Family Options Study: Long-Term Follow-up Evaluation
Reinstatement with change of a previously approved collection
No
Regular
02/16/2022
table that charts list comparision
Requested
Previously Approved
36 Months From Approved
5,754
0
841
0
0
0
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has invested considerable resources into strategies to address family homelessness. Senate Report 109-109 for the FY 2006 Transportation, Treasury, Judiciary, HUD, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill directed the Department to focus its energies on families who experience homelessness and to âundertake research to ascertain the impact of various service and housing interventions in ending homelessness for families.â In 2008, HUD launched the Family Options Study, a multi-site experiment designed to test the impacts of different housing and service interventions on families who experience homelessness, in five key domains: housing stability, family preservation, adult well-being, child well-being, and self-sufficiency. The study, conducted by Abt Associates and its partner Vanderbilt University, compared the effect of three active interventionsâlong-term housing subsidy, community-based rapid re-housing, and project-based transitional housingâto one another and to the usual care available in the study communities.
From September 2010 through January 2012, 2,282 families (with 5,397 children) across 12 communities enrolled in the Family Options Study after spending at least 7 days in emergency shelter. At the time of enrollment families provided their consent to participate in the study and completed a baseline survey (OMB #2528-0259, Expiration Date: 05/31/2013). The study randomized these 2,282 families to one of four interventions distinguished by the type and duration of housing assistance and supportive services. The research team tracked the families for over three years and administered two separate follow-up surveys to families during that time period under the same OMB control number; a 20-month followup survey (OMB #2528-0259, Expiration Date: 3/31/2015) and a 37-month followup survey (OMB #2528-0259, Expiration Date: 3/31/2017).
US Code:
12 USC 1701z-1
Name of Law: Research and Demonstrations
Both the design and the scale of the study provided a strong basis for conclusions about the relative impacts of the interventions over time, and the outcomes measured during the followup data collection yielded powerful evidence regarding the positive impact of providing a non-time-limited housing subsidy to a family experiencing homelessness. It is possible, though, that some effects of the various interventions might change over time or take longer to emerge, particularly for child well-being. In 2017, several years after the 37-month data collection had been completed, HUD launched a tracking effort to re-establish contact with the study sample, update the contact information for all participants, collect additional information on key outcomes of interest, and, ultimately, assess the feasibility of future research efforts (OMB #2528-0259, Expiration Date: 8/31/2020). The success of that tracking effort motivated HUD to pursue a new wave of primary data collection with the study families approximately 12 years after random assignment.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Final - Family Options Study_Appendix C.docx
Family Options Study_Appendix D.pdf
Information Release Form