Survey of HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agencies

Survey of HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agencies

Survey of HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agencies

If you have any questions, please contact XXX, Survey Director, at: XXX-XXX-XXXX

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Introduction

Thank you very much for participating in this survey of HUD-approved housing counseling agencies. Your participation in this survey will provide HUD with systematic information on the state of the housing counseling industry that is simply not available from any other source. The information gathered by this survey will be of great use to HUD in making plans for how best to continue to support the housing counseling industry.

This survey is being conducted by Matrix Performance Consulting Inc. under contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The questions included in the survey have been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1965 (OMB Control #_____, expiration date ____). The estimated time to complete this survey is 30 to 60 minutes, depending upon the scale of counseling services provided by your organization. Participation in this Government-sponsored survey is voluntary. Please be aware that the information provided in this survey will be kept strictly confidential. The names or other identifying information for either individuals or organizations that respond to this survey will not be used in any published reports or datasets nor will this identifying information be shared with HUD.

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To begin the survey, simply click the “Start” button below. Each screen will provide you with an opportunity to save your results and to complete the survey at a later time. To resume the survey you will be asked to re-enter your username and password. You can also provide the user name and password to co-workers to have others complete a portion of the survey. If you prefer to complete the survey on paper, please print off the pdf in the link below.

Definitions are available for terms highlighted in blue. Click the word and a dialogue box will appear with the definition. If you experience any difficulties in completing the survey or have other questions, please contact XXXX of Matrix Performance Consulting at XXX-XXX-XXXX or by e-mail at: STUDYEMAIL@matrixperformance.COM.

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In case we need to follow up with you to clarify any responses, please provide the following contact information:

a. Name of primary person completing the survey:	________________________
b. Title:	________________________
c. Phone number:	________________________
d. E-mail address:	________________________

Section A. Organization Information

1. In what year was your organization legally incorporated?

[Enter Four Digit Year]

CATI: SKIP TO QUESTION 3 IF SERVICE TYPES ARE NOT IDENTIFIED IN THE SAMPLE FILE. OTHERWISE, ASK QUESTION 2.

2. Based on 9902 data reported by your organization to HUD, our records indicate that your organization served at least 25 of each of the following type of housing education and counseling during Fiscal Year 2006.

CATI: DISPLAY HOUSING EDUCATION AND COUNSELING SERVICES FROM THE FOLLOWING LIST THAT ARE IDENTIFIED FOR THIS ORGANIZATION IN THE SAMPLE FILE.

CATI: CREATE HYPERLINK OFF BLUE WORD TO TEXT BOX SHOWING THIS DEFINITION: Throughout this survey “education” refers to group sessions while “counseling” refers to one-on-one sessions with individuals.

• Homebuyer education workshops

• Post-purchase homeowner workshops

• Predatory lending workshops

• Assistance on fair housing issues

• Pre-purchase homebuyer counseling

• Post-purchase homeowner counseling to resolve or prevent mortgage delinquency

• Counseling related to Home Equity Conversion Mortgages

• Post-purchase counseling regarding mortgage refinancing

• Counseling related to locating, securing or maintaining residence in rental housing

• Counseling related to shelter or services for the homeless

Is this an accurate list of your housing education and counseling service volumes in Fiscal Year 2006?

• Yes (skip to Question 6)

• No (continue to Question 3)

3. What types of housing education and counseling services does your organization provide? Check all that apply.

• Homebuyer education workshops

• Post-purchase homeowner workshops

• Predatory lending workshops

• Assistance on fair housing issues

• Pre-purchase homebuyer counseling

• Post-purchase homeowner counseling to resolve or prevent mortgage delinquency

• Counseling related to Home Equity Conversion Mortgages

• Post-purchase counseling regarding mortgage refinancing

• Counseling related to locating, securing or maintaining residence in rental housing

• Counseling related to shelter or services for the homeless

4. For which of the counseling services identified above did you serve at least 25 (twenty five) clients in the past year?

CATI: ONLY DISPLAY THOSE SERVICES CHOSEN IN QUESTION 3 ABOVE AS ANSWERS.

5. Approximately how many total housing education and counseling clients did you serve over the most recent 12-month period for which you have information available?

[Enter Whole Number]

6. How many years has your organization provided each of these types of services?

CATI: PROGRAM SO THAT ONLY THOSE SERVICES IDENTIFIED IN THE SAMPLE FILE OR CHECKED IN QUESTION 4 APPEAR IN THE GRID BELOW

	Less than 1 year	1-2 years	3-5 years	6-10 years	11+ years
Service Type #1
Service Type #2
Etc.

7. Which of the following would you say is the primary mission of your organization? Please select only one option that most closely aligns with your primary mission.

• Housing counseling

• Housing stabilization

• Neighborhood or community development

• Consumer credit counseling

• Community action agency

• Anti-poverty agency

• Legal services

• Economic development

• Employment agency

• Human service organization

• Fair housing agency

8. In addition to the housing counseling and education services provided by your organization identified previously, which of the following additional services does your organization provide? Check all that apply. (Only indicate services provided directly by your organization; please exclude services provided by other organizations that you partner with.)

• Financial literacy education or counseling

• Individual development accounts (IDAs)

• Credit counseling for people with debt problems

• Bankruptcy counseling

• Debt management plan creation and administration

• Down payment and closing cost assistance programs for homeownership

• First mortgage financing for homeownership

• Home improvement loans for homeownership

• Construction management

• Housing development

• Mortgage brokerage

• Legal services or advocacy

• Commercial real estate development

• Rental property ownership or management

• Housing search/housing placement

• Intake and referral to other social service programs

• Administer housing shelter program

• Administration of rental housing subsidies (Section 8, etc)

• Administer other funding for housing issues

• Assistance with fair housing issues

• Mental Health services

• Food or nutrition services

• Neighborhood Planning

• Job training or education

• Micro-enterprise or small business development

• Community organizing

• Farm worker services

• Community infrastructure development

• Economic development lending

• Other __________________ (detail)

9. How many full-time employees are employed by your organization? Count all staff, including staff involved in activities other than housing education and counseling. A full-time employee is anyone that works at least a 35-hour workweek. (Include volunteers who fill regular staff positions. Exclude temporary staff and professional services conducted by third parties such as accounting, bookkeeping, and legal counsel.)

_____ Number of Full-time employees

10. How many part-time employees are employed by your organization? Count all staff, including staff involved in activities other than housing counseling. A part-time employee is anyone that works less than a 35-hour workweek. (Include volunteers who fill regular staff positions. Exclude temporary staff and professional services conducted by third parties such as accounting, bookkeeping, and legal counsel.)

_____ Number of Part-time employees

Section B. Housing Education and Counseling Management and Staff

11. Does your organization currently have a program manager position to oversee housing counseling services?

• Yes (skip to question 12)

• No (skip to question 13)

12. Approximately what percentage of the program manager position’s time is devoted to overseeing housing counseling services?

_____ [Enter Percent]

[PROGRAMMER: PLEASE DISPLAY QUESTIONS 13 AND 14 ON THE SAME SCREEN]

For the next two questions, we are interested in all full-time staff that participate in or support housing education and counseling activities, even if they only do this work for a portion of their day.

13. How many full-time employees support your housing education and counseling activities?

Please include employees that provide housing education and counseling, client intake services, marketing and outreach, program management, or administrative support.

Do not include employees who exclusively provide education or counseling services in which housing issues may be a secondary concern (for example, consumer credit debt counseling).

A full-time employee is anyone that works at least a 35-hour workweek.

_____ Number of Full-time Staff

14. Of the full-time employees identified in the previous question, how many are dedicated exclusively to supporting your housing education and counseling activities?

_____ Number of Staff

[PROGRAMMER: PLEASE DISPLAY QUESTIONS 15 AND 16 ON THE SAME SCREEN]

For the next two questions, we are interested in all part-time staff that participate in or support housing education and counseling activities, even if they only do this work for a portion of their day.

15. How many part-time employees support your housing education and counseling activities?

Please include employees who provide housing education and counseling, client intake services, marketing and outreach, program management, or administrative support.

Do not include employees who exclusively provide education or counseling services in which housing issues may be a secondary concern (for example, consumer credit debt counseling).

A part-time employee is anyone that works less than a 35-hour workweek.

_____ Number of Part-time Staff

16. Of the part-time employees identified in the previous question, how many are dedicated exclusively to supporting your housing education and counseling activities?

_____ Number of Staff

In the next set of questions, we are asking about employees who are housing educators or counselors. Please do not include housing education/counseling support staff or management.

17. How many of your employees provide housing education and counseling services?

Include staff that deliver pre-purchase, post-purchase, or predatory lending workshops, or provide individual counseling for clients on topics related to pre-purchase homeownership, post-purchase homeownership, rental housing, or homeless assistance.

_____ Number of Staff

18. How many of your staff provide the following types of education and counseling services?

CATI: PROGRAM SO THAT ONLY THOSE SERVICES CHECKED IN QUESTION 4 OR LISTED IN THE SAMPLE FILE APPEAR IN THE GRID BELOW

# of Staff

ServiceType#1 ____

ServiceType#2 ____

Etc ____

19. Of the [FILL IN NUMBER FROM Q17] staff you identified as providing housing education and counseling, how many of your housing educators/counselors belong to each of these racial/ethnic groups? (Please report employees in only one category. Employees that do not fit within the listed categories can be reported as “Other”)

____ Non-Hispanic White

____ Non-Hispanic African-American

____ Non-Hispanic Asian

____ Non-Hispanic Native American

____ Hispanic White

____ Hispanic African-American

____ Hispanic Asian

____ Hispanic Native American

____ Other

20. Of the [FILL IN NUMBER FROM Q17] staff you identified as providing housing education and counseling, how many of your housing educators/counselors are women, and how many are men?

_____ Number of women

_____ Number of men

21. Of the [FILL IN NUMBER FROM Q17] staff you identified as providing housing education and counseling, how many of your housing educators/counselors have the following levels of education:

_____ Less than high school graduate

_____ High school graduate only

_____ 2-year college degree

_____ 4-year college degree

_____ Masters degree or Ph.D.

_____ Not known

Section C. Organizational Relationships

22. We would like to identify the national and regional organizations that you are affiliated with. By “affiliated” we mean that you either are a member of this organization, receive funding from them, follow their service standards, receive training/certification from them, use their curriculum, and/or get other tools or resources from them. Please identify all of the following organizations that you have some affiliation with (check all that apply)

	We receive funding from this organization	We receive training/ certification from this organization	We follow their service standards or use their curriculum	We have some other affiliation with this organization
American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)
Association of Community Organizations for Reform (ACORN)
Catholic Charities
Housing Partnership Network
HomeFree-USA
Mission of Peace
Money Management International
National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB)
National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
National Credit Union Foundation (NCUF)
National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC)
National Urban League
NeighborWorks America
Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC)
Structured Employment Economic Development Corporation (Seedco)
State housing finance agency
Statewide or regional housing counseling collaborative
Other (Please specify) ___
Other(Please specify) ___

23. Please indicate whether your organization is CURRENTLY partnering with any of the following entities to provide housing education/counseling services. By “partnering” we mean that these organizations provide you with client referrals, operating or capital funding, training materials, office or meeting space, volunteers, supplies, or special products or services for your clients (such as loan products not available to the general public). Check all that apply.

	They provide client referrals	They provide our organization with financial support, staff support, or in kind resources	They provide products or services for our clients (such as financial assistance or loan products)	We have some other affiliation with them
Colleges and universities
Local employers
Faith-based institutions
Banking or mortgage institutions
Insurance companies
Legal services agencies
Local government
Local business associations
Other nonprofit housing organizations
Real estate brokerage companies
Homeless shelters
Social service agencies
Utility companies
For-profit housing developers

Section D. Organizational Budget

24. Approximately what was your organization’s total operating budget in your most recently completed fiscal year?

$_____ [Enter amount]

25. Approximately what was your organization’s operating budget specifically for housing counseling for your most recently completed fiscal year (include costs for outreach, intake, education, counseling, and associated overhead; but exclude costs for grants, loans, financial assistance, or in-kind goods provided to clients):

$_____ [Enter amount]

26. Please enter the approximate amounts of your funding for housing counseling that came from the following sources: (You may approximate if necessary, but total should be close to amount reported in Question 25.)

	Percent
Fees paid directly by housing counseling clients
HUD housing counseling funds (including those received thru intermediaries)
Local government (city and county)
State government or agency (including housing finance agency)
Financial institutions
Foundations
National intermediaries (other than pass through of HUD housing counseling funds)
All Other Sources

CATI: SHOW TOTAL AMOUNT REPORTED. CHECK THAT TOTAL IS WITHIN 5% OF TOTAL REPORTED IN QUESTION 25.

Section E. Service Delivery

27. For each type of education/counseling that your organization provides, please indicate all the ways that clients find out about or are referred to the service: Check all that apply

CATI: PROGRAM SO THAT ONLY THOSE SERVICES CHECKED IN QUESTION 4 OR LISTED IN THE SAMPLE FILE APPEAR IN THE GRID BELOW

	Word-of-mouth	In response to outreach or marketing	Referred by Other Nonprofit	Referred by Government agencies	Referred by Financial institution	Through agency or HUD web site	Other sources, or Unknown
Service Type #1
Service Type #2
Service Type #3
Etc.

28. Now, please indicate the most common way clients find out about or are referred to each of the services listed below: Check one for each service listed.

CATI: PROGRAM SO THAT ONLY THOSE SERVICES CHECKED IN QUESTION 4 OR LISTED IN THE SAMPLE FILE APPEAR IN THE GRID BELOW. ONLY ALLOW THOSE REPONSES GIVEN IN QUESTION 19.

	Word-of-mouth	In response to outreach or marketing	Referred by Other Nonprofit	Referred by Government agencies	Referred by Financial institution	Through agency or HUD web site	Other sources, or Unknown
Service Type #1
Service Type #2
Service Type #3
Etc.

29. Please indicate which data tracking tools you use for client management by each type of housing counseling services provided by your organization. Check all that apply.

CATI: PROGRAM SO THAT ONLY THOSE SERVICES CHECKED IN QUESTION 3 OR LISTED IN THE SAMPLE FILE APPEAR IN THE GRID BELOW.

	Home Counselor Online	Counselor Max	Nstep	Other electronic database	No electronic database (paper files)
Service Type #1
Service Type #2
Service Type #3
Etc.

30. Do you do any of the following types of follow-up with clients AFTER they have completed their housing education or counseling services or otherwise are no longer being assisted by your organization? Check all that apply.

CATI: PROGRAM SO THAT ONLY THOSE SERVICES CHECKED IN QUESTION 4 OR LISTED IN THE SAMPLE FILE APPEAR IN THE GRID BELOW. IF “NO FOLLOW UP SELECTED, DO NOT ALLOW FOR OTHER BOXES IN THAT ROW TO BE CHECKED.

	Telephone Calls	Mail Survey	In person interview	Contact with other service providers	Other types of follow-up	No follow-up
Service Type #1
Service Type #2
Service Type #3
Etc.

31. For each of the following types of housing education/counseling services, please estimate the average total amount of time spent working with a “typical” client in group sessions/workshops, one-on-one counseling sessions, or case management services where the client is not present (for example, advocating for the client with public agencies, the courts, or private parties):

CATI: CREATE HYPERLINK OFF BLUE WORD TO TEXT BOX SHOWING THIS DEFINITION: By “typical” we mean the process that is used by the majority of your clients. If there is no one process that represents a clear majority of your clients, please indicate the process varies.

CATI: PROGRAM SO THAT ONLY THOSE SERVICES CHECKED IN QUESTION 4 OR LISTED IN THE SAMPLE FILE APPEAR IN THE GRID BELOW.

	Average total hours in group sessions	Average total hours in one-on-one counseling sessions	Average total hours of case management without client present
Service Type #1	____ hours	____ hours	____ hours
Service Type #2	____ hours	____ hours	____ hours
Service Type #3	____ hours	____ hours	____ hours
Etc.	____ hours	____ hours	____ hours

CATI: PROGRAM SO THAT QUESTIONS 32 THROUGH 39 ARE ONLY ASKED IF “PRE-PURCHASE HOMEBUYER COUNSELING” IS CHECKED IN QUESTION 4, OR APPEARS IN THE SAMPLE FILE

32. Has your organization utilized video-conference counseling to provide housing counseling services?

• Yes

• No, but considering using it

• No, and not considering using it

33. Has your organization utilized telephone counseling to provide housing counseling services?

• Yes

• No, but considering using it

• No, and not considering using it

34. Has your organization utilized online / internet counseling to provide housing counseling services?

• Yes

• No, but considering using it

• No, and not considering using it

35. For clients seeking pre-purchase homebuyer education or counseling, approximately what share receive the following bundles of services: (Note: total should add to 100%)

____% Only attend a workshop or other group session

____% Only receive one-on-one counseling

____% Both attend workshops and receive one-on-one counseling

CATI: CHECK THAT TOTAL REPORTED SUMS TO 100%. IF NOT, PROMPT RESPONDENT TO CHECK RESPONSES SO THAT TOTAL EQUALS 100%.

36. For clients seeking pre-purchase homebuyer education or counseling, what is the estimated share of last year’s clients by homeownership readiness status as of when they begin counseling? (Note: total should add to 100%)

____% Near-ready (ready to buy a first home within 0-3 months)

____% Short-term (ready to buy a first home within 3-6 months)

____% Long-term (ready to buy a first home after 6 months)

____% Unknown

CATI: CHECK THAT TOTAL REPORTED SUMS TO 100%. IF NOT, PROMPT RESPONDENT TO CHECK RESPONSES SO THAT TOTAL EQUALS 100%.

37. For clients seeking pre-purchase education or counseling assistance, do you conduct a needs assessment to determine the type or extent of services they should receive?

• No, clients generally receive a standard set of services regardless of their circumstances

• Yes, a formal or systematic needs assessment is done using a standard process driven by a checklist or software

• Yes, each clients needs are assessed but the process is informal without the aid of checklists or software

38. For homebuyer education workshops, what curriculum does your organization use? (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)

• Realizing the American Dream by NeighborWorks America

• Keys to Homeownership by National Foundation for Consumer Credit

• CreditSmart by Freddie Mac

• Your own locally-developed materials

• Other (Please specify)

39. Do you typically involve any of the following outsiders as presenters in your homebuyer workshops? (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)

• Real estate agents

• Mortgage lenders or brokers

• Attorneys

• Title or escrow agents

• Home inspectors

• Representatives of government agencies providing homebuyer assistance

CATI: PROGRAM SO THAT QUESTIONS 40 THROUGH 41 ARE ONLY ASKED IF “PRE-PURCHASE HOMEBUYER COUNSELING” IS CHECKED IN QUESTION 4, OR APPEARS IN THE SAMPLE FILE

40. Approximately what share of your post-purchase homeowner counseling to resolve a mortgage delinquency is conducted using the following methods?

____% Telephone

____% In person

____% Other

____% Don’t know

41. Approximately what share of your clients seeking counseling to resolve a mortgage delinquency have the following factors as the primary cause of their mortgage delinquency?

____% Borrower lost job or significant portion of income

____% Health problem or disability

____% Home repair costs or problem with home improvement

____% Increase in non-housing related expenses

____% Increase in mortgage payment due to adjustable rate mortgage, taxes or related expenses

____% Mortgage origination or appraisal fraud, or an unsuitable loan product for borrower's initial situation

____% Don’t know

42. What services do you provide for borrowers seeking post-purchase mortgage delinquency counseling (Check all that apply):

• Advocacy with loss mitigation staff at major lenders/servicers

• Budget and debt counseling

• Legal assistance (directly or through referral)

• Financial assistance to meet mortgage payments

• Financial assistance for emergency home repairs

• Other

Section F. Policy Questions

43. What are the most significant challenges for your organization’s housing education/counseling program?

	Very significant	Somewhat significant	Not all significant
Funding for organizational operations
Funding for clients’ housing or social service needs
Staff retention
Staff expertise/training
Competition from other service providers
Client retention
Marketing and outreach
Responsiveness of other service providers
Other (Fill)

44. Please rate your agreement with the following statements about HUD’s roles in supporting the housing counseling industry.

	Agree a lot	Agree a little	Disagree a little	Disagree a lot
HUD should have a more rigorous process for certifying housing counseling agencies
HUD should set standards for housing counseling
HUD should endorse another entity to set standards for housing counseling
HUD should provide quality control for housing counseling services
HUD funding is worth the administrative burden
HUD funding is worth the restrictions it comes with
HUD should increase funding for housing counseling

45. Please indicate which types of standards that you feel should be established either by HUD or another entity for the housing education and counseling industry. Please check each box where you feel standards are needed.

CATI: PROGRAM SO THAT ONLY THOSE SERVICES CHECKED IN QUESTION 3 OR LISTED IN THE SAMPLE FILE APPEAR IN THE GRID BELOW.

	Certification standards are needed for staff	Curriculum standards are needed for education sessions	Data Tracking and Reporting Standards are needed	Formal service delivery protocols are needed	No standards are needed
Service Type #1
Service Type #2
Service Type #3
Etc.

46. Please use the following space to provide any further comments on either the challenges facing the housing counseling industry, HUD’s role in supporting this industry, or concerns that were not captured by this survey.

CATI: ALLOW FOR AN OPEN-ENDED TEXT RESPONSE.

Thank you very much for your participation in this survey. If you have any questions regarding the survey please contact the survey director, XXX of Matrix Performance Consulting, toll-free at 1-888-XXX-XXXX or by e-mail at XXX@matrixperformance.com.