Mar 12 -- The Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD, invites public comments by May 13, 2024 regarding the Moving to Work 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), review the informed consent form, 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.
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. 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 second round will focus on staff most directly involved with implementing the new rent policies (public housing and HCV directors and/or managers, and public housing and HCV specialists). The mode in Round 1will be a mix of one-on-one interviews and group interviews, with small groups of 2–3 staff performing similar roles. The mode in Round 2 will be group interviews, with groups of 2–4 staff performing similar roles.
MDRC will collect data extracts that will include a small subset of data elements captured by the PHAs exclusively for the demonstration, called the “Rent Policy Implementation Data Tracking Tool.” MDRC will collect these data fields along with MTW Expansion 50058 data, which is collected under OMB control number 2577–0083, directly from PHAs during the early implementation period to ensure that the new rent rules are being implemented correctly and throughout the demonstration to track hardship requests and collect updated contact information for ongoing communications and reminders about the demonstration and for potential follow-up surveys.
Respondents (i.e., affected public): Recipients of HUD housing assistance participating in the Stepped and Tiered Rent Demonstration; Staff with PHAs participating in the Demonstration.
Estimated Number of Respondents: up to 25,000 study participants who will complete the baseline survey; 100 PHA staff interviewees in a first round (which occurred in 2023) and up to 120 PHA staff interviewees in a second round of data collection with staff.
Frequency of Response: Once (BIF); Once for staff included in Round 1 staff interviews; Once for staff included in Round 2 staff interviews.
Evaluating the MTW Expansion: Stepped and Tiered Rent Demonstration:
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/mtw/cohort2.html
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-05175