Evaluating the Rapid Re-housing for Families Demonstration Program
Abt Associates is evaluating the Department of Housing and Urban Development's $25 million Rapid Re-housing for Families Demonstration (RRHD) program. This 23-site program aims to move homeless families with moderate barriers to housing out of shelter quickly and back into private market housing. Typically this is accomplished through temporary rental assistance, housing placement assistance, and other supportive services.
This evaluation presents the first opportunity to systematically understand program design and outcomes in multiple sites across the country. The results of the study are particularly important and policy-relevant given that the HEARTH Act of 2009 identified rapid re-housing as an eligible activity under HUD's major homeless assistance grant programs.
The 42-month study will involve process and outcomes evaluations of the RRHD program. The primary research questions are:
Is rapid re-housing an effective intervention for families with moderate barriers?
Is the assessment tool a valid or predictive mechanism for identifying which families will be successful in the program?
Core activities include designing the study, interviewing local stakeholders to understand the RRHD intervention and assessment process, preparing a process evaluation report, conducting telephone follow-up interviews with families 12 months after they exit RRHD programs, and preparing the outcomes evaluation report.
