Oct 19 -- The Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), invites public comments to OMB by November 22, 2021 regarding the collection of information for Phase 1 Evaluation of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Mobility Demonstration.
The Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is proposing the collection of information for Phase 1 Evaluation of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Mobility Demonstration. Under contract with HUD PD&R, Abt Associates Inc. and its subcontractors the Urban Institute, MEF Associates, Social Policy Research Associates, and Sage Consulting are conducting Phase 1 of a planned two-phase Evaluation of the HCV Mobility Demonstration. The Demonstration is a multi-site, randomized-controlled trial of the effect of housing mobility-related services on the share of HCV holders with children that move to lower poverty areas.
This Demonstration will allow participating public housing agencies (PHAs) throughout the country to implement housing mobility programs by offering mobility-related services to increase the number of voucher families with children living in opportunity areas. Participating PHAs will work together in their regions to adopt administrative policies that further enable housing mobility, increase landlord participation, and reduce barriers for families to move across PHA jurisdictions through portability. Eligible families that consent to participate in the Demonstration are randomly assigned to either receive mobility-related services or to not receive services.
Through the Demonstration, HUD will implement, test, and evaluate whether housing mobility programs expand access to opportunity neighborhoods. The Demonstration will roll out in two phases over a period of approximately six years. The Phase 1 Evaluation has a five-year period of performance and will evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive set of mobility-related services at no more than 10 sites. For voucher holders, outcomes of the mobility-related services are hypothesized to be increases in the number of families who move to lower poverty areas. The Phase 1 evaluation will also document the implementation of the Demonstration and analyze the cost-effectiveness of mobility-related services.
Data collection efforts include the families that are part of the treatment and control groups, as well as PHA and mobility-related services staff, and landlords of properties participating in the HCV program. Data will be gathered through a variety of methods including informational interviews and discussions, direct observation, and analysis of administrative records.
HCV Mobility Demonstration website:
https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/hcv/mobilitydemo
HUD submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202101-2528-005 Click IC List for data collection instruments, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation
FR notice inviting public comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/10/19/2021-22755/30-day-notice-of-proposed-information-collection-phase-1-evaluation-of-the-housing-choice-voucher
Point of contact: Marina L. Myhre, PhD, and Leah M. Lozier, PhD, Social Science Analysts, HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research, Program Evaluation Division. Dr. Myhre can be contacted at (202) 402-5705 and Dr. Lozier at (202) 402-3013.
For AEA members wishing to submit comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806