DHAP Family Letter

3

DHAP Phase I/II/III Family

Dear Ms./Mr. _______:

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is beginning an important national study of the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP). The goal of this study is to understand what happens to you and other DHAP participants after DHAP assistance ends. The study is being conducted by HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research for HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing.

In order for HUD to conduct this important study, HUD needs your permission, or consent, to be able to contact you and track specific things that occur to you as a study participant after DHAP ends. HUD would like you to agree to participate in the study so that we may have contact information for you and the ability to get in touch with you in the future (probably 6, 12, 18, or 24 months after DHAP ends). The study will involve approximately 3,000 DHAP families. The study will evaluate the effectiveness of DHAP in transitioning people from rental assistance to market rate housing after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita through an initial questionnaire, tracking of housing locations through the National Change of Address (NCOA) database, and a follow-up telephone survey.

You have the opportunity to participate in the study because you are receiving housing assistance through the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP). Participation in this study is voluntary. If you choose to participate in the study, you will be expected to complete an initial 20-minute questionnaire today, for which HUD expects to provide you with a $15 gift card for completing the baseline questionnaire. The questions have been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (OMB control #___, expiration date ____). The estimated time to complete this data request is 30 minutes.

HUD expects to conduct follow-up checks on the National Change of Address (NCOA) database every six months and a follow-up telephone interview with you in the future, about 12 to 24 months after DHAP ends. If you agree to participate, this follow-up telephone interview will take about 30-minute to complete. HUD expects to provide you with a $20 gift card for completing the telephone survey. The questionnaire and follow-up interview will each ask about your housing situation, financial circumstances, employment, education, and your experiences with DHAP rental assistance and market rate housing. You have the right to refuse to answer any of the questions.

In order to participate in the study, you will need to provide your full name and address, your phone number, and your social security number to allow HUD or the private research firm that will be awarded the contract to conduct the study, to update our address records with information from the NCOA every six months during the study follow-up period and at the time of the follow-up telephone survey (12 to 24 months from now). As an additional benefit you will receive a free copy of your consolidated credit report (from the three credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union) and credit score from a “soft hit” or “soft inquiry” on your credit report at the time the telephone survey is conducted. (A “soft hit” or “soft inquiry” means that when a HUD contractor will check your consolidated credit report and your credit score, there is no affect on your credit score.) HUD will keep track of your address and any address changes reported in NCOA in order to be able to locate you to conduct the telephone survey 12 to 24 months from the end of DHAP. Should you become a HUD-assisted household, HUD will use the Public and Indian Clearinghouse (PIC) database to keep track of any address, household, income, assistance, or employment changes.

HUD does promise confidentiality as stated in the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), Records Maintained on Individuals. The findings from the study will be publicly reported only as a group; your name and individual responses will not be identified in the study reports. The information you provide will only be used for research purposes and only the project staff from HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research and research staff from the HUD selected contractor will see your NCOA or PIC data (if applicable). Only project staff from HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research and research staff from the HUD selected contractor will see your consent forms and your responses to the baseline questionnaire. Only research staff from the HUD selected contractor will see your telephone survey responses. You will never be named in the study.

Please let your PHA know if you are willing to participate in this study and schedule a time to come in to your PHA to review the consent form and complete the baseline questionnaire. If you have any questions about this study, please contact Marina Myhre of HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research at (202) 402-5705. Please keep in mind this is not a toll-free number. You may also contact Marina Myhre by email. Her email address is [email protected]. Thank you for your consideration and assistance.

Sincerely,

Danielle L. Bastarache

Director, Office of Housing Voucher Programs

Enclosures

Internal HUD Distribution:
RRE : Myhre			RR : Neary
RRE : Shroder			PEVC : Dennis
			PEVC : Bastarache
Identification Lines:
2502-0204 and 2502-0182 Emergency Letter 06112008
Correspondence Code	Originator RRE	Concurrence RRE		Concurrence RR	Concurrence PEVC	Concurrence PEVC		Concurrence
Name	MYHRE	SHRODER		NEARY	DENNIS	BASTARACHE
Date

Official Record Copy U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development form HUD-713.1 (02/03)

Previous edition is obsolete.