive hospital services, it may be that providing homeless services actually represents a bargain for society. This project seeks to address the issue by examining actual data gleaned from several communities.
Contact: Paul Dornan, (202) 708-0574, x4486, email:
Paul_Dornan@HUD.GOV
HUD Partners' Survey
Partner Satisfaction with HUD's Performance: 2005 Survey Results and Trends Since 2001
In 2001, HUD published How's HUD Doing? Agency Performance as Judged by Its Partners that contained the results of the first survey of its key partners. This report is a follow-up of the 2001 report. It demonstrates the level of partner satisfaction in 2005, documents change in partner satisfaction between 2001 and 2005, and examines current issues involving partner relationships. Both the 2001 and 2005 surveys comprise nationally representative samples of partner groups including mayors, public housing agency directors, directors of community development agencies, representatives of Fair Housing Assistance Agencies, owners of privately-owned assisted housing, and directors of nonprofit agencies. In addition to reporting on general levels of satisfaction in 2005, the report covers partners' views of specific management issues and initiatives.
Contact: Cheryl Levine, (202) 708-3700, x3928, email:
Cheryl_A._Levine@HUD.GOV
Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Study
In 2004, HUD published Evaluation of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program, the first study of the program's effectiveness. Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) was enacted in 1990, and is intended to help families living in public and assisted housing improve their economic well-being. The first study dealt primarily with an analysis of HUD's administrative records. In addition to examining administrative records, the current project will track families as they move through FSS. It will describe the training they receive and the outcomes they experience, and will also include interviews with participating families to document their experiences in the program.
Contact: Jennifer A. Stoloff, (202) 708-3700, x5723, email:
Jennifer_A._Stoloff@HUD.GOV
American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI) Evaluation
ADDI provides downpayment homebuyer assistance to low- and moderate-income households. Congress raised the issue of whether the program provides eligible families with realistic opportunities to purchase homes that they otherwise could not afford. This study will attempt to answer this question by comparing mortgage defaults and mortgage payment delinquencies among households who received ADDI assistance with other groups of borrowers. The study will also conduct similar default and payment delinquency comparisons for households receiving downpayment assistance through HUD's HOME Program.
Contact: Harold R. Holzman, (202) 708-3700, x5709, email:
Harold_R._Holzman@HUD.GOV
New Fair Housing Accessibility Conformance Study Underway
The study will provide a quantitative assessment of the extent of conformity with the accessibility provisions of the Fair Housing Act (the Act), as amended in 1988. It will also explore the reasons for any patterns of conformance or nonconformance. The requirements of the Act apply to most buildings with four or more dwelling units, regardless of whether the property is federally assisted or privately owned. Along with other provisions of the Act, the accessibility requirements are designed to give persons with disabilities greater freedom to choose the neighborhoods in which they wish to live. The study has as its central feature a nationwide survey based on a random sample of multifamily developments. The sample will approximate multifamily buildings newly constructed between 2002 and 2004 that are subject to the Act. Each site will be carefully assessed to determine areas of noncompliance. The current study is a follow-up to previous research on the same topic.
Contact: Jennifer A. Stoloff, (202) 708-3700, x5723, email:
Jennifer_A._Stoloff@HUD.GOV
Moving To Opportunity
The MTO for Fair Housing Demonstration provides a unique opportunity to definitively measure the impacts of an important change in neighborhood opportunity on the employment, income, educational achievement, and social well-being of low-income public housing families. Between 1994 and 1998, families living in a select group of assisted developments in high-poverty census tracts were offered the opportunity to apply for Section 8 assistance. The eligible applicants were then randomly assigned to three groups: (1) some families were offered Section 8 assistance with intensive counseling and the requirement that they locate a unit in a low-poverty neighborhood; (2) another group of families were offered Section 8 with only the standard PHA counseling, but they could lease a unit anywhere they were able; and (3) the remaining families did not receive the Section 8 assistance, but remained in their current housing. Central to HUD's evaluation objectives is the use of a linked set of qualitative, survey, and administrative data to measure differences in outcomes for the three groups. The key measures are education, employment, health, and criminal justice. The evaluation will measure impacts over 10 years, with an interim evaluation at approximately 5 years after families enroll (2001) and a final evaluation in 10 years (2006). MTO is operating in Boston, New York, Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Papers discussing how the demonstration was designed and early impacts can be found at www.huduser.org.
Moving to Opportunity (MTO) Demonstration: Proposed Information Collection (OMB Submission)
Introduction
Background
Contact: Todd Richardson, (202) 708-3700, x5706, email:
Todd_M._Richardson@HUD.GOV
The Welfare to Work Voucher Program Evaluation
The Welfare to Work Voucher Program is designed to test the effect of the provision of housing assistance on the capacity of eligible families to obtain and/or retain employment. HUD opted to meet a Congressional mandate to evaluate the program by instituting a random experiment. In effect, families that are eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the program established to replace Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and to institute welfare reform, and are on the Section 8 waiting list in the sites chosen for the evaluation are randomly assigned either to an experimental group, who receive a Welfare to Work Voucher and the employment support services bound to it, or to a control group, who will not receive such a voucher or the accompanying services. This method has the effect of randomizing differences between the two groups, other than the presence (or absence) of the voucher, thereby isolating the impact of the voucher. Both groups will be tracked for several years to determine the impact of the provision of rental assistance and accompanying services on employment, earnings, and geographic mobility. Abt Associates, the firm under contract to HUD to set up the evaluation, has negotiated with each of the selected sites about how random assignment, program implementation, and tracking can occur in accordance with the unique circumstances, structures, and preferences of each site. Random assignment has begun in nearly all of the evaluation sites. The sites are Augusta and Atlanta, GA; Fresno and Fresno County, CA; Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, CA; Houston, TX; and Spokane, WA.
Contact: Paul B. Dornan, (202) 708-0574, x4486, email:
Paul_Dornan@hud.gov
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