Skip to main content

Evaluating Cohort #1 of the Moving to Work Demonstration Program Expansion: Understanding the Effects of PHA Flexibility for Small Public Housing Agencies

HUD.GOV HUDUser.gov
Evaluating the Expansion of the Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration Program


Evaluating Cohort #1 of the Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration Program Expansion: Understanding the Effects of PHA Flexibility for Small Public Housing Agencies (PHAs)

The evaluation of the first cohort of agencies participating in the MTW Expansion, referred to as the Flexibility Cohort, focused on how smaller PHAs use the flexibility offered by their new MTW designation to achieve the three statutory objectives of the MTW program (i.e., cost effectiveness, self-sufficiency, and housing choice), and sought to understand the impact of MTW designation on both the agencies themselves and the households they serve. Specifically, the evaluation addressed two central research questions: (1) How did smaller PHAs use their MTW flexibility? and (2) How did MTW flexibility impact smaller PHAs and their residents?

To address the research questions, the evaluation used a mixed method approach. Key informant interviews informed the process study by documenting the planning and implementation experiences of Cohort 1 PHAs. The impact study was initially designed as a randomized controlled trial (RCT) but was later complemented with a quasi-experiment due to the small sample size. The analysis compared the average outcomes of the PHAs in the treatment group to the average outcomes of the PHAs in the control group with the RCT or comparison group with the quasi-experiment. PHAs participating in the study include 33 PHAs in the treatment group (though, only 31 PHAs chose to ultimately apply for MTW designation of the 33 PHAs offered the opportunity), 10 control group PHAs, and an additional 99 PHAs that have been selected as a quasi-experimental comparison group.

The evaluation was completed in 2025 with the publication of four annual reports documenting the implementation experience and outcomes of Cohort 1 PHAs. The following are key takeaways from the evaluation:

  • Most Flexibility Cohort PHAs chose to start small, obtaining approval to implement nine or fewer waiver activities aimed at reducing PHAs’ administrative costs or staff burden, promoting resident self-sufficiency, or freeing up resources to better help current residents graduate from the HCV or public housing program.

  • The most common waiver activities selected included making changes to tenant rent policies or the reexamination process. PHAs were more likely to focus efforts on activities that would improve cost-effectiveness. Many of these waiver activities were administrative in nature and had the potential to reduce the number of hours PHA staff spend doing administrative work.

  • The impact analysis did not find statistically significant effects on the primary measures of cost-effectiveness, self-sufficiency, and housing choice. Therefore, there isn’t enough evidence to conclude that there is a relationship between MTW designation and these primary outcomes.

The series of reports from this evaluation contributes to the overall research on MTW. Most of the research on MTW has focused on larger PHAs, which is not generalizable to smaller PHAs. This report extends the research by specifically examining how smaller PHAs use and respond to MTW flexibility.


Back



Research Design, Data Collection & Analysis Plan (RD/DCAP)

The evaluation of Moving to Work Expansion Cohort 1 aimed to answer two research questions: (1) How did smaller PHAs use their MTW flexibility? and (2) How did MTW flexibility impact smaller PHAs and their residents? Prior to the evaluation, a Research Design, Data Collection and Analysis Plan (RD/DCAP) was developed to provide an overview of the project and systematically guide the research. The RD/DCAP includes the following elements:


  • Articulates the key research questions,
  • Describes the research sample,
  • Outlines the approach for conducting the process study, including the data collection methods, and the process study data analysis plan,
  • Outlines the approach for conducting the impact analysis, including the outcomes measures of interest, relevant data sources, and the analytic approach, and
  • Presents the timeline for data collection, analysis, and reporting.


Back



Reports

Evaluating MTW Flexibility for Smaller PHAs: Baseline Report. This report is the first of four annual reports documenting the evaluation of the first cohort of the MTW Expansion. Using data from PHA applications and telephone interviews, the Baseline Report explores PHA motivations for participating in MTW and the interrelated objectives that these new MTW agencies hope to pursue using the flexibilities afforded through their MTW designation to improve program operations for tenants. In addition, the report lays the groundwork for future reports by detailing the outcome measures that will be used to assess the impact of MTW designation and documenting and confirming the soundness of the experimental research design for this evaluation.


Evaluation of the Moving to Work Flexibility Cohort: First Year of MTW Eligibility. The Year 1 Outcomes Report, second report, focuses on continued planning efforts and the development of the MTW Supplements. By the end of April 2022, all 31 PHAs in the Flexibility Cohort had fully executed their Annual Contributions Contract (ACC) amendment that finalized their designation as an MTW agency, but only 11 PHAs had an approved MTW Supplement to their PHA Annual Plan and were thus eligible for beginning to implement MTW flexibilities. Nonetheless, all 31 PHAs continued to advance their planning efforts over the course of this first year of MTW designation, refining the set of MTW activities that they intend to pursue and considering how the MTW funding flexibility would factor into these activities. The onboarding process has been slower than anticipated, and while PHA’s enthusiasm for the MTW program has not waned, the reality of implementing big changes in small agencies has been a central challenge for these 31 PHAs in this first year.


Evaluation of the Moving to Work Flexibility Cohort Year 2 Report. This report builds on the Baseline and Year 1 Outcome reports, detailing the early implementation experience (process study) of the Flexibility Cohort PHAs and estimating program impacts (impact study) to date on outcome measures associated with the three statutory objectives. By the end of 2022, 26 of 31 PHAs in the Flexibility Cohort had an approved MTW Supplement to their PHA Annual Plan and were thus eligible to begin implementing MTW flexibilities. Among the 26 PHAs, 236 MTW Waivers were approved for implementation, with the median number of approved MTW Waivers per PHA at 8. The PHAs are making progress towards the three statutory objectives: 24 PHAs have approved waivers for cost-effectiveness activities, 20 PHAs for self-sufficiency activities, and 19 PHAs for housing choice activities. However, PHAs are only in the beginning stages of implementation with only 13 PHAs having approved MTW waivers for at least six months. The PHAs have taken a more conservative approach when implementing waiver activities, aiming to learn from initial implementation before moving forward with a full suite of waiver activities. Therefore, it is still too early to observe program impacts and statistically significant impacts estimated in this report are likely due to chance.


Evaluation of the Moving to Work Flexibility Cohort Year 3 Report. This report is the final annual report for Cohort 1 that aims to understand how smaller PHAs use their MTW flexibility and associated impacts on PHAs and tenants. The report covers January 2021 through December 2023 — 3 years after the Flexibility Cohort PHAs were invited to apply for MTW designation and about 1 to 1.5 years since most PHAs implemented their first MTW activity. Implementation continues to progress after a slow start but PHAs continue to face difficulties associated with limited capacity, program ambiguities, and reporting. By the end of 2023, 26 Flexibility Cohort PHAs had implemented at least one waiver activity, and 10 PHAs had implemented all their approved waiver activities. To date, impact estimates on the primary outcomes associated with the three statutory objectives: cost effectiveness, self-sufficiency, and housing choice, were not statistically significant. The lack of impacts to date could reflect the early stage of implementation, data issues, or methodological limitations.


Back





 


 
Your information will only be used in accordance with our website privacy policy.
Routine uses can be found in the HUD User System of Record Notice (SORN) at FR-7092-N-27.