Interview Guide For Participating Families Who Have Leased Up

INSTRUMENT 6: INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR PARTICIPATING FAMILIES WHO HAVE LEASED UP

Evaluation of the Community Choice Demonstration

This guide is for treatment and control group families that have successfully leased-up with a voucher through the [MOBILITY PROGRAM] program or with usual Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program services, including both existing and new admission voucher families.

Note for interviewer: The section transitions are important for clarifying nuanced differences between sections and reducing repetitiveness felt during pretests.

[AFTER CONSENT PROCESS IN ATTACHMENT H]

The tape recorder is now on.

OK, let’s start.

WARM-UP/BACKGROUND [All Respondents]

First, I’d like to learn a bit about you, your family, and the reasons you were interested in moving.

1. Please tell me about the number of people who live with you.

1. How many children live here with you? What are their ages and what grade are they in?

[Note that any names mentioned will be removed/redacted.]

2. About how long have you been in the voucher program?

1. [Existing voucher families only] How many different apartments/homes have you lived in while in the voucher program?

2. [New voucher families only] Before you moved to your current place, were you living in your own apartment or home, with friends or family, or staying in a shelter?

1. [If living with friend or family] Was that a temporary arrangement, or were you able to stay there as long as you liked?

2. [If living in own apartment or home] Did you end up moving with your voucher? Or did you use your voucher in the unit in which you were living?

3. [All respondents] What is the name of the neighborhood in which you were living before your most recent move? Can you tell me the zip code?

   1. About how long did you live in that neighborhood?

GENERAL SEARCH QUESTIONS

The next questions focus on your most recent housing search experiences.

3. Tell me about your recent housing search.

   1. What went well?

   2. What was challenging?

4. [For families that moved] What motivated you to move from where you were living before? [If respondent hesitates, move to probes immediately. Pretests indicated domestic violence/sensitivity/trauma might have influenced the move.]

Probes: Housing-related reasons, including lack of stable housing/homelessness, neighborhood-related reasons, other reasons?

1. [If more than one reason] What was the main reason you moved?

Probes: Housing-related reasons, including lack of stable housing/homelessness, neighborhood-related reasons, other reasons?

5. When deciding where to live, what was most important to you?

Probes: The home itself, the specific neighborhood, safety, the schools, close to family/friends, other factors?

6. What main platforms or sources are you using to search for housing?

Probes: Using the PHA’s list or GoSection 8, searching other online websites for housing listings, asking family and friends, driving around neighborhoods; [Treatment group] Housing identified by [MOBILITY PROGRAM]?

1. About how long did you search for housing with your voucher before you found the place you’re in now?

7. Roughly how many apartments/houses did you seriously think about applying for during your most recent search before deciding to move to your current home?

1. Did you end up submitting rental applications to any of those apartments/houses?
   [If yes]

   1. What neighborhoods were they in?

   2. Were any of these units from a list of apartments/homes that the [PHA] identified for you? [If so] How many did the program identify?

   3. What happened after you applied?

• Was your application accepted/denied?

• Did you decide not to move into the unit? Why?

4. Did you want to move to any of these apartments/homes but could not for some reason?

[If yes] What was the main reason you couldn’t move to the home you wanted?

Probes: Landlord rejected application; didn’t return phone call/hung up/didn’t provide application/etc.; issue with the PHA’s lease up process (paperwork, rent amount, inspection); past eviction, foreclosure, or credit problems; location concerns (safety, transportation options, location relative to employment, schools, etc.); discriminatory actions based on race, ethnicity, family status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or source of income, etc.; told unit was no longer available?

[If no] Were there any apartments/houses that you seriously considered that you did not submit a rental application for?

1. Why did you choose not to apply?

Probes: Location concerns (safety, transportation options, location relative to employment, schools, etc.); landlord interactions; discriminatory actions based on race, ethnicity, family status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or source of income, etc.?

8. What was your experience explaining the voucher to landlords during your housing search?

1. [Treatment group] Tell me about your experience explaining [MOBILITY PROGRAM] to landlords.

9. Have you encountered any [other] challenges in finding a place you want to live that you haven’t talked about? [If no, ask some probes]

Probes: Issue with the PHA’s lease up process (paperwork, rent amount, inspection); eviction, foreclosure, credit problems, transportation, location of employment; issues with landlord (don’t want families with children; refuse to take voucher/Section 8; discriminatory actions based on race, ethnicity, family status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or source of income; didn’t return phone call/hung up; said unit was no longer available, or didn’t provide application to submit, etc.)

NEIGHBORHOOD PREFERENCE QUESTIONS

These next questions focus on your neighborhood-related preferences and experiences in your housing search.

10. [Existing voucher families] Did you already have an idea about the area or neighborhood where you wanted to live before you asked to move with your voucher?

[New voucher families] Did you already have an idea about the area or neighborhood where you wanted to live before you received your voucher?

1. [If yes] Can you tell me more about that. Where did you want to move?

2. Did that change at all once you started your search? [If yes] How so?

11. About how many neighborhoods did you look in during your housing search?

1. Did you search in a limited number of neighborhoods or was your search broader than that?

2. How did you decide on those neighborhoods?

3. What did you like about the neighborhoods where you searched?

4. Were there neighborhoods you wanted to avoid? [If yes] Which neighborhoods? What made you want to avoid them?

12. Did your [child’s/children’s] needs factor into decisions about neighborhoods? [If yes] How?

Probes: Daycare or childcare, schools, medical care, family or community ties, etc.?

13. [If schools/education identified as a decision factor, ask] In what ways did your child’s/children’s schooling affect your decisions about where to search for housing?

Probes: School stability, distance/commute, teacher quality, school safety, academic programs, extracurricular/after-school programs, college preparation?

1. Did your child/children change schools because of your move? [If yes] How did you/ feel about your child/children changing schools? How did your child/children feel about changing schools?

14. Have there been other areas or neighborhoods you thought about moving to but didn’t choose for one reason or another?

    1. Why did you not choose one of those areas?

    2. Did you want to move to any of those neighborhoods but could not for some reason?

1. [If yes] What was the main reason you couldn’t move to the neighborhood you wanted?

Probes: Location concerns (safety, transportation options, location relative to employment, schools, etc.); landlord interactions; discriminatory actions based on race, ethnicity, family status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or source of income, etc.; issues related to particular housing units?

[For Mobility Program Participants]

15. After working with the [MOBILITY PROGRAM], did you identify one or more neighborhoods that would work best for you and your family that you were not already considering?

1. [If yes] Which neighborhoods were these?

2. [If yes] Did the coach’s suggestions affect your search? [If yes] How?

Next, I’d like to get your perspectives on the areas on the map that [MOBILITY PROGRAM] staff showed you that are labelled “Opportunity Areas.” Do you recall seeing the map?

16. In your opinion, what are the features or amenities that should be available in an “opportunity area”?

1. How would you describe the benefits of moving your family to an Opportunity Area?

Probes: Housing features, transportation costs, community/social ties, identity, schools, safety?

2. What downsides, if any, have there been?

17. [Ask if respondent recalls seeing the Opportunity Area Map]

How did you feel about moving to an Opportunity Area when you started with [MOBILITY PROGRAM]?

Probes: Excited, worried, nervous?

1. Has your opinion about moving to an Opportunity Area changed since you leased up? [If yes] In what ways?

18. [Ask if respondent recalls seeing the Opportunity Area Map]

How did your child/children feel about moving to an Opportunity Area when you were doing your search? What excited them? What worried them?

1. [As applicable] Did it differ by age (teenagers compared with younger child/children) or the grade they are in? By gender? In what ways?

Probes: Worries about losing friends; school changes; teachers; other routines/access to family?

[FOR ALL RESPONDENTS]

19. How does the neighborhood you moved to compare with the neighborhood you lived in before? What is different?

20. Do you think you will stay in this neighborhood?

1. [If no or unsure] Do you have an idea of where you would like to move next?

   1. [If yes] What makes you want to move to [that/a different neighborhood]?

2. [If yes] What makes you want to stay in this neighborhood?

Probes: Distance/proximity from services or networks; sense of community; child’s/children’s satisfaction; satisfaction with childcare, schools, safety, accessibility of alternative options/difficulty moving to alternative neighborhood?

3. Did the racial or ethnic make-up of the neighborhood factor into your decision to move there?

   1. How did it affect your decision?

4. Does the racial or ethnic make-up of the neighborhood factor into your interest in staying there?

   1. Can you tell me about how it affects your interest in staying?

HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS [All respondents]

21. How did you eventually find the home you rented? Tell me more about that.

Probes: Program staff identified the unit, respondent found the unit on their own?

22. Did anyone else help you make the decision to choose this home? Family? Friends? Children? Can you tell me more about the help they provided?

23. I’m interested in what aspects of [the apartment/home you moved into] work well for your family and which don’t work so well. Can you tell me about that?

1. What would make it better?

Probes: Cost, size, location of the apartment/home, neighbors?

24. How does your current apartment/house compare with the last place you lived?

    1. What is different?

25. Is there anything you wish you had known about this house/unit before you moved in? [If yes] What was it?

PHA SERVICES RECEIVED [All Respondents]

26. [Existing voucher family] Please tell me about the process of getting a voucher from the [PHA] to move. What was easy? What was hard?

Probes: Paperwork/certification process, communicating with PHA staff, staff responsiveness and clarity of information?

1. What questions did you have after you got your moving voucher?

[ New admissions family] Tell me about the process of getting the voucher from [PHA]. What was easy? What was hard?

Probes: Paperwork/certification process, communicating with PHA staff, staff responsiveness and clarity of information?

2. What questions did you have after you got your voucher?

27. Tell me about any information you received from [the PHA] about how to use your voucher.

1. What did they tell you about where you could use your voucher?

2. Did they tell you how much you could afford in rent?

3. Did they tell you what to expect as next steps after you found a unit?

28. [Control group] Since you leased up, have you communicated with these PHA staff members? [If yes] What were these about?

MOBILITY SERVICES AVAILABLE [Treatment Respondents]

Let’s shift to discuss the [MOBILITY PROGRAM]. We are interested in learning about your interactions with staff and the services that were offered to you when you were searching for a new place to live and during the process of applying for and leasing up in a new rental apartment or house.

29. First, tell me about your decision to join [MOBILITY PROGRAM]. What made you interested in enrolling?

MOBILITY STAFF INTERACTIONS

30. Were you assigned to a particular staff member, or did you interact with various people at [MOBILITY PROGRAM]?

1. Tell me about how that worked. Who did you interact with the most?

2. What did you communicate about with [STAFF MEMBER(S)]?

31. How did you typically communicate with [MOBILITY PROGRAM] [STAFF MEMBER(S)]?

Probes: Scheduled meetings, in-person, informal calls/texts, who initiated contact?

1. How often did you speak with them?

2. What did you find most helpful in your interactions with them? Can you give an example?

3. What did you find not helpful? Can you give an example?

32. Did your work with [STAFF MEMBER(S)] help prepare you for your housing search? Tell me more about that.

33. Do you feel like [STAFF MEMBER(S)] understood what you were going through with the search process? Do they listen to your concerns?

    1. Can you give me an example of when you felt staff really listened/did not hear your concerns?

34. How easy or difficult was it to work with [MOBILITY PROGRAM] to get the help you wanted? Tell me more about that.

1. [If challenging] Tell me more about a specific instance or example.

Probes: Communication with staff/reaching staff, availability of needed service(s), clarity on services available?

35. Since you leased up, have you communicated with PHA or [MOBILITY PROGRAM] staff? [If yes] Who have you interacted with? What were these communications about?

MOBILITY SERVICES/PROGRAMMING

Let’s shift to talk about the services available through the [MOBILITY PROGRAM] and your experiences with them.

We’re interested in hearing about all types of services or assistance available to you from [MOBILITY PROGRAM], even if you have not used them. Later, I’ll ask you about the services you did use; for now, I’m interested in the variety of services you were offered.

By services we mean the types of help the program staff can provide to help your search, like one on one-meetings with a [MOBILITY PROGRAM] coach, group workshops, help finding apartments/houses in opportunity areas, financial assistance, and help communicating with landlords.

36. What types of services or assistance have been available to you from [MOBILITY PROGRAM]?

Probes: One-on-one meetings with a [MOBILITY PROGRAM] coach; mapping family systems; help identifying goals for the move; education about the program and opportunity areas; review of credit report; help preparing an application cover letter; group workshops; financial assistance?

37. Which of the services that [MOBILITY PROGRAM] offers did you use?

1. How did you decide to use these services as opposed to the other ones?

2. Are there other services you think you will use at some point?

Probes: One-on-one meetings with a [MOBILITY PROGRAM] coach; mapping family systems; help identifying goals for the move; education about the program and opportunity areas; review of credit report; help preparing an application cover letter; group workshops; help covering application fees, security deposits, other moving expenses?

38. Were the services you used from [MOBILITY PROGRAM] helpful during your housing search and lease up?

1. Which were the most useful? Tell me more about that.

Probes: Working one-on-one with a [MOBILITY PROGRAM] coach; help identifying available units, help negotiating with landlords, help assisting with and expediting PHA’s lease up process; help covering application fees, security deposits, or other moving expenses; navigating perceived discriminatory actions based on race, ethnicity, family status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or source of income, etc.?

2. Which service or services did you find least useful, if any? Can you give any examples of something that hasn’t turned out to be useful?

39. [If they mention getting financial assistance] How helpful was the financial assistance in moving to an Opportunity Area?

    1. Did you have other expenses not covered by the financial assistance that you needed help with to move to an Opportunity Area?

40. [Existing voucher families] Thinking back to other moves you have made with your voucher, did the help you received through [MOBILITY PROGRAM] make any difference compared with your previous housing search experiences? Tell me about that.

1. Tell me more about past experiences with landlords and using your voucher. Did the services you receive(d) through [MOBILITY PROGRAM] make a difference with your interactions with landlords?

41. If you could improve the help [MOBILITY PROGRAM] provides to people with vouchers searching for housing and leasing up, what changes would you make?

Probes: Make changes to types of services available, how services are delivered, length of services, staffing changes, etc.?

POST-MOVE SERVICES (if available) [Treatment Respondents]

42. I understand the mobility program also offers help after your move. Please tell me about the help that has been available to you since your recent move.

1. What services or assistance have you used?

2. [If used services or assistance] In what ways has the help you received from [MOBILITY PROGRAM] after moving into your apartment/house been useful, if any?

1. Has any of the assistance since your move not been useful? [If yes] What hasn’t been useful?

Probes: Support for landlord disputes; conflicts with neighbors; housing quality concerns; second moves; voucher questions; complaints from neighbors; discriminatory actions based on race, ethnicity, family status, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or source of income, etc.? Can you tell me about any help you were offered since you moved, but you did not end up using?

43. [Existing voucher families, if used post-move services] Did the help you received from [MOBILITY PROGRAM] after your move make any difference compared with your previous move experiences with a voucher? [If yes] How so? Tell me more about that.

Probes: Particular services, specific things said or done by coach/counselor?

44. If you could get other help from [MOBILITY PROGRAM] after your move, what type of help would you want?

Probes: Make changes to types of services, how services are delivered, frequency of contact with coach/counselor, etc.?

SATISFACTION WITH MOVE AND NEIGHBORHOOD [All Respondents]

45. Are you satisfied with how your most recent move turned out? Can you tell me more about that? Why or why not?

Probes: Satisfied with the neighborhood, with the house/apartment, with your landlord, with schools, with neighbors?

1. Has the help you got from [MOBILITY PROGRAM] affected how satisfied you are? If so, how?

46. Are your child/children satisfied with the move? Tell me more about that. Why or why not?

Probes: Satisfaction with new housing, neighborhood, school (if changed), distance from friends or school, distance from family, interaction with neighbors, new friends?

REFLECTIONS ON MOBILITY PROGRAM [Treatment Respondents]

47. Overall, how satisfied are you with the help that you received during your housing search and since your move?

Probe: Why satisfied or dissatisfied?

48. [Treatment group] Do the services you have received play into your thoughts about staying in this neighborhood? How so?

1. How might [MOBILITY PROGRAM] help you stay in this neighborhood if you want to?

49. Overall, how satisfied are you with [MOBILITY PROGRAM] [STAFF MEMBER(S)]? Tell me more about that.

CLOSING [All Respondents]

Thank you for taking the time to talk with me today.

50. Is there anything I did not ask about your moving experience or [MOBILITY PROGRAM] services that is important for us to understand?

51. Do you have any final questions for me about the study, or about the research team?

Thank you for your time. We will now turn off the recorder.

[Discuss compensation and collect future contacts list.]