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Reform proposals related to public housing work requirements
This page includes a selection of reform proposals related to work requirements for public assistance programs. These reform proposals come from state and federal legislative proposals, model legislative proposals, policy white papers, and scholarly articles.
For more information about the main areas of inquiry and disagreement related to work requirements for public assistance programs, click here.
Click on a link in the list below to learn more about each type of reform proposal:
- Require able-bodied adults to meet public housing work requirements. This reform proposal would require all able-bodied adults to meet work requirements to ensure that public housing is available for those who need it most.
- Decrease the maximum age for work requirements. This reform proposal would reduce the age to meet work requirements for public housing to align with the eligibility age for senior living.
- Allow education and job training to satisfy work requirements. This reform proposal would allow more work-related activities to satisfy public housing work requirements.
- Require more research before expanding public housing work requirements. This reform proposal suggests that further research is needed beyond the Move to Work (MTW) program before expanding work requirements in public housing.
- Allow greater work flexibility. This reform proposal would allow for flexible work requirements in public housing to meet unique resident needs.
- Use work requirements as a mechanism expanding employment. This reform proposes that work requirements for public housing should focus on expanding employment and work training.
- Increase the time allowed to find employment. This reform proposal would allow public housing benefit recipients more time to meet work requirements.
- See also: Public housing work requirements
Public housing work requirements are mandated work-related activities that public housing recipients must complete to maintain eligibility for housing assistance administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), such as applying for a job, interviewing for a job, or participating in job training or volunteer activities. The federally required work-related activity is eight hours of community service per month for adult residents of public housing who are not elderly, disabled, or already working.
Other public housing work requirements are allowed if the public housing authority (PHA) is part of HUD's Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration Program, which allows PHAs to design strategies to increase public housing efficiency. Of the 124 MTW agencies, 17 had work requirements as of January 2024.[1][2][3][4]
The following sections feature a selection of reform proposals related to public housing work requirements, such as lowering the maximum age and allowing more options for work-related activities.
Require able-bodied adults to meet public housing work requirements
This reform proposal would require all able-bodied adults to meet work requirements to ensure that public housing is available for those who need it most.
Require able-bodied adults to meet public housing work requirements at the federal level
- A 2020 research paper from the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) stated, “Now is the time to implement work requirements for able-bodied individuals receiving housing benefits. The federal government can do more to signal an end to Obama-era barriers to work requirements through guidance and regulation. States can require PHAs to pursue work requirements just as PHAs can begin implementing work requirements themselves.”[5]
Require able-bodied adults to meet public housing work requirements at the state level
- Arkansas lawmakers passed House Bill 1196 on February 27, 2023, which requires local public housing authorities (PHAs) to seek approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by January 1, 2025, to implement public housing work requirements. The proposed work requirements would mandate that able-bodied adults work, volunteer, or participate in a workforce training program for at least 20 hours per week.[6]
- Kansas House Bill 2255 was introduced on February 1, 2023. The bill proposed that any "municipality or housing authority shall require all able-bodied adults applying to the municipality or authority for housing assistance or federal funds distributed by the municipality or housing authority" to work, volunteer, or participate in a work training program for at least 20 hours per week.[7]
Decrease the maximum age for work requirements
This reform proposal would reduce the age to meet work requirements for public housing to align with the eligibility age for senior living.
- A 2019 research paper by the Urban Institute on the Chicago Housing Authority stated, “A few modifications to the work requirement policy have been proposed and implemented since 2009. The first was decreasing the maximum age of those subject to the requirement from 61 to 54. This change was made to align the policy with the age of entry into senior-specific housing developments, ensuring that residents of those developments would be exempt from the work requirements.”[8]
Allow education and job training to satisfy work requirements
This reform proposal would allow more work-related activities to satisfy public housing work requirements.
- Professors Kirstin Frescoln, Mai Thi Nguyen, William M. Rohe, and Michael D. Webb argued in a 2019 article entitled "Work requirements and well-being in public housing" that “one of the most significant barriers to employment was low education levels and a lack of job skills. PHAs considering implementing a work requirement should allow those subject to the policy to meet it through completion of education and job training. Partnerships with community agencies, including Workforce Investment Boards, could help residents develop employment skills and obtain marketable licensures.”[9]
Require more research before expanding public housing work requirements
This reform proposal suggests that further research is needed beyond the Move to Work (MTW) program before expanding work requirements in public housing.
- Frescoln, Nguyen, Rohe, and Webb further stated, “Only MTW agencies currently have the authority to impose work requirements. Given the limitations of this study and lack of other studies examining work requirements in public housing, we caution against expanding such policies without additional study. HUD should require any PHA proposing a work requirement to collect additional data, including changes in health and well-being for all those living in the household.”[9]
Allow greater work flexibility
This reform proposal would allow for flexible work requirements in public housing to meet unique resident needs.
- Frescoln, Nguyen, Rohe, and Webb stated that the Chicago Housing Authority's "policy reflects recognition of barriers many work-able public housing residents encounter in finding and maintaining employment. Other PHAs should consider a similar policy that begins with a low employment threshold (15 to 20 hours), case management for all affected households or those that are noncompliant, and provision for engagement in 'work-related activities' in lieu of wage employment. These policies have provided a safety net for residents who make good faith efforts to find employment and protection from immediate eviction for noncompliance.”[9]
Use work requirements as a mechanism expanding employment
This reform proposes that work requirements for public housing should focus on expanding employment and work training.
- The Urban Insitute's 2019 paper stated that the Chicago Housing Authority "views the work requirement policy as a mechanism for expanding employment and education rather than a tool for eviction or for residents to increase income enough to move from housing assistance to market-rate housing. Instead, noncompliant households may be placed in safe harbor and referred to a participating service provider.”[8]
Increase the time allowed to find employment
This reform proposal would allow public housing benefit recipients more time to meet work requirements.
- The Urban Institute's 2019 paper further stated, “For the time frame for safe harbor, three months was often not enough time to seek additional employment. And that is really where we are focused. If they were trying to find a job, we were finding that they would continue to go to the property manager, and with the volume of responsibilities the property manager has in addition to this, we found that it was an inefficient use of time. Putting it at 180 days achieved both things. It took a little bit of administrative burden off of our property managers, and it allowed ample time for somebody to have a plan.” [8]
See also
- Arguments about work requirements for public assistance programs
- Public housing work requirements
- Public housing work requirements during the Biden administration
- Public housing work requirements during the Trump administration
- Public housing work requirements in the states
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ HUD, Moving to Work frequently asked questions, accessed May 23, 2023
- ↑ MTW Collaborative, MTW agencies, accessed May 30, 2023
- ↑ "HUD," "Summary of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998," accessed October 5, 2023
- ↑ Ballotpedia performed research in 2023-2024 on MTW programs with work requirements.
- ↑ "FGA," “Room to Grow: Work Requirements in Public Housing Will Increase Independence and Preserve Resources for the Truly Needy,” accessed March 9, 2020
- ↑ "Arkansas Legislature," "House bill 1196," accessed October 31, 2023"
- ↑ "Kansas Legislature," "HB 2255," accessed December 20, 2023
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Urban Institute," “Public Housing Work Requirements: Case Study on the Chicago Housing Authority,” accessed December 12, 2023
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "JSTOR," “Work Requirements and Well-Being in Public Housing,” accessed December 12, 2023
