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Subgroups
After a family with at least one child age 15 or younger had remained in an emergency homeless shelter for seven days, the evaluation team randomly assigned them to one of four possible intervention conditions. This review focuses on assignment to PBTH versus SUB. Although the evaluation team intended to randomly assign families to all intervention conditions with an equal probability, availability of slots, site-level implementation limitations, and unique eligibility requirements for families resulted in most families being randomly assigned to a restricted set of intervention conditions (474 of 2,282 families were randomly assigned across all four intervention options; most families—1,544—had three options available to them). This resulted in differing probabilities of assignment depending on which set of interventions was available to each family. Before random assignment, the evaluation team gathered informed consent, determined eligibility for available intervention slots, and conducted a baseline survey. Pairwise contrasts (in this review, PBTH relative to SUB) were only estimated on the sample of families who were eligible for both intervention conditions and randomized to one of them.
September 2010 to December 2014
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Policy Development and Research
The following characteristics applied to participants who were eligible for both the SUB and PBTH conditions, and who were assigned to either. The average age of the head of household was about 31 at baseline, and 92 percent were female. About 36 percent were Black, 19 percent were Hispanic or Latino, 22 percent were White, non-Hispanic, and 23 percent were another race or multiple races or ethnicities. Thirty-one percent of eligible families were headed by married parents, and all families had at least one child younger than 15 baseline. Thirty percent of the baseline sample heads of household had no high school diploma or GED, and only 16 percent were employed at baseline.
Community-based public and private social services agencies, foundations, and faith-based organizations.
The PBTH intervention was offered through existing PBTH programs at participating sites. These programs were often funded through federal Supportive Housing Program grants, which first emerged in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, though many were also funded through private grants and fundraising.
After spending at least seven days in an emergency homeless shelter, families with at least one child age 15 or younger were selected to receive intensive case management and other supportive services, as well as transitional housing in project-based facilities or housing units. Only a subset of families were eligible for PBTH because it required families to have enough income or the ability to obtain employment at program entry. PBTH first offered families individual apartments or private sleeping arrangements with shared kitchens or bathrooms. PBTH programs subsidized these living arrangements—in most cases, for costs exceeding 30 percent of each family's unadjusted monthly income—and the majority of program sites required families to save money while in program-provided housing. At intake, families worked with program staff to complete a needs assessment and a service plan to set goals for the adults in the household, and to help to guide case management services. PBTH programs provided comprehensive case management and support services to families in the program. These services primarily focused on helping participants attain permanent housing but also emphasized family self-sufficiency through services such as financial management, coordination of public benefits, and employment and training services. A subset of programs provided additional support services such as physical and mental health care referrals, life skills training, and help arranging child care and transportation. Services were provided by sites on-site or through partnerships with other programs in the community. Programs provided 6 to 24 months of housing assistance, during which participants received case management.
After spending at least seven days in an emergency homeless shelter, families with at least one child age 15 or younger were selected to receive a SUB and housing search assistance. The SUB intervention provided permanent assistance with housing rental costs through state or local public housing agencies (PHAs). As long as families remained eligible (for example, met low-income criteria and had no drug-related convictions) and compliant (for example, paid rent on time), they could continue to receive the housing subsidy indefinitely. Housing subsidies were typically provided as a housing choice voucher, which intervention participants could use to rent housing that met HUD's Housing Quality Standards and 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 30 percent of their unadjusted monthly income toward rental costs. In addition to receiving a housing subsidy, intervention participants in a minority of sites (serving about 20 percent of SUB participants) were eligible to receive supportive services to help locate housing. An even smaller percentage of SUB participants received assistance through the PHA to address topics such as learning how to maintain their home or resolve conflicts with landlords.
None
Participants in the PBTH condition received transitional housing supports and case management for 14 months, on average.
Many PBTH programs were funded by federal Supportive Housing Program grants also provided by HUD. However, PBTH also frequently receive other funding, including private foundation grants and proceeds from local fundraising efforts. Some PBTH programs were faith based, and many were entirely privately funded. PHAs received funding from the Housing Choice Voucher Program funded through HUD.
The Family Options Study took place in 12 sites across the United States: Alameda County, CA; Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Connecticut; Denver, Colorado; Honolulu, HI; Kansas City, MO; Louisville, KY; Minneapolis, MN; Phoenix, AZ; and Salt Lake City, UT. Eighteen PHAs provided SUBs and housing assistance across these 12 locations. PBTH programs served participants in temporary project-based housing with case management from publicly and privately funded community-based social services agencies.
Program use, housing stability, family preservation, and adult well-being