[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 117 (Monday, June 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32835-32836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-15216]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4653-N-07]


Notice of Proposed Information Collection for Public Comment: 
Interim Evaluation of Moving to Opportunity Demonstration

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement described 
below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The 
Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

DATES: Comments Due Date: August 17, 2001.

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: Reports Liaison Officer, Office 
of Policy Development and Research, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 8226, Washington, DC 20410-5000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Todd Richardson at, (202) 708-3700, 
extension 5706 for copies of the proposed forms and other relevant 
documents. (This is not a toll-free number). The proposed forms and 
other documents can also be viewed via the internet at the web site 
http://www.huduser.org/ research/eval.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department will submit the proposed 
information collection to OMB for review, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended). This Notice 
is soliciting comments from members of the public and affected agencies 
concerning the proposed collection of information to: (1) Evaluate 
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) evaluate the accuracy 
of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information; (3) enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (4) 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.
    This Notice also lists the following information:
    Title of Proposal: Data Collection for the Interim Impact 
Evaluation of the Moving to Opportunity Demonstration.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: This 
request is for the clearance of several survey instruments for the 
Interim Evaluation of the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) demonstration 
program. Authorized by Congress in the Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1992, MTO is a unique experimental research 
demonstration designed to learn whether moving from a high-poverty 
neighborhood to a low-poverty neighborhood significantly improves the 
social and economic prospects of poor families. Families living in high 
poverty public and assisted housing in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los 
Angeles and New York who applied for MTO were randomly assigned into 
two treatment groups and one control group between 1994 and 1998. 
Families assigned to the treatment groups were provided Section 8 to 
allow them to move out of the high poverty

[[Page 32836]]

developments. Families in one of the treatment groups received 
intensive mobility counseling and were required to lease a unit in a 
neighborhood with less than ten percent poverty. The other treatment 
group families could lease a unit wherever they chose, but only 
received the normal housing authority counseling. Those families 
assigned to the control group did not receive any Section 8 assistance 
but continued to receive project-based assistance.
    This data collection is necessary to measure impacts and mediators 
approximately 5-years after families were randomly assigned to the two 
treatment groups and the control group. The data are planned to be 
collected for six primary domains: housing mobility and assistance; 
adult education, employment and earnings; household income and cash 
assistance; adult, youth, and child physical and mental health; youth 
and child social well-being, including delinquency and risky behavior; 
and youth and child educational performance.
    An estimated 3,800 adults heads of household will be interviewed 
using the adult interview guide. In addition to questions about 
themselves and their household in general, adults will be asked 
questions about up to two randomly selected children/youth between the 
ages of 5 and 19. Approximately 3,000 youth between the ages of 12 and 
19 will be interviewed using the youth interview guide. An estimated 
2,100 children between the ages of 8 and 11 will be interviewed using 
the child interview guide. Finally, the youth and children noted above 
plus approximately 900 children between the ages of 5 and 7 will take 
an educational achievement test to measure reading and math skills. All 
interviewers and testing will be conducted in-person by interviewers 
using computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) software to 
directly input the data into a laptoop computer. The youth interviewing 
and testing will take place at conveniently located test centers. 
Incentive payments will be made to respondents participating in this 
survey in order to ensure a high response rate. Adult respondents will 
receive $10 for responding to an initial mailing seeking contact 
information, $50 for responding to the main adult survey instrument, 
and $25 for answering questions about their youth/children. Youth will 
receive $50 for responding to the interview and completing the 
achievement test. Small gifts (worth $5 or less) for children under 12 
who cooperate with testing and (if 8-11) the interview. Data gathered 
will be used by Abt Associates and the National Bureau of Economic 
Research to prepare a report to HUD on the interim impacts of MTO. 
Subject to maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of respondents, 
the data collected will also be used by academics and HUD policy 
analysts to further explore what specific neighborhood mediating 
factors contribute to the neighborhood impact on outcomes for families 
and children. The information will be used by HUD and Congress to guide 
future housing policy in many areas, including housing mobility 
assistance and the location and concentration of assisted housing.
    Members of affected public: Individuals or households.
    Estimation of the total number of hours needed to prepare the 
information collection including number of respondents, frequency of 
response, and hours of response: 3,800 adults at 65 minutes; 3,000 
youth with 30 minute survey, 45 minute achievement test, and 60 minute 
travel time to and from test center; 2,100 children ages 8-11 with 15 
minute survey and 45 minute achievement test; and 900 children ages 5-7 
with 30 minute achievement test. One-time response, total 13,446 
reporting burden hours.
    Status of the proposed information collection: Pending OMB 
approval.

    Authority: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.

    Dated: June 8, 2001.
Lawrence L. Thompson,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development And Research.
[FR Doc. 01-15216 Filed 6-15-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-62-M