[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 49 (Thursday, March 13, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14264-14266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-05401]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5758-N-04]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Rent Reform 
Demonstration (Task Order 1)

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment 
from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. 
The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.

DATES: Comments Due Date: May 12, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB 
Control Number and should be sent to: Colette Pollard, Reports 
Management Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
451 7th Street SW., Room 4176, Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone 
202-402-5564 (this is not a toll-free number) or email at 
[email protected] for a copy of the proposed forms or other 
available information. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may 
access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay 
Service at (800) 877-8339.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colette Pollard, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20410; email Colette Pollard at 
[email protected] or telephone 202-402-3400. This is not a toll-
free number. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this 
number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at 
(800) 877-8339.
    Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from 
Ms. Pollard.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that HUD is 
seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in 
Section A.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Information Collection: Rent Reform Demonstration.
    Type of Request: New.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The 
Department is conducting this study under contract with MDRC and its 
subcontractors (Branch Associates, The Bronner Group, Decision 
Information Resources, Quadel Consulting Corporation, and the Urban 
Institute). The project is a random assignment trial of an alternative 
rent system. Families will be randomly assigned to either

[[Page 14265]]

participate in the new/alternative rent system or to continue in the 
current system. For voucher holders, outcomes of the alternative system 
are hypothesized to be increases in earnings, employment and job 
retention, among others. Random assignment will limit the extent to 
which selection bias drives observed results. The demonstration will 
document the progress of a group of housing voucher holders, who will 
be drawn from current residents. The intent is to gain an understanding 
of the impact of the alternative rent system on the families as well as 
the administrative burden on Public Housing Agencies (PHAs). PHAs 
currently participating in the Moving to Work (MtW) Demonstration are 
being recruited to participate in the demonstration.
    Data collection will include the families that are part of the 
treatment and control groups, as well as PHA staff. Data for this 
evaluation will be gathered through a variety of methods including 
informational interviews, direct observation, surveys, and analysis of 
administrative records. The work covered under this information request 
is for interviews and the baseline survey. Work funded by subsequent 
task orders will be covered under a separate information collection 
request.
    Respondents: 12,030.
    This includes:
     Public Housing Authority Staff: Up to 30 (i.e., assuming 
up to 5 staff at up to 6 PHAs).
     Families with housing vouchers, remaining in the current 
rent system (control group): Up to 6,000.
     Families with housing vouchers, enrolled in the 
alternative rent system (treatment group): Up to 6,0.

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                                   Number of       Frequency of      Responses per    Burden hour per    Annual burden     Hourly cost
    Information collection        respondents        response            annum           response            hours        per response     Annual cost
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Study information sheet......  12,000..........  Once............  Once, in Year 1,  Up to 10 minutes  2,040 hours            \1\ $7.25  $7,395
                                                                    at random         (or .17 hours).   (12,000 * .17).                  (6,000 employed
                                                                    assignment only.                                                      sample members
                                                                                                                                          * $7.25 * .17
                                                                                                                                          hours).
Baseline Information.........  12,000..........  Once............  Once, in Year 1,  30 minutes, on    6,000 hours             \2\ 7.25  $21,750
                                                                    at random         average (or .50   (12,000 * .50).                  (6,000 employed
                                                                    assignment only.  hours).                                             sample members
                                                                                                                                          * $7.25 * 0.5
                                                                                                                                          hours).
Tracking survey sample         12,000..........  Two times.......  Once per year...  30 minutes, on    6,000 hours             \3\ 7.25  $21,750
 (update contact information).                                                        average (or .50   (12,000 * .5/                    (6,000 employed
                                                                                      hours) or 1       year).                            sample members
                                                                                      hour over the                                       * $7.25 * 0.5
                                                                                      tracking period.                                    hours).
Data on implementation of new  30 staff total    Four times......  Up to four times  Incorporated      120 hours (4 one-          24.86  \4\ 2,983
 rent model. Meet with HA       (5 staff * 6                        over the course   into technical    hour meetings *                  (30 staff *
 staff (recertification,        sites ).                            of the first      assistance and    30 staff).                        $24.86 * 1
 data, and management).                                             year.             monitoring                                          hour * 4
                                                                                      visits; 30-60                                       meetings).
                                                                                      minutes.
Data on tenant experience of   90 tenants (15    Once............  One time during   Incorporated      90 hours (1 one-        \5\ 7.25  $326
 alternative rent model.        tenants * 6                         the first year.   into technical    hour meeting *                   (45 employed
                                sites).                                               assistance and    90 tenants).                      tenants *
                                                                                      monitoring                                          $7.25 * 1
                                                                                      visits; 30-60                                       hour).
                                                                                      minutes.
                              --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total....................  12,030..........  ................  ................  ................  14,250..........  ..............  $54,204
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\1\ Potential respondents will range widely in employment position and earnings. For study participants, we have estimated the hourly wage at the
  federal minimum wage: $7.25 per hour. Based on other research, we expect about 50 percent of the participants to be employed at the time of study
  entry. Also, based on a recent report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, some 55 percent of non-elderly, non-disabled households receiving
  voucher assistance reported earned income in 2010\.\ The typical (median) annual earnings for these families were $15,600, only slightly more than the
  pay from full-time, year-round minimum-wage work. (http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3634). In the NYC Work Rewards study, based on 36-month survey
  data, the median wage for working participants was $10 an hour. Based on this, we assumed 6,000 (or 50% of the 12,000 projected sample) would be
  working at the federal minimum wage.
\2\ Same note as 1.
\3\ Same note as 1.
\4\ For program staff, the estimate uses the median hourly wages of selected occupations (classified by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)
  codes) was compared using Occupational Employment Statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Potentially relevant
  occupations and their median hourly wages include:
\5\ Same note as 1.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Median hourly
               Occupation                    SOC Code        wage rate
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Community and Social Service Specialist.         21-1099          $19.74
Social/community Service Manager........         11-9151          29.98
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Source: Occupational Employment Statistics, May 2012, accessed online
  May 21st, 2013 at http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm To
  estimate cost burden to program staff respondents, we use an average
  of the occupations listed, or $24.86/hr.

B. Solicitation of Public Comment

    This notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affected parties concerning the collection of information described in 
Section A on the following:
    (1) 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) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) Ways to minimize 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.
    HUD encourages interested parties to submit comment in response to 
these questions.

    Authority: Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35.


[[Page 14266]]


    Dated: February 28, 2014.
Jean Lin Pao,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.
[FR Doc. 2014-05401 Filed 3-12-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P