June 29 -- The Office of Policy Development and Research, Chief Data Officer, HUD invites comments to OMB by August 1, 2022 regarding the Stepped and Tiered Rent Demonstration Evaluation.
HUD has selected 10 Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) to participate in the second cohort of the Moving to Work (MTW) Expansion, Stepped and Tiered Rent Demonstration (STRD). These PHAs will implement an alternative rent policy (a stepped rent or tiered rent) that is intended to reduce PHA administrative burden and increase self-sufficiency of assisted households. Five PHAs will implement a stepped rent and five PHAs will implement a tiered rent. HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) will evaluate the impacts of those alternative rent policies, using a randomized controlled trial. The evaluation will rely on data from a variety of sources, including new information collection efforts proposed in this Notice. HUD has contracted with MDRC to conduct the first phase of the evaluation, including random assignment, baseline data collection, and monitoring PHA implementation.
Within the 10 participating PHAs, eligible households will be randomly assigned to have their rent calculated under the new rules (stepped/tiered rent) or old rules (the Brooke rent, typically 30% of household income). Eligible households will be non-elderly, non-disabled participants in the public housing and housing choice voucher program. Prior to random assignment, each household will be asked to complete a baseline information form (BIF) and provide informed consent to authorize HUD's evaluator to use their data for the evaluation. The BIF will provide important information not otherwise available from HUD's administrative data, such as whether the household has significant barriers to employment. The BIF will average approximately 7 minutes long.
MDRC will also conduct interviews with staff from participating PHAs, to better understand their experience implementing the new rent policies. For the first phase of the evaluation, MDRC is expected to conduct two rounds of staff interviews with each PHA. This collection request focuses on the first of the two rounds of staff data collection. During the first round, MDRC expects to interview up to ten staff per PHA (reflecting a mix of executive management staff, public housing and HCV directors, and public housing and HCV specialists). The mode will be a mix of one-on-one interviews and group interviews, with small groups of 2-3 staff performing similar roles.
Stepped/Tiered Rent Cohort of MTW Expansion:
https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/ph/mtw/expansion/cohort2
HUD submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202204-2528-001 Click IC List for data collection instruments, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this webpage.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-13926
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