[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 177 (Friday, September 11, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56266-56268]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-20062]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7029-N-08]


60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Evaluation of 
Cohort 1 of the Moving to Work Demonstration Program Expansion

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research, Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. 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: November 10, 2020.

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; 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: Evaluation of Cohort 1 of the 
Moving to Work Demonstration Program Expansion.
    OMB Approval Number: Pending.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Form Number: NA.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The 
Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R), at the U.S.

[[Page 56267]]

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is proposing the 
collection of information for the Evaluation of Cohort 1 of the Moving 
to Work Demonstration Program Expansion.
    Moving to Work (MTW) is a demonstration program that encourages 
public housing agencies (PHAs) to test ways to achieve three specific 
objectives: (1) Increase the cost effectiveness of federal housing 
programs, (2) increase housing choice for low-income families, and/or 
(3) encourage greater self-sufficiency of households receiving housing 
assistance. MTW designation gives PHAs relief from many of the 
regulations and statutory provisions that apply to the public housing 
and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs. MTW agencies can also merge 
their public housing and HCV funds into a single block grant and use 
these funds (if desired) for local activities outside of the typical 
public housing and HCV programs, such as providing supportive services 
or developing housing for populations with special needs. In 2016, 
Congress authorized HUD to expand the MTW program by 100 high 
performing PHAs.
    The MTW expansion statute emphasizes evaluating the MTW program, 
directing HUD to expand the program in cohorts that would allow for 
``one specific policy change to be implemented. . . .'' and rigorously 
evaluated. The first cohort of the expansion will test the impact of 
MTW designation on small PHAs, defined for these purposes as PHAs 
administering no more than 1,000 housing units across their HCV and 
public housing programs. In Cohort 1, PHAs are free to implement any 
program and policy changes permissible under the MTW program. Under 
contract with HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research, Abt 
Associates Inc. will conduct an evaluation of Cohort 1 that includes a 
study of how PHAs use their MTW flexibility to meet the MTW program's 
goals and a study of the impact of MTW designation on cost 
effectiveness, self-sufficiency, and housing choice.
    The Evaluation of Cohort 1 of the Moving to Work Demonstration 
Program Expansion will be implemented as a randomized control trial. To 
carry out the study, HUD randomly assigned the 43 eligible PHAs that 
submitted a Letter of Interest to HUD for Cohort 1 into one of two 
groups: A treatment group (33 PHAs) that is invited to complete the 
application for MTW designation and a control group (10 PHAs) that is 
not invited to complete the application for MTW designation and 
therefore is not permitted to receive MTW designation under Cohort 1.
    The evaluation will compare the outcomes of the treatment group 
PHAs to the outcomes of the control group PHAs over a five-year period. 
To the extent possible, this evaluation will rely on analysis of 
secondary data that PHAs already prepare and submit to HUD, however, 
some primary data collection will be required.
    This Federal Register Notice provides an opportunity to comment on 
the information collection for the evaluation. The evaluation will use 
the data described in this information collection request to clarify 
and expand on information provided in the existing data sources and to 
capture qualitative information about the experiences of study PHAs 
implementing activities related to cost effectiveness, self-
sufficiency, or housing choice without MTW flexibility. The proposed 
information collection consists of: (1) Interviews with MTW (treatment 
group) PHAs; (2) online surveys to non-MTW (control group) PHAs; and 
(3) interviews with non-MTW (control group) PHAs.
    Respondents: PHA Executive Directors and staff.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: This information collection will 
affect approximately 129 PHA Executive Directors and Staff annually. 
HUD expects to collect data from approximately three staff at each the 
33 treatment group PHAs each year, and approximately two staff at each 
of the ten control group PHAs every other year.
    Estimated Time per Response: The interviews with PHA Executive 
Directors and staff in the treatment group agencies are expected to 
take up to 2 hours to complete. The interviews with PHA Executive 
Directors and staff in the control group agencies are expected to take 
up to 1.5 hours to complete. Finally, the online surveys with control 
group PHAs are expected to take 0.5 hours to complete.
    Frequency of Response: Interviews with the treatment group PHAs are 
expected to take place once a year for each of five years. Interviews 
with the control group PHAs, and the online survey with control group 
PHAs, will take place every other year (year 1, year 3, and year 5 of 
data collection).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: Data collection during years 
1, 3, and 5 will require up to 233 hours in combined time for all 
interviews and survey responses. Data collection during years 2 and 4, 
when data is not collected form the control group PHAs, will require 
only 198 hours in combined time for all interviews and survey 
responses.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: The total estimated annual cost for 
this information collection during years 1, 3, and 5 is $12,148.62. The 
total estimated annual cost is calculated by multiplying the total 
number of respondent hours (233) by $52.14. $52.14 was the average 
hourly compensation (wages and benefits) for state and local government 
workers in December 2019 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 
(https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecec.pdf). The total estimated 
annual cost for this information collection during years 2 and 4, when 
data is not collected form the control group PHAs, is $10,232.72. The 
total estimated annual cost is calculated by multiplying the total 
number of respondent hours (198) by $52.14. $52.14 was the average 
hourly compensation (wages and benefits) for state and local government 
workers in December 2019 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: The survey is conducted under Title 12, United 
States Code, Section 1701z and Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, 44, U.S.C., 35, as amended.

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                                             Number of     Frequency of    Responses per   Burden hours    Annual burden    Hourly cost
         Information collection             respondents      response          annum       per response        hours       per response        Cost
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Interviews: Treatment PHAs..............              99               1               1               2             198          $52.14      $10,232.72
Online Surveys: Control PHAs............              10               1               1             0.5               5           52.14          260.70
Interviews: Control PHAs................              20               1               1             1.5              30           52.14        1,564.20
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[[Page 56268]]

 
    Total...............................             129  ..............  ..............  ..............             233  ..............       12,148.62
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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.

    Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, Seth D. 
Appleton, having reviewed and approved this document, is delegating the 
authority to electronically sign this document to submitter, Nacheshia 
Foxx, who is the Federal Register Liaison for HUD, for purposes of 
publication in the Federal Register.

    Dated: September 8, 2020.
Nacheshia Foxx,
Federal Register Liaison for Housing and Urban Development.
[FR Doc. 2020-20062 Filed 9-10-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P