Expanding Housing Choices for Hud-Assisted Families: Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing Demonstration

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DIANE Publishing, 1997 - 31 pages
Inspired by the Gautreaux housing mobility program in Chicago, Moving to Opportunity (MTO) is an experimental demonstration and research project designed to evaluate the impacts of helping low-income families move from public and assisted housing in high-poverty inner-city neighborhoods to better housing, education, and employment opportunities in low-poverty communities throughout a metropolitan area. Funding covers 1,300 low-income families at five demonstration sites: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.

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Page i - ... opportunities by: (1) Seeking participation of owners in any areas in which the PHA has determined that it is not legally barred from entering into Contracts....* The authorizing legislation for Moving To Opportunity, in 42 USC Sec.
Page 1 - ... assist very low-income families with children who reside in public housing or housing receiving projectbased assistance under Section 8 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1937 to move out of areas with high concentrations of persons living in poverty to areas with low concentrations of such persons.
Page 1 - Over the past two decades, HUD's housing assistance programs have become more flexible and private housing-oriented, but HUD is now seeking congressional approval to completely transform these programs. Our goal is to give all public housing residents a genuine market choice to stay where they are or to move to private rental apartments throughout the region.
Page 11 - ... socio-economic attributes, they do appear to differ in one important respect - - fear of crime. Baseline survey data indicate that crime victimization rates among MTO applicants are dramatically higher than among public housing residents generally. Nearly half of MTO applicants (47.8 percent) said that they had been a victim of crime within the last six months. 10 In contrast, a recent HUD survey found that only 5.4 percent of residents in the largest PHAs 11 reported being crime victims in the...
Page 3 - ... violence and to have the freedom to let children play outside. We have mixed evidence on how moving to a better neighborhood may affect children's educational achievement. Gautreaux research found dramatic benefits for children whose families moved to suburban neighborhoods. They were substantially more likely to complete high school, take college-track courses, attend college and enter the work force than children from similar families who moved to neighborhoods within Chicago. So far, the MTO...
Page 4 - MTO assistance must move to neighborhoods where no more than 10 percent of the population is poor. Despite this important difference, MTO has relied heavily upon the Gautreaux experience in designing a program that is intended to help families in search of better lives for themselves and their children. As in Gautreaux, nonprofit organizations recruit landlords throughout the metropolitan area to accept MTO families, and provide screening, counseling, search assistance, and follow-up support to participating...
Page 11 - MTO applicants (54.8 percent) listed crime as their primary reason, and another 30.8 percent listed it as their secondary reason. Better housing conditions and better schools are also important reasons why families choose to participate in the MTO demonstration...
Page 18 - Shelter, a non-profit agency which provides housing and supportive services to homeless and at -risk families, is responsible for providing comprehensive social services to help families stabilize in the new communities after they move. Services provided by Beyond Shelter include: budgeting education, family counseling, crisis intervention, liaison with schools, provision of furnishings and household items, and referrals to child care and job training. In short, FHC helps MTO families move, while...
Page 4 - Slat. 745), and the City of Los Angeles, California, shall be eligible for the demonstration under this section. (c) SERVICES. — The Secretary shall enter into contracts with nonprofit organizations to provide counseling and services in connection with the demonstration. (d) REPORTS.— (1) BIENNIAL. — Not later than the expiration of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act (and biennially thereafter), the Secretary shall submit interim reports to the Congress evaluating...
Page 16 - Hispánica, and 45 percent were African American. MTO outreach efforts in Boston began in April 1994, with an informational meeting for managers of the targeted housing developments. After a series of family outreach meetings in late June and early July of 1994, BHA received more than a thousand valid applications, and random assignment began in October. lll|^ lilillfpA MBHP's role includes providing f|!lii|p^ MTO families with counseling and information to help them find housing in low-poverty areas....

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