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Agenda Item
ASR
Control 13-001667 |
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MEETING DATE: |
01/28/14 |
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legal entity taking action: |
Board of Supervisors and Orange County Housing
Authority |
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board of supervisors
district(s): |
All Districts |
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SUBMITTING
Agency/Department: |
OC Community Resources (Approved) |
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Department contact
person(s): |
Karen Roper (714) 480-2805 |
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John Hambuch (714) 480-2830 |
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Subject: Family Self-Sufficiency
(FSS) Program Evaluation Agreement
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ceo Concur |
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Clerk of the Board |
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Concur |
Approved Agreement to Form |
Consent Calendar |
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3 Votes Board Majority |
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Budgeted: Yes |
Current Year Cost:
$10,000 |
Annual Cost:
FY 2014-15: $10,000 |
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Staffing Impact: No |
# of Positions:
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Sole Source:
N/A |
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Current Fiscal Year Revenue: $10,000
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Prior Board Action: N/A
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RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
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1. |
Acting as the Board of Commissioners for Orange County Housing Authority (OCHA) authorize OCHA's Executive Director or designee to enter into an Agreement with MDRC to conduct the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program Evaluation, and sign any and all related documents as needed to conduct this study. |
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2. |
Authorize OCHA to receive and expend funds in the amount of $40,000 to be paid in six installments as listed in the attached Agreement for costs related to participation in the national FSS Program evaluation. |
SUMMARY:
Authorization to receive and expend funds from MDRC will enable Orange County Housing Authority to participate in a national study of approximately 20 Public Housing Agencies administering the Family Self-Sufficiency Program to determine the effectiveness of this program in assisting families to achieve independence from public assistance.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program is the main federal effort for increasing employment and earnings and reducing reliance on government subsidies among recipients of housing subsidies. Created in 1990, FSS is administered by state and local public housing agencies (PHAs) with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). About 77,000 households participate in FSS nationwide, with more than 80 percent being housing voucher holders rather than public housing residents.
FSS is a voluntary case management and asset-building program that provides incentives to work. Participants are connected to services that can help them prepare for, find, and advance in employment. Voucher recipients generally pay 30 percent of their income in rent, with the government making up the balance. As their earnings rise, so does their rent contribution. FSS allows families to build savings by diverting these increases in the family share of rent into interest-bearing “escrow accounts” paid to participants when they complete the program.
In March 2012, HUD commissioned MDRC to conduct a national evaluation of FSS in partnership with Branch Associates, Inc., and M. Davis and Company, Inc. The national evaluation will provide evidence on the effectiveness of a variety of FSS programs across a diverse set of cities and local contexts.
The Research Agenda, Scope, and Goals
This demonstration will make it possible to assess, with a high degree of rigor, whether FSS is helping families achieve economic independence and improve their quality of life. It will use the most rigorous methods to evaluate the program. People enrolled in the research will be tracked for at least three years after study entry.
The comprehensive evaluation is structured around three research components:
Impact study: The impact analysis will examine the program’s effects on a wide range of outcomes, including participants’ employment, earnings, family income, benefit receipt, poverty, material hardship, and quality of life. It will also assess whether FSS produces different effects for different types of participants across different PHAs and local conditions.
Implementation and process study: This component will describe the FSS programs implemented by the different PHAs in the study, from the way in which families are recruited into the program, the responsibilities of the PHAs’ key partners, how the escrow asset-building component is marketed and administered, and the variety of ways in which the programs try to engage participants in self-sufficiency activities.
Cost-benefit study: The evaluation will also compare the costs of operating the FSS program with the economic benefits they produce. MDRC will determine whether the government budget (and the taxpayers who pay for the program) experience a positive “return on investment” and whether participants in the program are better off economically.
Of the 100 PHAs nationwide that were originally considered for the FSS study, the Orange County Housing Authority (OCHA) is one of 20 agencies that were selected to participate. OCHA has administered the FSS Program since 1998 and currently has about 230 participants.
OCHA will receive $40,000 to off-set expenses associated with participation in the study such as, staff time, data collection, data entry, and other study related activities. OCHA’s participation in this study will have a significant impact on the future policy and funding of the FSS program.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Total Revenue: $40,000 paid in six payments as follows:
Current FY: $10,000
FY 2014-15: $10,000
FY 2015-16: $5,000
FY 2016-17: $5,000
FY 2017-18: $5,000
FY 2018-19: $5,000
STAFFING IMPACT:
N/A
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment: MDRC Family Self-Sufficiency Program Evaluation Site Agreement