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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 7, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1183-1185]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00095]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7090-N-10]

60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Stepped and 
Tiered Rent Demonstration Evaluation; OMB Control No.: 2528-0339

AGENCY: Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment 
from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. 
The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.

DATES: Comments Due Date: March 10, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are to submit comments regarding this 
proposal.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection can be submitted within 60 days of publication of this 
notice to www.regulations.gov. Interested persons are also invited to 
submit comments regarding this proposal by name and/or OMB Control 
Number and can be sent to: Anna Guido, Reports Management Officer, REE, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 
8210, Washington, DC 20410-5000 or email at 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street 
SW, Washington, DC 20410; email; [email protected]; telephone (202) 
402-5535 (this is not a toll-free number). HUD welcomes and is prepared 
to receive calls from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as 
well as individuals with speech or communication disabilities. To learn 
more about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit 
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.
    Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be obtained from 
Ms. Guido.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that HUD is 
seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in 
Section A.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Information Collection: Stepped and Tiered Rent 
Demonstration Evaluation, Phase 2.
    OMB Approval Number: 2528-0339.

[[Page 1184]]

    Type of Request: Revision of currently approved collection.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: HUD 
has selected 10 Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) to participate in the 
second cohort of the Moving to Work (MTW) Expansion, Stepped and Tiered 
Rent Demonstration (STRD). These PHAs are implementing an alternative 
rent policy (a stepped rent or tiered rent) that intends to reduce PHA 
administrative burden and increase economic self-sufficiency of 
assisted households. Five PHAs are implementing a stepped rent and five 
PHAs are implementing a tiered rent. HUD's Office of Policy Development 
and Research (PD&R) is evaluating the impacts of those alternative rent 
policies, using a randomized controlled trial. The evaluation will rely 
on data from a variety of sources, including new information collection 
efforts proposed in this Notice. HUD contracted with MDRC to conduct 
the first phase of the evaluation, including random assignment, 
baseline data collection, and monitoring PHA implementation, and has 
now contracted with MDRC to conduct the second phase of the evaluation, 
including further administrative baseline data collection and follow-up 
data collection for the first three years of the six-year 
demonstration.
    This Federal Register notice is seeking to extend and build upon 
previously approved data collection activities. For the second phase 
(Phase 2) of the evaluation, additional interviews with PHA staff will 
be conducted to understand their experiences with the alternative rent 
policies and costs associated with administering the alternative rent 
rules, and a 30-month follow-up survey will be fielded to study 
participants to assess the effects of the alternative rent policies on 
key outcomes that cannot be captured with administrative records, 
including material hardship. In addition to collecting these data, the 
STRD project will continue monitoring the implementation of the 
alternative rent rules and collecting PHA records for this purpose. 
Data collected is being used to estimate the effects of the alternative 
rent rules on employment, earnings, housing subsidy, and other key 
outcomes.
    Member of Affected Public: Public housing agency administrators/
staff managing or implementing the new rent policy and participants 
enrolled in the STRD study.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: Interviews with PHA staff will 
have an estimated 120 respondents. Additional data collection from PHA 
staff will have an estimated 40 respondents. The survey of study 
participants will be fielded to 8,000 individuals and the response rate 
is expected to be 60%, so the number of estimated respondents is 4,800.
    Estimated Time per Response: The participant survey will take 
approximately 15 minutes to complete. PHA staff implementation 
interviews and the staff cost interviews (to administer the staff 
questionnaire) will take approximately 90 minutes each to complete. The 
cost study checklist to be completed by PHA staff will take 
approximately 6 minutes to complete.
    Frequency of Response: The survey, cost study checklist, PHA staff 
implementation interviews, and PHA staff cost interviews will each be 
collected once.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: The total annual burden for 
this information collection is 84.25 hrs.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: The total annual cost for this 
information collection is $19,973.96. The average hourly wage of study 
participants is estimated from state minimum wages for the 10 states 
where the participating housing agencies are located ($10.72). The 
assumed hourly wage rate for PHA staff is based on the May 2023 
employment and wages from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey 
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm). The hourly rate used for PHA program Director/Managers 
is $48.77, is equivalent to Social/Community Service Manager (Local 
Government) under SOC code 11-9151. The hourly rate used for PHA 
Housing Specialists is $28.50, is equivalent to the Community and 
Social Service Specialist (Local Government) under SOC code 21-1099. To 
estimate the cost burden for the Cost Study Data collection (interviews 
and cost study checklist), we assume 2 managers and 2 specialists will 
be interviewed, for an average hourly rate of $38.64.

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                                                                                                      Average
                                                                                   Median hourly     (median)
              Respondent                       Occupation            SOC code        wage rate      hourly wage
                                                                                                       rate
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Study Participant.....................  Various (assume state                 NA              NA          $10.72
                                         minimum wage).
PHA Director/Manager..................  Social/Community Service         11-9151          $48.77           48.77
                                         Manager (Local
                                         Government).
PHA Housing Specialist................  Community and Social             21-1099           28.50           28.50
                                         Service Specialist
                                         (Local Government).
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Source: Occupational Employment Statistics, accessed online May 2023, at http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_stru.htm.

    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: The data collection is conducted under title 12, 
United States Code, section 1701z and Section 3507 of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, 44, U.S.C., Chapter 35.

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                                                                                                                   Annual    Hourly cost
            Information Collection                 Number of     Frequency of    Responses per    Burden hour      burden        per        Annual cost
                                                  respondents      response          annum       per response      hours       response
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30-Month Survey of Study Participants.........           4,800               1               1            0.25        1,200       $10.72         $12,864
PHA Director/Manager Implementation Interview.              40               1               1             1.5           60        48.77           2,926
PHA Housing Specialist Implementation                       40               1              40             1.5           60        28.50           1,710
 Interview....................................
PHA Staff Cost Study Interview................              40               1              40             1.5           60        38.64        2,318.40
PHA Staff Cost Study Checklist................              40               1              40              .1            4        38.64          154.56
                                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................................           5,000  ..............  ..............  ..............        1,384  ...........       19,973.96
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[[Page 1185]]

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 comments in response to 
these questions.

C. Authority

    Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
3507.

Todd M. Richardson,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.
[FR Doc. 2025-00095 Filed 1-6-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P
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