Papers

The Effects of Exposure to Better Neighborhoods on Children: New Evidence from the Moving to Opportunity Experiment

Final Report on Program Effects and Lessons from the Family Self-Sufficiency Program Evaluation 

Background

• About 2.3 million households use housing vouchers annually - Source

In The News

• Congress, still mired in the appropriations process, set aside $32.8 billion for the program in the House version of the spending bill that passed during the last Congress, which would increase funding for Housing Choice Vouchers by $115 million. That may sound positive, but according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the voucher program would need an estimated $4.3 billion increase just to maintain the same levels of service, because of the rising cost of living and increase in rental burdens across the US. - Source

Details

• A landlord can charge the Fair Market Rent (FMR) which is typically set at 40th - 50th percentile of the rents

Timeline

• In 1969, rental payments were changed from fixed sum to a proportion of income - Source
• In 1974, The Section 8 program was established - Source
• In 1981, priority in housing units went to households earning below 50% of AMI - Source

Barriers

• Availability of qualified homes
• Recipient’s social network