[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1996-1998]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-606]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4909-N-01]


Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment on 
the Evaluation of the Welfare to Work Voucher Program, Follow-on Survey 
Data Collection

AGENCY: Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement described 
below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department 
is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

DATES: Comments Due Date: March 15, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and should 
be sent to: Reports Liaison Officer, Office of Policy Development and 
Research, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, 
SW., Room 8226, Washington, DC 20410.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Dornan at 202-708-0614 ext. 4486 
for copies of the proposed data collection instruments and other 
available documents.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department will submit the proposed 
information collection to OMB for review, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended).
    The Notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affecting agencies concerning the proposed collection of information 
to: (1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) 
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (3) Enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) Mininize the 
burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond; 
including through the use of appropriate automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    This Notice also lists the following information:
    Title of Proposal: Evaluation of the Welfare to Work Voucher 
Program, Follow-on Survey Data Collection.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The 
fundamental goal of this evaluation is to assess the impacts of 
receiving a Welfare to Work voucher on improving the housing locations 
of families with children, on their obtaining and retaining employment, 
on their levels of welfare dependency, and on the well-being of their 
children. To assess these program impacts, a large body of data has 
been collected from a variety of administrative sources, and additional 
information will be collected using the follow-on survey.
    The evaluation assesses impacts in five primary areas that may be 
affected by receiving a housing voucher:
    [sbull] Housing assistance and services;
    [sbull] Employment and earnings;
    [sbull] Income, benefits, and food security;
    [sbull] Housing mobility and neighborhood environment; and
    [sbull] Household composition, family, and child well being.
    It is important to distinguish between the analysis that will be 
conducted using administrative files and Census data and the analysis 
that requires follow-on survey data. Many of the outcomes of interest 
can be measured only through participant surveys. These survey-measured 
outcomes include important dimensions of adult and child well-being, 
such as receipt of education and training, family health, children's 
educational outcomes, household composition and family formation, and 
families' satisfaction with their neighborhoods. Participant surveys 
also allow researchers to investigate details about the employment 
experience not available from administrative records including job 
quality (hours worked per week, hourly wages, fringe benefits); job 
location; methods of job search; and barriers to employment.
    The proposed survey data collection will offer powerful new 
evidence concerning the effects of tenant-based rental assistance on 
the self-sufficiency and well being of low-income families.
    The experimental design used in the evaluation enables one to draw 
rigorous inferences about the effects of housing vouchers on family 
well-being, independent of all other factors affecting the lives of 
program participants. Random assignment serves to assure that the 
treatment and control groups are well matched on both observed and 
unobserved characteristics at the time of their entry into the study. 
It thus establishes the strongest possible foundation for understanding 
whether housing vouchers can assist welfare families in achieving 
greater financial independence or otherwise improving their lives.
    This study and its survey component are especially timely in light 
of federal and state changes in welfare policies over the past decade, 
reducing the numbers of families eligible for public assistance and 
limiting the time period over which they can receive benefits. Housing 
vouchers may help low-income families become employed and may also help 
them meet financial needs as they transition from welfare.
    The planned follow-on survey, in conjunction with an analysis of 
outcomes derived from Census data and administrative sources, will 
capture the experiences of treatment and control group members over a 
period of approximately four years. A follow-up interval of this length 
is important to measuring the impact of vouchers, as the typical length 
of stay in vouchers is three years, and the effects of a voucher on 
family well-being may take time to emerge.
    Members of affected public: Individuals and households that applied 
to participate in the Welfare-to-Work voucher program in the six 
evaluation sites (Atlanta and Augusta, Georgia; Fresno and Los Angeles, 
California: Houston, Texas; and Spokane, Washington) will be 
interviewed as part of this data collection effort.
    Estimation of the total numbers of hours needed to prepare the 
information collection including number of respondents, frequency of 
response, and hours of response:

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                                                                      Time to
              Interview respondent                   Number of       complete     Frequency (per   Total burden
                                                    respondents      (minutes)      respondent)       (hours)
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Adult head of core household....................           3,900              30               1           1,950
Adult head of core household, responses                    2,613               7               2             610
 regarding 2 children...........................
Adult head of core household, responses                    1,170               7               1             137
 regarding 1 children...........................
    Total.......................................           3,900              41               1           2,697
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[[Page 1998]]

    States of the proposed information collection: Pending OMB 
approval.

    Authority: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.

    Dated: January 2, 2004.
Darlene F. Williams,
General Deputy, Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research.
[FR Doc. 04-606 Filed 1-12-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-62-M