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Housing Mobility Counseling Programs, FHACt April 2015
- 1. 36th Annual FHACt Fair Housing Conference April 23, 2015 PROVIDING CHOICE: HOUSING MOBILITY COUNSELING PROGRAMS QUADEL Consulting Presented by Erin Boggs, Esq. Open Communities Alliance Mobility expertise and slides, in major, part prepared by Jennifer O’Neil of Quadel Consulting
- 2. 2 TENANT-BASED HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHERS Housing Choice Voucher Holders by Location and Minority Status (by tracts) Voucher Holder Race/Ethnicity % Voucher Holders in Disproportionately Minority Areas % Voucher Holders in High Poverty Areas Geographical Area of the State 5.8% 10.5% All Voucher Holders 83% 79% Minority Voucher Holders 92% 85.5% Non-Hispanic White Voucher Holders 62% 65% Minority Voucher Holders White Voucher Holders
- 3. Low income families shouldn’t be restricted to struggling neighborhoods because they can’t afford alternatives. Families should be able to live in the communities where they work. Federal housing policies should ensure that families using federal subsidy programs have a choice to live outside of distressed neighborhoods that can undermine their health, their employment prospects, and their kids’ school success. WHY HOUSING MOBILITY PROGRAMS?
- 4. When families move to higher opportunity neighborhoods they experience: Better health Greater stability Safer neighborhoods Access to better schools WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS
- 5. Dramatic health gains - reduction in rates of obesity, anxiety, and depression MTO families that live for longer periods in lower poverty achieve better employment outcomes Youth living in lower-poverty neighborhoods achieve higher English and math test scores WHAT THE MTO RESEARCH SHOWS
- 6. DeLuca and Rosenblatt – Baltimore Students proficient or better in math went from 44.8% to 68.9% in opportunity neighborhood school Students proficient or better in reading went from 54.2% to 76% in opportunity neighborhood school Schwartz – Montgomery County, Maryland Children in public housing benefitted academically from merely living in low-poverty neighborhoods WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS
- 7. De-concentration (poverty/ race) Fair housing (overcoming barriers/ informed choice) Improved quality of life for families (safety, quality of housing & neighborhood, education, health, employment) Support Employment and Self- Sufficiency (economic & racial diversity) KEY COMPONENT: MISSION
- 8. Poverty Racial Segregation School Performance Safety/Crime Employment Opportunity index KEY COMPONENT: REASONABLE THRESHOLDS
- 9. Landlord Outreach Pre-Search Counseling Housing Search Assistance Post-Move Counseling Community partners KEY COMPONENT: SERVICES
- 10. Gautreaux – Chicago 1976-1998 (more than 25,000 families over 22 years) The MTO Demonstration 1994 (over 850 families) Baltimore (Thompson) 1994 (over 2500 families) Dallas (Walker) 1990 (1367 families) Voluntary programs - Chicago and others (mid 1990’s to the present) (Chicago - 3500 families) WORK IN PROGRESS
- 11. Broaden the definition of opportunity Counseling Quality Group vs individual Measure incremental success Post-move support Fair housing enforcement Making housing mobility an integral part of voucher program operations WHAT WE’VE LEARNED
- 12. CT has had a mobility counseling program since 2002. It has helped many families, but not produced the integration results associated with strong mobility counseling programs. This is largely due to lower funding levels and outdated definitions of a successful move. MOBILITY IN CT Mobility Participants Remaining in Town of Origin City % Participants Staying Bridgeport 88% Hartford 68% New Haven 82% 89% of CT mobility moves are to areas that are disproportionately minority (30% minority or greater).
- 13. Expanding Choice: Practical Strategies for Building a Successful Housing Mobility Program (2013) New Homes, New Neighborhoods, New Schools - A Progress Report on the Baltimore Housing Mobility Program (2009) The full reports can be downloaded at the Poverty & Race Research Action Council website: www.prrac.org RESOURCES
Editor's Notes
- There is now enough research to indicate that there are clear benefits to helping families move to better neighborhoods. Outcomes are positive for communities as well - socio-economically diverse neighborhoods are healthier neighborhoods. Not an either/or situation – efforts must continue to improve and redevelop the neighborhoods where there are high concentrations of poverty.
- While initial reports did not show gain in employment and there was some indication that especially teen boys may have encountered problems, longer term research and a closer look at the data indicates that families that stayed in lower poverty areas do achieve better employment outcomes. Many children of MTO families continued to attend the same schools; but those who attended schools in their new opportunity neighborhoods have achieved higher English and math scores.
- Given the positive outcomes of housing mobility, the next few slides cover the key components of mobility counseling programs and then we’ll talk a little about best practices. The first order of business is always the mission – being clear about the purpose of your program. These are the four most typical. Programs may be broad and generally want to achieve all these while others are very focused and may concentrate on one key element – education for example.
- The next key component is establishing reasonable thresholds for the outcomes the program seeks to achieve. So, for example, how will you define poverty – using what geographic boundaries (census tracts, zip codes, etc.) and what poverty rate to define opportunity. Or, if it’s school performance, will you look at feeder schools (elementary and middle) or high schools, will you determine opportunity by test scores, drop out rates, the percentage of children eligible for meals programs. …
- Finally, what services do you want to provide and what services can you afford to offer? And how intensive will the services be? Will housing search assistance include providing transportation to view available units? Will post-move counseling include several home visits? Will the program include partnerships with community based organizations to assist?
- Housing mobility counseling continues to evolve. It all began with the Gautreaux lawsuit and consent decree in Chicago which involved only a minimal research component. HUD then followed with the Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing . Demonstration in the 90’s. Two other major programs that came out of litigation were in Baltimore and Dallas. In addition, there have been numerous voluntary programs around the country, the largest and longest running in Chicago. Much has been learned from all of these.
- While poverty and race were the measures of opportunity in all the legal cases, many housing agencies have found it helpful to broaden the definition to include other quality of life characteristics. The quality of counselors is critical to success – where the counselors live and their buy-in to the program’s mission is essential. We have also learned a great deal about how much families can do on their own and the benefits of providing services in group settings. Not all families are prepared to make a dramatic move. It is beneficial to accept that and track the incremental successes. Anecdotally, families often make a move to a somewhat better neighborhood and then a move to a high opportunity neighborhood, or a second move may be a return to a more impacted area but better than the original neighborhood. Fair housing enforcement continues to be key. Often mobility counselors, in an effort to persuade landlords to lease to voucher holders are hesitant to encourage or file complaints. The laws still need to be enforced. Finally, it is cost efficient and more effective if housing mobility is part of the everyday activities of all housing authority program staff – inspectors, receptionists, housing specialists, etc. and not a stand alone boutique program. (provide info, encourage, etc.
- These are resources where you can find one program’s data and outcomes and a “how to” manual for mobility counseling programs. Quadel participated in the production of both and is also available to assist.