Study of PHAs' Engagement with Homeless Households

Appendix A. PHA Census Instrument

Web Survey of PHA Engagement with Homeless Households

Welcome to the Web Survey of PHA Engagement with Homeless Households. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has contracted with Abt Associates and its subsidiary Abt SRBI to conduct this survey. The information collected will allow researchers to explore and document how PHAs currently serve homeless households. Our purpose is to establish a baseline level of PHAs’ current engagement in serving homeless households and to better understand the current opportunities provided by PHAs that have an explicit preference for homeless households.

Findings of this study will enable HUD to identify the variety of mechanisms that PHAs employ to target homeless households for assistance and to highlight innovative ways in which PHAs may be engaging with homeless households as well as the broader set of community partners providing services to homeless people. PHAs will learn from each other about different approaches to assisting homeless families. This survey was approved by the Office of Management and Budget [INSERT OMB CLEARANCE NUMBER AND EXP. DATE]. We estimate that the survey will take about 20 minutes to complete. Depending on how your agency is organized, different people may need to complete different sections. If more than one person works on the survey, please make sure that each respondent enters his/her name, title, email address, and phone number on the first screen.

If you have questions about the survey please call [ABT SRBI CONTACT PERSON at TOLL-FREE #]. If you have questions about the study itself, please contact Ms. Anne Fletcher, Social Science Analyst, Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD at (202) 402-4347 or Ms. Eliza Kean, the Abt Associates Project Director at (301) 634-1743.

Guide to the Survey: This survey asks questions about your PHA’s housing program operations, eligibility determination, admissions preferences, and your interactions with community service providers offering services to homeless households.

There are a total of 7 sections to the survey. You will see only those sections/questions relevant to your PHA. (For example, if your PHA does not have any Housing Choice Vouchers under Annual Contributions Contract (ACC), then you will not see or need to respond to the section covering Housing Choice Vouchers.)

Section A covers Housing Choice Vouchers and Project-Based Vouchers.

Section B covers Public Housing.

Section C covers other programs operated by PHAs.

Section D asks how the PHA identifies newly admitted households as homeless.

Section E asks questions about partnerships between the PHA and community service providers serving homeless people.

Section F asks questions about barriers perceived by the PHA in engaging with homeless households.

Section G is intended for Moving to Work (MTW) Agencies only.

In order to respond to the survey, you will need to understand your PHA’s admission policies as described in the agency’s Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Plan and/or Public Housing Admissions and Occupancy Policy. In addition, you will need to respond to questions about partnerships with community service providers that provide services to homeless people. Generally, you should provide information about the agency’s policies and operations as they exist today; however, some questions will specifically ask for historical information (e.g. the question may include a phrase such as “over the past two years”).

Responses to this survey will be used for research purposes only and will NOT be used for compliance monitoring.

Agency and Respondent Information:

The first part of this section collects information about your agency as well as the name, title, and contact information for all people that complete parts of this survey. Please also indicate which section(s) of the survey each person was responsible for answering. This will help us know whom to contact if we need to clarify a response. The second part seeks to confirm information about the number of Housing Choice Vouchers and Public Housing Units are covered under the PHA’s current Annual Contributions Contract (ACC).

PHA name: [ALREADY FILLED IN] PHA ID Number [ALREADY FILLED IN]

MTW Designation: [ALREADY FILLED IN]

Your name ________________________________________ Title __________________________ Your Phone Number:________________________________ Email__________________

Section(s) Completed:______________________________________________________________

IF MULTIPLE RESPONDERS:

Responder #2 name ___________________________________Title __________________________ Phone Number:_____________________________________ Email__________________________

Section(s) Completed:______________________________________________________________

Responder #3 name ___________________________________Title __________________________ Phone Number:_____________________________________ Email__________________________

Section(s) Completed:______________________________________________________________

PROGRAM SIZE:

Our records show that your PHA has [NUMBER ALREADY FILLED IN] Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) under Annual Contributions Contracts (ACCs) with HUD. Is that approximately correct or not correct?

□ Approximately correct

□ Not correct.

[If not correct, display:] What is the correct number of Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) under Annual Contributions Contracts (ACCs)?

Number of HCVs: __________________________________

Our records show that your PHA has [NUMBER ALREADY FILLED IN] public housing units under Annual Contributions Contracts (ACCs) with HUD. Is that approximately correct or not correct?

□ Approximately correct

□ Not correct.

[If not correct, display:] What is the correct number of public housing units under Annual Contributions Contracts (ACCs)?

Number of public housing units: __________________________________

SECTION A: YOUR AGENCY’S Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) PROGRAM

REVIEWER NOTE: PHAS THAT DO NOT OPERATE AN HCV PROGRAM WILL SKIP TO [SECTION B]

A. 1 Waiting List for your HCV program

A. 1. 1. As of today, approximately how many households are on your agency’s waiting list for Housing Choice Vouchers? (Do not include separate waiting lists for project-based vouchers in your answer. Project-based vouchers are addressed in a later section of the survey.)

□ Number of households (approximately)____________________________

A.1.2. What is the current status of the PHA’s waiting list for HCVs?

□ Open to the general public on an ongoing basis

□ Open to particular category/categories of applicant on an ongoing basis

□ Open to the general public during the past year only for a limited period of time

□ Open to particular category/categories of applicant(s) during the past year only for a limited period of time

□ Other [Explain]: ______________________________________________________

□ Closed

□ [If list is closed] For how long has the list been closed?

□ 0 – 6 months

□ 7 – 12 months

□ Longer than 12 months

□ Longer than 24 months

A.1.2a [ASK ONLY IF ‘open to a particular category/categories of applicant’ IS CHECKED] What is/are the category/categories of applicant? ________________

A.1.2.b [ASK ONLY IF ‘open to a particular category/categories of application for a limited time’ IS CHECKED] What is/are the category/categories of applicant? ________________

A.2 Preferences for Admission to your HCV program

The next few questions are about admission preferences to your PHA’s HCV program. A preference places a household higher on a waiting list for housing assistance than would be the case if selection were strictly by date of application or by lottery. Preferences can also be limited to a certain number of applicants who may qualify for the preference. These limited preferences may sometimes be described as a “set-aside.”

A.2.1 Other than based on income targeting (for example, households below 30 percent of Area Median Income or AMI), do you have any preferences for admission to your HCV program? Please do not include any preference required for Special Purpose Vouchers. Please do not include preferences for project-based vouchers. If you have a project-based voucher program, questions about that program will be asked in a later section.

□ Yes

□ No [SKIP TO Section A.3]

A.2.2. Have you established a limited preference for homeless households or for households referred by a program that serves them? Please do not include the VASH program. (A “limited preference” is a terms used to describe a preference that is limited to a certain number of applicants who may qualify for the preference. Some PHAs may use the term “set-aside” to describe a limited preference.)

□ Yes

□ No [skip to A.2.3.]

A.2.2a What is the maximum number of HCVs allocated to the limited homeless preference?

Maximum Number of HCVs for limited homeless preference_______________________________

A.2.2.b. Is your limited homeless preference for a specific type of homeless applicant?

□ Yes. Specify type of homeless applicant:________________

□ Homeless people (as defined by PHA)

□ Chronically homeless people

□ Homeless veterans

□ Homeless people referred by homeless service agencies not under any formal agreement(s) with the PHA

□ Homeless people referred by homeless service agencies under agreement(s) with PHA

□ No specific type of homeless applicant.

□ Don’t know.

A.2.3. Do your HCV preferences include an unlimited (no specific number) preference for one or more of the following types of homeless applicants? Check all that apply (and please note that this question is not asking about any preference tied to the VASH program or any other special purpose voucher):

□ Homeless people (as defined by PHA)

□ Chronically homeless people

□ Homeless veterans

□ Homeless people referred by homeless service agencies not under any formal agreement(s) with the PHA

□ Homeless people referred by homeless service agencies under agreement(s) with PHA

□ Households made homeless by domestic violence

□ Households made homeless due to previous incarceration

□ Households aging out of foster care and about to become homeless

□ Households “timing out” of transitional housing

□ Other (describe)____________________________________

□ No unlimited preference for any of these types of homeless people [SKIP TO A.3.1]

A.2.4. Is your preference specific to homeless households or part of a preference that can apply to both homeless households and other types of households? For example, under the mandatory federal preferences in effect until the late 1990s, a preference for homeless households was part of a preference for households in substandard housing. Some PHAs have chosen to continue to use that preference. [Check all that apply.]

□ Specific preference for homeless households--not part of a broader preference

□ Part of a preference for displaced households and those in substandard housing

□ Part of another preference that can include both homeless households and other types of households.

A.2.5. What other unlimited (no specific number or set-aside) HCV waiting list preferences do you have in effect? [Check all that apply. Note: Please do not check if you only have special purpose vouchers for this population but no waiting list preference.]

□ Current residents of the jurisdiction

□ Severe rent burden

□ Substandard housing

□ Displaced by public action

□ Displaced by declared national disaster

□ Veterans (not counting Special Purpose Vouchers)

□ Elderly

People with disabilities

□ Non-elderly people with disabilities (not counting Special Purpose Vouchers)

□ People with disabilities transitioning from nursing homes or institutions (not counting Special Purpose Vouchers)

□ Victims of domestic violence

□ Families referred by public child welfare agencies for family unification (not counting Special Purpose Vouchers)

□ Youth aging out of foster care (not counting Special Purpose Vouchers)

□ Shelter Plus Care transitioning to HCV

□ VASH transitioning to HCV

□ HOPWA transitioning to HCV

□ SRO Mod Rehab transitioning to HCV

□ Other [specify]________________________

□ No other preferences.

A.2.6. Do you rank order your preferences to establish a hierarchy of applicants within your system of preferences?

□ Yes

□ No [SKIP TO A.3.1]

A.2.7. How does the unlimited (no specific number) preference for homeless households fit into your ranking of preferences?

□ Homeless households receive the highest ranking, ahead of all other households [If checked, SKIP TO A.3]

□ Homeless households receive the same ranking as (check all that apply):

□ Current residents of the jurisdiction (not homeless)

□ Severe rent burden

□ Substandard housing

□ Displaced by public action

□ Displaced by declared national disaster

□ Veterans (not homeless)

□ Elderly

□ Non-elderly people with disabilities

□ People with disabilities transitioning from nursing homes or institutions

□ Victims of domestic violence

□ Families referred by public child welfare agencies for family unification

□ Youth aging out of foster care

□ Other [specify]________________________

□ Homeless households receive a lower ranking than (check all that apply):

□ Current residents of the jurisdiction (not homeless)

□ Severe rent burden

□ Substandard housing

□ Displaced by public action

□ Displaced by declared national disaster

□ Veterans (not homeless)

□ Elderly

□ Non-elderly people with disabilities

□ People with disabilities transitioning from nursing homes or institutions

□ Victims of domestic violence

□ Families referred by public child welfare agencies for family unification

□ Youth aging out of foster care

□ Other [specify]________________________

A.3. Project-Based Vouchers

The next set of questions focus on your project-based voucher program.

A.3.1. Has the PHA implemented a project-based voucher (PBV) program?

□ Yes

□ No [SKIP TO A.5]

A.3.2. Does the PBV program have a waiting list (or lists) separate from the HCV waiting list?

□ Yes

□ No, the PHA has one waiting list for both the PBV program and HCV [SKIP TO question A.4]

A.3.2.a Does the PBV program have one waiting list for the entire PBV program/building or separate lists for each PBV program/building?

□ One list for the entire PBV program/building.

□ Separate waiting lists for different PBV projects or buildings.

A.3.3. Does the PBV program have preferences for admission that are different from the HCV program preferences?

□ Yes

□ No [SKIP TO question A.4]

A.3.4. Do your PBV program admission preferences include a preference for one or more of the following types of homeless applicants? Check all that apply:

□ Homeless people (as defined by PHA)

□ Chronically homeless people

□ Homeless veterans

□ Homeless people referred by a homeless service agency (or agencies) not under any formal agreement(s) with the PHA

□ Homeless people referred by homeless service agency (or agencies) under agreement(s) with PHA

□ Households made homeless by domestic violence

□ Households made homeless due to previous incarceration

□ Households aging out of foster care and about to become homeless

□ Households “timing out” of transitional housing

□ Homeless families with children

□ Other (describe)_________________________________________________

□ No preference for any of these types of homeless people [SKIP TO A.4]

A.3.5. How many project-based voucher units are set aside for homeless households through a separate waiting list or a limited preference?

□ None

□ Number of project-based vouchers____________________

A.4 Use of Vouchers

A.4.1.How do the households for which you have established a limited preference use their vouchers? Please answer this question for both Housing Choice Vouchers and Project-Based Vouchers. Check all that apply. If you don't know enough about the specifics of program design, check: "Don't know."

□ Homeless households use their vouchers to move directly from emergency shelters or unsheltered locations to rental housing in the community (no special services)

□ Homeless households use their vouchers to move to, or stay in, rental housing in the community after successfully completing a transitional housing program for homeless people.

□ Homeless households use their vouchers to live in permanent supportive housing for homeless households with disabilities (with ongoing special services)

□ Other (specify)________________________________

□ Don't know.

SECTION B: YOUR AGENCY’S PUBLIC HOUSING PROGRAM

REVIEWER NOTE: PHAS THAT DO NOT OPERATE A PUBLIC HOUSING PROGRAM WILL SKIP TO [SECTION C]

The following questions are about your PHA’s public housing program. There are questions about your public housing waiting list, types of public housing units, and admission preferences.

B. 1 Waiting List for your Public Housing program

B. 1. 1. As of today, approximately how many households are on your agency’s waiting list for public housing?

□ Number of households (approximate)____________________________

B.1.2. What is the current status of the PHA’s waiting list for public housing?

□ Open to the general public

□ Open to particular category/categories of applicant

□ Open to the general public during the past year only for a limited period of time

□ Open to particular category/categories of applicant during the past year only for a limited period of time

□ Other [Explain]: ______________________________________________________

□ Closed

□ [If list is closed] For how long has the list been closed?

□ 0 – 6 months

□ 7 – 12 months

□ Longer than 12 months

□ Longer than 24 months

B.1.2.a [DISPLAY ONLY IF ‘open to particular category/categories of applicant’ IS CHECKED] What is/are the category/categories of applicant? ________________

B.2 Types of units in PHA’s Public Housing Program

B.2.1 Are all of your public housing developments exclusively for occupancy by elderly households or households with disabilities?

□ Yes, all of the PHA’s public housing development(s) are for occupancy by elderly households or households with disabilities.

□ No, the PHA has at least one development that may be occupied by families with children.

B.2. 1.a. Describe your public housing inventory designated for elderly households and/or disabled households [check all that apply]:

□ Officially Disabled: These are units for which a PHA submitted a Designated Housing Plan (DHP) to HUD Headquarters and received approval. 

□ Officially Elderly:  These are units for which a PHA submitted a DHP to HUD Headquarters and received approval. 

□ Officially Mixed Elderly and Disabled:  These are units for which a PHA submitted a DHP to HUD Headquarters and received approval.

□ Mixed Elderly and Disabled Not HUD Officially Designated:  These are units that were built before 1996 and have been reserved for elderly and disabled households since they were built.

B.3 Preferences for admission to your agency’s public housing program

The next few questions are about admission preferences to your PHA’s public housing program. (A preference places a household higher on a waiting list for housing assistance than would be the case if selection were strictly by date of application or by lottery.)

B.3.1 Other than based on income targeting (for example, households below 30 percent of AMI), do you have any preferences for admission to your public housing program or to particular public housing developments?

□ Yes

□ No

B.3.2 Does your PHA have site-based waiting lists?

□ Yes

□ No [SKIP TO B.3.3]

B.3.2.a [If yes] Do any of your preferences apply only to certain developments?

□ Yes

□ No [SKIP TO B.3.3]

B.3.2.b [If yes] For preferences that apply only to certain developments, is homelessness included as a preference?

□ Yes

□ No

B.3.3 Have you established a limited preference for admission to one or more of your public housing developments for homeless households or for households referred by a program that provides services to those households? A limited preference sets a maximum number of units that will be made available to applicants who qualify for the preference and are ready to move in.

□ Yes

□ No [SKIP TO B.3.4.]

B.3.3a [If yes is checked] What is the maximum number of units to be made available under this preference_____________________________?

B.3.4. Do your public housing preferences include an unlimited (no specific number of units) preference for one or more of the following types of homeless applicants? Check all that apply:

□ Homeless people (as defined by PHA)

□ Chronically homeless people

□ Homeless veterans

□ Homeless people referred by homeless service agencies

□ Households made homeless by domestic violence

□ Households made homeless due to previous incarceration

□ Households aging out of foster care and about to become homeless

□ Households “timing out” of transitional housing

□ Other (describe)____________________________________

□ No unlimited preference for any of these types of homeless applicants [SKIP TO Section C]

B.3.5. Is your preference specific to homeless households, or is it part of a preference for both homeless households and other types of households? For example, under the mandatory federal preferences in effect until the late 1990s, a preference for homeless households was part of a preference for households who are in substandard housing. Some PHAs have chosen to continue to use that preference.

□ Specific preference for homeless households--not part of a broader preference

□ Part of a preference for displaced households and those living in substandard housing

□ Part of another preference that can include both homeless households and other types of households

B.3.6. What other unlimited (no specific number) public housing waiting list preferences do you have? [Check all that apply.]

□ Current residents of the jurisdiction

□ Severe rent burden

□ Substandard housing

□ Displaced by public action

□ Displaced by declared national disaster

□ Veterans

□ People with disabilities transitioning from nursing homes or institutions

□ Victims of domestic violence

□ Families referred by public child welfare agencies for family unification

□ Youth aging out of foster care

□ Other [specify]________________________

□ No Other Preferences________________________

B.3.7. Do you rank order your preferences to establish a hierarchy of applicants within your system of public housing preferences?

□ Yes

□ No [SKIP TO Section C]

B.3.8. How does the unlimited (no specific number) preference for homeless households fit into your ranking of preferences?

□ Homeless households receive the highest ranking, ahead of all other households [SKIP TO Section C]

□ Homeless households receive the same ranking as (check all that apply):

□ Current residents of the jurisdiction (not homeless)

□ Severe rent burden

□ Substandard housing

□ Displaced by public action

□ Displaced by declared national disaster

□ Veterans (not homeless)

□ People with disabilities transitioning from nursing homes or institutions

□ Victims of domestic violence

□ Families referred by public child welfare agencies for family unification

□ Youth aging out of foster care

□ Other [specify]________________________

□ Homeless households receive a lower ranking than (check all that apply):

□ Current residents of the jurisdiction (not homeless)

□ Severe rent burden

□ Substandard housing

□ Displaced by public action

□ Displaced by declared national disaster

□ Veterans (not homeless)

□ People with disabilities transitioning from nursing homes or institutions

□ Victims of domestic violence

□ Families referred by public child welfare agencies for family unification

□ Youth aging out of foster care

□ Other [specify]________________________

SECTION C: OTHER PROGRAMS ADMINISTERED BY YOUR PHA

Reviewers: This section will be asked of all PHAs

The next set of questions is about other ways your PHA may assist homeless households. Specifically this section captures information about programs that your PHA may administer other than HCV and public housing. Please include the work of the PHA’s non-profit subsidiaries, if applicable.

C.1 Please indicate whether or not you administer any of the programs displayed below, either currently or at any time within the past three years (PHA fiscal years). For those programs that you do administer, please indicate approximately how many units are for homeless households. If no units are designated for homeless households, enter 0 (zero).

	Currently (or in the last three years), do (or did) you administer this type of program?	If yes, how many units or slots are for homeless households? If no units are designated for homeless households, enter "0"
HOME Tenant-Based Rental Assistance	□ Yes □ No	Number of units: ___________
State or locally funded rental assistance	□ Yes □ No	Number of units: ___________
Section 202	□ Yes □ No	Number of units: ___________
Section 811	□ Yes □ No	Number of units: ___________
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit units (no rental assistance)	□ Yes □ No	Number of units: ___________
HUD McKinney-Vento Supportive Housing Program	□ Yes □ No	Number of units: ___________
HUD McKinney-Vento Shelter Plus Care	□ Yes □ No	Number of units: ___________
HUD McKinney-Vento Section 8 SRO Moderate Rehabilitation	□ Yes □ No	Number of units: ___________
Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing (HPRP) –prevention	□ Yes □ No	Total Number of households served to date: ___________
HPRP—rapid re-housing	□ Yes □ No	Total Number of households served to date: ___________
Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation (not McKinney-Vento)	□ Yes □ No	Number of units for homeless: ___________
Rural Housing Service Section 515 housing	□ Yes □ No	Number of units for homeless: ___________
HUD multifamily private assisted housing (Section 8, 236, etc.)	□ Yes □ No	Number of units for homeless: ___________
Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA)	□ Yes □ No	Number of units for homeless: ___________
Other [specify]	□ Yes □ No	Number of units: ___________
Other [specify]	□ Yes □ No	Number of units: ___________
Other [specify]	□ Yes □ No	Number of units: ___________
Other [specify]	□ Yes □ No	Number of units: ___________

SECTION D: IDENTIFYING NEWLY ADMITTED HOUSEHOLDS AS HOMELESS

Reviewers: This section will be asked of all PHAs

There are a number of ways to define a household as homeless. The next series of questions focuses on how your PHA defines homelessness.

D.1 Question 4c on the HUD Form 50058 asks whether a household was homeless at the time of admission to a housing assistance program. When answering that question, what definition of homelessness does your PHA use?

□ An individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and whose primary nighttime residence is 1) a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations; 2) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or 3) a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. [SKIP TO D2]

□ A different definition of homelessness

D.1.a [If a different definition of homelessness] What criteria are included in the definition of homelessness (check all that apply):

□ about to be evicted

□ staying with another family or with friends

□ living on the street

□ living in a homeless shelter

□ youth aging out of foster care

□ Other _______________________________________

□ Other _______________________________________

□ Other _______________________________________

□ We rely on whatever definition the homeless service agency that refers households to us uses.

□ We mark everyone as ‘N’ (not homeless) on line 4c, since we do not have a preference or special program for homeless applicants.

□ We do not have a definition of homeless, but will sometimes mark a household as homeless on line 4c if they tell us they are homeless, or if they provide documentation to verify that they are homeless.

D.2 Is there a minimum amount of time that a person has to be homeless in order to meet the PHA’s definition of homeless?

□ Yes, 30 consecutive days.

□ Yes, at least 30 total days within the past 12 months.

□ Yes, 90 consecutive days.

□ Yes, at least 90 total days within the past 12 months.

□ Yes, other amount of time: ________________

□ No minimum amount of time.

D.3 What information do you use to verify whether a newly admitted household is homeless? Check all that apply.

□ Documentation (written or oral) provided by a homeless services provider or other agency

□ Self-declaration by the household

□ Other documentation provided by the household (e.g. eviction letter, letter from temporary housing, letter from homeless shelter)

□ Verification through the local Homeless Management Information System (HMIS)

□ Other [specify]_____________________________________________

D.4 Do you currently provide information to the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) operated through your local homeless Continuum of Care about homeless households served by your HCV, PBV or public housing program? (Please note that reporting into HMIS for HUD-VASH will be covered in the next question.)

□ Yes [SKIP TO Section E]

□ No

D.4.a Do you currently enter information into the HMIS about homeless households served by your PHA’s HUD-VASH program? [Please note: PHAs are not required to report information into HMIS for HUD-VASH, but we are interested in finding out if you do.]

□ Yes

□ No

D.5 [If no to D.4] Do you have any plans to enter or provide information on homeless households served by your HCV program or your public housing program into the HMIS?

□ Yes

□ No

SECTION E. PHA EXPERIENCE WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS PROVIDING SERVICES TO HOMELESS PEOPLE

Reviewers: This section will be asked of all PHAs

Answers to the next group of questions will provide insight into the different types of partnerships that some PHAs may have with other community partners to better serve homeless people. When responding, please think about your PHA’s involvement with different types of agencies.

E.1 Relationships with other organizations

E.1.1 Does the PHA have any formal relationships (as indicated by a Memorandum of Understanding, Memorandum of Agreement, or other such document) with public or non-profit community organizations that provide services to homeless people?

□ Yes

□ No [SKIP TO E.1.3]

E.1.2. With how many community organizations providing services to homeless people does the PHA have formal relationships?

□ 1 – 2

□ 3 – 4

□ more than 4. Specify number: ___________

E.1.3 Does the PHA have any informal relationships with community organizations that provide services to homeless people?

□ Yes

□ No [SKIP TO E.1.7.]

E.1.4. With how many community organizations providing services to homeless people does the PHA have informal relationships?

□ 1 – 2

□ 3 – 4

□ more than 4. Specify number: ___________

E.1.5 For organizations with which the PHA has either formal or informal relationships, on what type of activities or functions do you collaborate? [Check all that apply.]

□ Community organization verifies that homeless households are eligible for a preference and refers them to the PHA.

□ Community organization helps homeless households find housing that qualifies for the HCV program.

□ Community organization provides housing for households who previously were homeless.

□ Community organization provides services to tenants/residents currently housed by the PHA who were previously homeless.

□ Other collaborative action____________________________

□ Other collaborative action____________________________

□ Other collaborative action____________________________

E.1.6 Does the PHA participate in the local Continuum of Care (CoC)?

□ Yes

□ No [SKIP TO E.1.8.]

□ [If Yes is checked] Specify which CoC(s): __________________________

E.1.7. Please describe how the PHA participates and collaborates with the CoC(s): ________________________

[LEAVE ADEQUATE SPACE HERE FOR POSSIBLE LENGTHY RESPONSE]

E.1.8. Has the PHA reviewed the CoC’s Ten Year Plan?

□ Yes

□ No

□ The CoC does not have a plan.

SECTION F. BARRIERS PERCEIVED BY THE PHA IN ENGAGING WITH HOMELESS HOUSEHOLDS

Working with homeless households can pose a number of challenges to an organization. The next set of questions asks about the types of challenges your PHA may face now, or faced in the past, when working with homeless households.

F.1.1 What barriers has the PHA experienced in serving homeless households? [Check all that apply.]

□ Screening and eligibility determination requirements for HCV and public housing prevent the PHA from serving some homeless households.

□ Process for maintaining the waiting list removes applicants who do not respond to request for updates, so that homeless applicants with no fixed address often get removed from the waiting list.

□ Working with homeless applicants requires more staff time and increases the staff workload.

□ The PHA does not know how to get in touch with homeless applicants for follow-up.

□ The PHA does not have service resources or partners that can provide the services.

□ Homeless households do not have the needed documentation to enable the PHA to determine eligibility.

□ Homeless households are either zero income or extremely low income (ELI) households and so the PHA cannot afford to serve them.

□ For the HCV program, because of their barriers (such as poor rental history, prior evictions, criminal history), these households cannot find housing without housing search and landlord negotiation assistance.

□ There is higher turnover among these households, which results in higher administrative and/or operating costs to the PHA.

□ The PHA does not have service resources to help these households maintain housing.

□ For the HCV program, the PHA is concerned about harming relationships with landlords because of potential lease compliance issues experienced with these households.

□ For the public housing program, the PHA is concerned about enforcing lease compliance.

□ Other: _____________________________________________

□ Other: _____________________________________________

□ Other: _____________________________________________

□ None.

F.1.2. Has the PHA modified or made exceptions to tenant screening or other policies in order to provide housing assistance to homeless households?

□ Yes

□ No [SKIP TO Section G, if applicable. If not, end of survey.]

F.1.3. [If yes to F.1.2] What were the exceptions or changes made to tenant screening or other policies, and what issues did they address? _______________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

SECTION G. MOVING TO WORK AGENCIES

Reviewer note: If PHA is not a Moving to Work agency, this section will be skipped.

G.1 Programs Aimed at Homeless Households

G.1.1 Does the PHA currently (or has the PHA within the past three years) operate(d) or implement(ed) any programs specifically aimed at homeless households?

□ Yes

□ No [SKIP TO G.1.2]

G. 1. 1. a□ Yes: Describe the program(s): _________________________________

G.1.2. How did the authority granted to you under your MTW Agreement enable you to implement this program/these programs? ____________________________________________________________________________________

G.1.3. Could the PHA have done the same thing under current HUD rules without being an MTW site?

□ Yes

□ No [SKIP TO G.1.4]

G.1.4.[If No] Specifically, what regulation(s) would need to be changed in order to allow non-MTW sites to implement this program/these programs? _____________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey.

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