The Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) was created to give public housing agencies (PHAs) a tool to preserve and improve public housing properties and address an estimated $115 billion nationwide backlog of deferred maintenance. In 2023, RAD celebrated the 10th anniversary of the first public housing conversion. As of December 2024, the program has converted more than 1,700 projects covering more than 230,000 housing units, representing almost half of the 455,000 public housing units that Congress authorized for RAD conversion. These conversions have secured more than $21 billion in construction investment, including initial reserve deposits, equating to about $90,000 per unit built or rehabbed. PD&R has supported research on RAD since its authorization, with reports completed in 2014, 2016, 2019, and 2024. Research shows that RAD improves the physical condition of housing units and increases resident satisfaction.

A 2019 study examining the effects of RAD on children living in public housing in Fresno, California, found that residents were satisfied with the renovated units despite the short-term displacement. The Fresno study also assessed improvements in children’s educational and health outcomes but didn’t have a comparison group to examine impacts. The present study builds on the research in Fresno by examining RAD’s impact on children’s health, well-being, and residential mobility in New York State. The study assesses impacts on two major areas. First, it looks at whether the change from centralized public housing management to decentralized management with more private sector participation increases evictions and exits with or without other forms of HUD assistance from RAD developments post-conversion. Second, it examines whether renovations and physical improvements in RAD developments affect specific housing-sensitive health outcomes, such as asthma, respiratory infections, injuries, and anxiety and depression. The study includes 21 RAD developments completed in New York State across 11 different PHAs and diverse market conditions. The study did not find evidence that RAD conversions in New York State led to increased evictions or exits two years after conversion. Nor did it find significant and sustained improvements in children’s health outcomes 3 years after the conversion (although positive incomes were observed at year 2, these were not sustained at year 3).