Eligibility and Enrollment in the Housing Allowance Program: Brown and St. Joseph Counties Through Year 2. Housing Assistance Supply Experiment

摘要

The eligibility and enrollment of persons in Brown County, Wis., and St. Joseph County, Ind., in the HUD Experimental Housing Allowance Program (a cash allowance program providing rent and utilities funds to clients who locate desirable housing) is reported for the first 2 years of the program. The data collected from annual field surveys show that households eligible under current rules concerning income, assets, and family composition differ substantially in their enrollment patterns and the nature of their benefits from the program. Baseline sample surveys of households in each site show that about a fifth of the site populations are eligible, and that more homeowners than renters are eligible. Four types of households constitute 85 percent of all eligibles in each site: young couples with young children, single parents, elderly couples, and elderly single persons. The likelihood of both enrolling and maintaining eligibility correlates strongly with differences in the sources, amounts, and stability of income. Enrollment was leveling off in Brown County with 42 percent of eligibles enrolled at the end of 2 years, but still climbing in St. Joseph County with 34 percent of the eligible population enrolled. Over one - third of all program enrollees in each site had terminated by the end of the second program year. These findings suggest that, to target housing allowances efficiently, eligibility tests other than income, assets, and family composition should be considered. Stage in the household life cycle and usual source of income both bear strongly on the enrollment decision. Further findings, recommendations, tabular data, and references are provided. (Author abstract modified).