Permanent Housing Subsidy (SUB) (as compared with Community-Based Rapid Rehousing [CBRR])

SUB provided permanent assistance with housing rental costs through state or local PHAs. As long as families had at least one child age 15 or younger, met low-income criteria, had no drug-related convictions, and paid rent on time, they could continue to receive a housing subsidy indefinitely. Housing subsidies were typically provided as a housing choice voucher, which participants could use to rent housing that met the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Quality Standards, and that had a rent that was deemed reasonable based on rental costs for comparable homes in a given housing market. The local PHA set housing choice voucher amounts, and if rental costs exceeded this limit, families were required to pay up to 30 percent of their unadjusted monthly income toward rental costs. The primary population for the subsides was families who spent at least seven days in an emergency homeless shelter and had at least one child age 15 or younger. The study took place in 12 locations in the United States: Alameda County, CA; Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Connecticut; Denver, CO; Honolulu, HI; Kansas City, MO; Louisville, KY; Minneapolis, MN; Phoenix, AZ; and Salt Lake City, UT.

The effectiveness of SUB when compared with the effectiveness of CBRR indicates the effect of a set of services that includes those unique to SUB; the comparison indicates how much better SUB meets participants’ needs than CBRR. SUB provided permanent assistance to eligible families, whereas CBRR provided temporary housing and rental assistance for up to 18 months. This evaluation also studied Project-Based Transitional Housing.