# 30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Rent Reform Demonstration (Task Order 2)
**AGENCY:**
Office of the Chief Information Officer, HUD.
**ACTION:**
Notice.
**SUMMARY:**
HUD has submitted the proposed information collection requirement described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The purpose of this notice is to allow for an additional 30 days of public comment.
**DATES:**
*Comments Due Date:* July 24, 2015.
**ADDRESSES:**
Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB Control Number and should be sent to: HUD Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503; fax: 202-395-5806. Email: *[email protected].*
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Colette Pollard, Reports Management Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW., Washington, DC 20410; email Colette Pollard at *[email protected]* or telephone 202-402-3400. This is not a toll-free number. Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from Ms. Pollard.
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
This notice informs the public that HUD is seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in Section A.
The *Federal Register* notice that solicited public comment on the information collection for a period of 60 days was published on April 14, 2015 at 80 FR 20008.
**A. Overview of Information Collection**
*Title of Information Collection:* Rent Reform Demonstration.
*OMB Approval Number:* 2528-0306.
*Type of Request:* Revision of existing collection.
*Description of the need for the information and proposed use:* The Department is conducting this study under contract with MDRC and its subcontractors (Branch Associates, The Bronner Group, Quadel Consulting Corporation, and the Urban Institute). The project is a random assignment trial of an alternative rent system. Families will be randomly assigned to participate either in the new/alternative rent system or to continue in the current system. For voucher holders, outcomes of the alternative system are hypothesized to be increases in earnings, employment and job retention, among others. Random assignment will limit the extent to which selection bias drives observed results. The demonstration will document the progress of a group of housing voucher holders, who will be drawn from current residents. The intent is to gain an understanding of the impact of the alternative rent system on the families as well as the administrative burden on Public Housing Agencies (PHAs). Four PHAs currently participating in the Moving to Work (MtW) Demonstration are participating in the demonstration:
(1) Lexington Housing Authority (LHA), Lexington, Kentucky;
(2) Louisville Metro Housing Authority (LMHA), Louisville, Kentucky;
(3) San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA), San Antonio, Texas; and
(4) District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA), Washington, DC.
Data collection will include the families that are part of the treatment and control groups, as well as PHA staff. Data for this evaluation will be gathered through a variety of methods including informational interviews and discussions, direct observation, and analysis of administrative records. The work covered under this information request is for data collection proposed under the first of two required OMB submissions of the Task Order 2 of the Rent Reform Demonstration.
*Respondents:* 156.
This includes:
• Public Housing Authority Staff: up to 44 ( *i.e.,* assuming up to 11 staff at up to 4 PHAs).
• Families with housing vouchers participating in the Rent Reform Demonstration, up to 80.
| Information | Number of | Frequency of | Responses per annum | Burden hour | Annual burden hours | Hourly | Annual cost |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Study Participant Interviews and/or Focus Groups | 80 participants (20 participants * 4 sites) | Once | One | 90 minutes, on average (1.5 hours) | 120 (80 * 1.5) | 8.13 | $487.80 (40 employed sample members * $8.13 * 1.5 hours). |
| PHA Staff Interviews | 32 staff (8 staff
* 4 sites) | Once | One | 90 minutes, on average (or 1.5 hours) | 48 hours (32 * 1.50) | 24.33 | $1,167.84 (32 staff * $24.33 * 1.5 hours). |
| Housing Authority Database Extraction Activities by PHA staff | 4 staff (1 staff * 4 sites) | 8 responses in the covered period (monthly through January 2015, then annually through 2018) | Four in 2015, two in 2016, one in 2017, one in 2018 | 60 minutes, on average (or 1 hour) | 16 hours (4 staff * 1 hour * 4 responses in 2015) | 33.58 | $537.28 (4 staff * $33.58 * 1 hour * 4 responses in 2015). |
| Cost Study Data Collection Activities with PHA staff | 8 staff (2 staff * 4 sites) | Three times over the covered period | One | 120 minutes, on average (or 2 hours) | 16 hours (8 staff * 2 hours) | 33.58 | $537.28 (8 staff * $33.58 * 2 hours). |
| Interviews to understand implementation of new rent model. Includes meetings with PHA staff for technical assistance purposes | 32 staff (8 staff * 4 sites) | Four times | Up to four times | 30-60 minutes (or .5 to 1 hours) Incorporated into technical assistance, monitoring visits and follow-up | 128 hours (4 one-hour meetings * 32 staff) | 24.33 | $2,983 (32 staff * $24.33 * 1 hour * 4 meetings). |
| Total | 156 | | | | 328 | | $5,844.44. |
| Occupation | SOC code | Median hourly wage rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Community and Social Service Specialist | 21-1099 | $19.26 |
| Social/community Service Manager | 11-9151 | 29.40 |
| Occupation | SOC code | Median hourly wage rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Database Administrator | 15-1141 | $37.75 |
| Social/community Service Manager | 11-9151 | 29.40 |
**B. Solicitation of Public Comment**
This notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and affected parties concerning the collection of information described in Section A on the following:
(1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology, *e.g.,* permitting electronic submission of responses.
HUD encourages interested parties to submit comment in response to these questions.
**Authority:**
Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35.
Dated: June 17, 2015.
Colette Pollard,
Department Reports Management Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.