[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3178-3179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01160]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7007-N-01]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Rent Reform 
Demonstration: 36-Month Follow-Up Survey and Comprehensive Impact 
Analysis

AGENCY: Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (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: March 26, 2018.

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: Anna P. Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street, SW, Room 4176, Washington, DC 20410-5000; telephone (202) 402-
5534 (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: Anna P. Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20410-5000; email Anna P. Guido at 
[email protected] or telephone (202) 402-5535 (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. Guido.

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: 36-
Month Follow-Up Survey and Comprehensive Impact Analysis.
    OMB Approval Number: 2528-0306.
    Type of Request: Revision.
    Agency Form Numbers: No agency forms will be used.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The 
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is conducting 
the Rent Reform Demonstration under contract with MDRC and its 
subcontractors (The Bronner Group, Quadel Consulting Corporation, and 
the Urban Institute). The 36-month follow-up survey will be conducted 
by a survey contractor. The project is a random assignment trial of an 
alternative rent system. In 2015 and 2016, 6,660 families were randomly 
assigned to either 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 limits 
the extent to which selection bias drives observed results. The 
demonstration will document the progress of a group of housing voucher 
holders, who were drawn from current residents at the four Moving to 
Work (MTW) Demonstration public housing agencies (PHAs) that are 
participating in the Rent Reform Demonstration:
    (1) Lexington Housing Authority (LHA), Lexington, Kentucky;
    (2) Louisville Metro Housing Authority (LMHA), Louisville, 
Kentucky;
    (3) San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA), San Antonio, Texas; and
    (4) District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA), Washington, DC.
    The impact evaluation's 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). 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 the 36-
month follow-up survey that will document and contextualize 
administrative data findings related to employment, earnings, and 
hardship and study participants' experience with the demonstration.
    Respondents: 6,660.
    This includes:

[[Page 3179]]

     Families with housing vouchers, remaining in the current 
rent system (control group): up to 3,350.
     Families with housing vouchers, enrolled in the 
alternative rent system (treatment group): up to 3,310.
    Estimated total number of hours needed to prepare the information 
collection including number of respondents, frequency of response, 
hours of response, and cost of response time: Based on the assumptions 
and table below, we calculate the annual burden hours for the study to 
be 4,462.20 hours and the annual cost to be $40,338.29. For the study 
consent form and the 36-month follow-up survey, we averaged the median 
hourly minimum wage across the 4 study sites: 1,904 enrolled 
participants, which is 28.59 percent of the study sample, in 
Washington, DC at $13.50 per hour expected in Q3 2018 (28.59 percent x 
$13.50 = $3.86), and 4,756 enrolled participants, which is 71.41 
percent of the study sample, in the remaining sites at $7.25 per hour 
in Kentucky and Texas (71.41 percent x $7.25 = $5.18) produces a 
weighted average of the hourly wage rates equal to $9.04.
    All assumptions are reflected in the table below.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Number of     Frequency of      Burden hour per                              Hourly cost
       Information collection          respondents      response            response         Annual burden hours    per response         Total cost
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consent Forms......................           6,660               1  Up to 10 minutes (or   1,132.2 hours (6,660        $9.04 \1\  $10,235.09 (6,660*
                                                                      0.17 hours).           *0.17).                                $9.04 * 0.17 hours)
Baseline Information...............           6,660               1  30 minutes, on         3,330 hours (6,660               9.04  $30,103.20 (6,660
                                                                      average (or 0.50       *0.50).                                *$9.04 * 0.50 hours)
                                                                      hours).
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    Total..........................           6,660  ..............  .....................  4,462.20.............  ..............  $40,338,29
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ We have estimated the hourly wage at the expected prevailing minimum wage, which is $7.25 per hour in Kentucky and Texas and is the same as the
  federal minimum wage rate. (Source: U.S. Department of Labor, https://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm). The hourly minimum wage in the District of
  Columbia is expected to be $13.50 by Q3 of 2018. (Source: District of Columbia Department of Employ- ment Services, http://does.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/does/page_content/attachments/DC%20Minimum%20Wage%20Increase%20-%20DC%20Register%20Public%20Notice.pdf). Accordingly, we assume an
  hourly rate across all sites of $9.04 that represents an average of these two rates, weighted by the enrolled sample at each site. (1,904 enrolled
  participants in Washington, DC and 4,756 enrolled in the remaining sites).

B. Solicitation of Public Comment

    This notice solicits 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 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.

    Dated: January 9, 2018.
Todd M. Richardson,
Acting General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research.
[FR Doc. 2018-01160 Filed 1-22-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P