Tacoma Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. Stanley Rumbaugh, Chair. Dr. Arthur C. Banks, Vice Chair. Janis Flauding. Minh-Ahn Hodge.

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2 Tacoma Housing Authority Board of Commissioners Stanley Rumbaugh, Chair Dr. Arthur C. Banks, Vice Chair Janis Flauding Minh-Ahn Hodge Derek Young Executive Director Michael Mirra Senior Management Team April Black Deputy Executive Director Greg Claycamp Director of Client Services Todd Craven Director of Administration Kathy McCormick Director of Real Estate Development Ken Shalik Director of Finance Barbara Tanbara Director of Human Resources Pat Patterson Director of Property Management Report Prepared by: Sheryl Stansell Planning and Policy Analyst Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 1

3 Table of Contents (I) Introduction... 3 (II) General THA Operating Information (II.A) Housing Stock Information (II.B) Leasing Information (II.C) Wait List Information (III) Proposed MTW Activities: HUD Approval Requested (IV) Approved MTW Activities: HUD Approval Previously Granted (V) Sources and Uses of Funds (VI) Administrative Additional Appendix Items Appendix A: Local Asset Management Plan Appendix B: McCarver Program Year Three Evaluation:- Sent in separate document Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 2

4 (I) Introduction This report covers January 1, 2015 through December 31, LONG TERM GOALS Near the end of 2016, THA celebrated its 75 th anniversary. This year offered a chance to celebrate and to reflect on the agency s endeavors, accomplishments and experiences. In 2016, THA will remain focused on its long-term vision for its city. THA s Board of Commissioner has stated it clearly: THA envisions a future where everyone has an affordable, safe and nurturing home, where neighborhoods are attractive places to live, work, attend school, shop and play, and where everyone has the support they need to succeed as parents, students, wage earners and neighbors. THA acknowledges that such a future is not pending, or presently plausible. This makes THA s mission that much more urgent. THA s Board of Commissioners has also stated that mission clearly: THA provides high quality, stable and sustainable housing and supportive services to people in need. It does this in ways that help them prosper and help our communities become safe, vibrant, prosperous, attractive and just. THA s Moving to Work (MTW) designation is essential to this effort. MTW status does not give THA more funding from HUD. Critically, MTW status makes the funding more flexible. It allows THA to design its programs to better serve Tacoma s community in ways that best account for Tacoma s local needs as THA and its community judges them to be. THA s vision and mission align completely with the three MTW three statutory objectives: 1. Increase housing choices for low-income families 2. Give incentives to families with children where the head of household is working, is seeking work, or is preparing for work by participating in job training, educational 2programs, or programs that help people obtain employment and become economically self-sufficient 3. Reduce cost and achieve greater cost effectiveness in federal expenditures THA looks forward to determining effective uses of MTW authority for these purposes. With the agency vision and mission and HUD s MTW statutory objectives in mind, THA has completed planning for its strategic objectives and performance measures that will guide the agency through the coming years. THA s Board has developed seven strategic objectives. They show below. The Board has also devised performance measures for each one. Listed below each strategic objective are the strategies THA has tentatively chosen to fulfill the objective. THA has also chosen performance measures for each strategy. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 3

5 In general, these strategic choices have THA provide high quality housing and supportive services to people in need, with a focus on the neediest. THA will seek to do this in ways that also get two other things done. First, it seeks to help people prosper. It wants their time on its housing programs to be transforming and temporary. It wants this certainly for people who can work but emphatically for children because it does not wish them to need its housing when they grow up. Second, THA seeks to help the City of Tacoma develop equitably so that it makes hospitable room for households of all types, needs and incomes. The following seven strategic objectives and strategies are ambitious. THA will require all the tools within reach, including its MTW flexibility. 1. Housing and Supportive Services THA will provide high quality housing, rental assistance and supportive services. Its supportive services will help people as tenants, parents, students, wage earners, and builders of assets who can live without assistance. It will focus this assistance to meet the greatest need. To meet this objective THA will: Strive to increase the number of households and persons receiving THA housing or rental assistance. Maintain an economic, racial, ethnic, language, age and differed abilities diversity that is reflective of our community. Provide the support and incentives necessary to drive households to increase their household incomes. Help households get banked. Monitor the educational outcomes of students in our programs and provide interventions where necessary to help students drive to success. Connect adult customers with education and employment services. Help households successfully exit THA s housing programs. Assess households on a scale of in-crisis to thriving and provide the services and referrals necessary to help households move to self-sufficiency. Regularly assess our service investments to ensure customers are satisfied and that the investments are offering the outcomes we hope for our customers. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 4

6 2. Housing and Real Estate Development THA will efficiently develop housing and properties that serve primarily families and individuals unable to find affordable and supporting housing they need. Its work will serve to promote the community s development. Its properties will be financially sustainable, environmentally innovative, and attractive. To meet this objective, THA will: Increase the number and type of THA units. Improve the quality of housing that THA owns and manages. Increase the life-span of the units within THA s portfolio. Continue to develop and rehabilitate housing that is of award-winning quality. Improve the cost effectiveness of THA s development function. Assist in the development of affordable housing by other organizations. Reduce the amount of THA dollars in each development and increase the amount of private and public investments. Develop healthy and vibrant communities as measured by their incorporation of art and the walkability to community assets such as parks, schools, grocery stores, public transit and other community amenities promoting health. 3. Property Management THA will manage its properties so they are safe, efficient to operate, good neighbors, attractive assets to their neighborhoods and places where people want to live. To meet this objective, THA will: Lower its per unit per year operating costs. Increase its rent collection. Improve each property s cash flow. Maintain high quality properties. Schedule and complete capital repairs on a regular schedule. Maintain a high level of customer satisfaction as judged by customer surveys. Consult with customers in advance of any policy changes 100% of the time. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 5

7 4. Financially Sustainable Operations THA seeks to be more financially sustaining. To meet this objective, THA will: Achieve an agency-wide operating surplus. Maintain minimum and maximum restricted and unrestricted reserves. Achieve a 1.15 debt-service ratio. Increase the value of THA s land and properties. Increase and diversify its income. 5. Environmental Responsibility THA will develop and operate its properties in a way that preserves and protects natural resources. To meet this objective, THA will: Develop environmentally responsible properties. Develop communities that incorporate creativity and healthy placemaking. Reduce energy and resource consumption. Reduce the use of greenhouse emitting products. 6. Advocacy and Public Education THA will advocate for the value of THA s work and for the interests of the people it serves. It will be a resource for high quality advice, data, and information on housing, community development, and related topics. THA will do this work at the local, state and national level. To meet this objective, THA will: Strive to maintain a positive public regard for THA. Lend staff to serve as effective members of community advisory panels. Be an effective advocate for the value of its work and the people it serves. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 6

8 7. Administration THA will have excellent administrative systems. Its staff will have skills that make THA highly efficient and effective in the customer service it provides to the public and among its departments. It will provide a workplace that attracts, develops and retains motivated and talented employees. To meet this objective, THA will: Improve its operating efficiency. Lower its administrative costs per household served. Increase the number of households served per full time employee (FTE). Decrease the average amount spent on community service per client. Increase its employee engagement scores. Decrease its staff turnover. Maintain positive audit results. THA feels proud and excited about these objectives and the path they set for its work and its city. MTW flexibility makes this work adaptable and innovative and helps give meaning to each of THA s seven strategic objectives. Here are some examples of how THA has used its MTW flexibility: Housing and Supportive Services: THA has modified its rent structure for its Housing Opportunity Program (HOP). Its flat subsidy removes the disincentive to increase earned income. It makes it easier to administer and explain. The savings allow THA to serve more families and to invest in supportive services that households need to succeed as tenants, parents, students and wage earners. THA has used MTW dollars and flexibility to fund its innovative Education Project. Among its initiatives is a program that has stabilized an elementary school with ruinous transient rates among its students because of family homelessness. THA has extended this program model to house homeless community college students during their enrollment as long as they make adequate academic progress toward a degree. THA has modified its Family Self-Sufficiency program to build escrow accounts for customers as they achieve tangible, individual goals rather than through extremely complicated calculation worksheets. THA has also been able to invest federal dollars in non-traditional rental assistance programs that serve homeless households with children, homeless youth without families, and families who need housing to prevent or shorten their children s foster care placements. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 7

9 Real Estate Development: THA is able to invest MTW dollars to build or buy new housing. Over the next five years, THA plans to add an average of 70 new housing units per year. This investment is important especially as Tacoma s rental market becomes less and less affordable making vouchers less effective. This investment also allows THA to (i) bring affordable housing to higher opportunity parts of the market that would be unaffordable or inaccessible even with a voucher; (ii) invest in depressed parts of the market that need the investment and embolden others to invest. Property Management: THA has used MTW dollars to maintain its public housing portfolio. This investment is also critical. That portfolio is valuable. It serves THA s neediest households, including those who would not do well in the private rental market even with a voucher, such as disabled persons, seniors, households coming from trauma and those who do not speak English. THA and its talented and multi-lingual staff are very good landlords to such tenants. This use of MTW dollars is also how THA can bring investments to neighborhoods that need it and to spur their development in ways that benefit all their residents. Financially Sustainable Operations: The addition of affordable housing units to the portfolio will increase the agency assets. It will also add new income streams to the agency. Environmental Responsibility: THA achieved Certified LEED Gold Bay Terrace Phase I development that we developed using MTW dollars is. Advocacy: MTW has allowed THA to develop and test new ideas using its federal flexibility. These programs have added value to the Tacoma community and benefitted the customers we serve. We have been able to share these experiences with a wide national audience. Administration: THA has greatly simplified how it verifies household income and assets for the purpose of calculating rent. THA will continue to look for innovative ways to best leverage its MTW designation in order to meet these objectives. THA s efforts could inform policy choices of other Public Housing Authorities unable to participate in the MTW demonstration. Throughout all this work THA seeks to use the best data and research available. It builds evaluation into its program design. For these purposes, THA has joined with three other neighboring MTW agencies - Seattle Housing Authority, King County Housing Authority, and Home Forward (Portland) to contract for research and evaluation services from the Urban Institute. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 8

10 SHORT TERM GOALS THA remains ambitious and 2016 will be no different. In 2016, we plan to complete a portfoliowide Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) conversion, a software conversion and further rent reform planning. All of these activities will serve our long-term strategic planning. Below are updates to the progress THA has made in each of these areas to date. RAD THA continues to work with HUD and various partners on the final conversion of its Public Housing units to Project Based Vouchers through the RAD program. While the closing of THA s two-part RAD conversion has been stalled a couple of times throughout the process, THA still expects to fully convert to RAD by the end of Software Conversion The final implementation of THA s new software system, OpenDoor on the Salesforce platform, is scheduled to take place in two tracks. In February, THA went live with the first track of implementation. This included IT ticketing, MTW activity and metric tracking, public comment tracking, case management, reasonable accommodations, contracts, preventative maintenance tracking, capital needs tracking, grant management and Constant Contact. Track two will include the implementation of housing and voucher systems, maintenance, procurement, purchasing and inventory systems, Human Resources systems, finance configuration and the development of dashboards and reports. THA will continue to update HUD on the implementation process. Rent Reform 2016 will be its planning year for program-wide rent reform. We have set a research agenda that will allow us to study what types of environments, rent structures and service interventions best help people succeed as parents, students and wage earners. With this information, THA will work with its customers, staff and stakeholders to propose agency-wide rent reform that will help THA serve more households, help households increase their self-sufficiency, increase mobility and lessen the administrative burden of using federal subsidies. THA will provide an update to this planning efforts in its 2017 MTW Plan. Overall, THA has a collection of activities that meet the MTW program goals of spending federal dollars more efficiently, helping residents find employment and become self-sufficient, and increasing housing choices for low-income persons, especially those in crisis and those not well served by HUD s mainline programs in our local markets. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 9

11 (II) General THA Operating Information (II.A) Housing Stock Information New Housing Choice Vouchers that were Project-Based During the Fiscal Year Property Name Anticipated Number Actual Number of Description of Project of New Vouchers to be Project-Based New Vouchers that were Project-Based Nativity House Housing for Chronically Homeless Individuals New Tacoma Phase II 12 8 Homeless Seniors THA Public Housing RAD Conversion Randall Townsend 10 0 Permanent Supportive Housing for homeless Anticipated Total Number of New Vouchers to be Project-Based Veterans Actual Total Number of New Vouchers that were Project-Based Anticipated Total Number of Project-Based Vouchers Committed at the End of the Fiscal Year* Actual Total Number of Project-Based Vouchers Committed at the End of the Fiscal Year Anticipated Total Number of Project-Based Vouchers Leased Up or Issued to a Potential Tenant at the End of the Fiscal Year Actual Total Number of Project-Based Vouchers Leased Up or Issued to a Potential Tenant at the End of the Fiscal Year Other Changes to the Housing Stock that Occurred During the Fiscal Year - In 2015, THA purchased the managing member's interest of the New Look Apartments. All 42 units in the building are PBVs, which had been previously subsidized as PBVs by THA. - Also in 2015, THA purchased a 49 unit apartment complex known as the Outrigger. The property is not subsidized. - THA is in the middle of disposing of its 34 scattered sites public housing units. In 2015, THA sold 4 of these units and plans to sell the remaining units by the end of Examples of the types of other changes can include but are not limited to units that are held offline due to the relocation of residents, units that are off-line due to substantial rehabilitation and potential plans for acquiring units. General Description of Actual Capital Fund Expenditures During the Plan Year CFP and RHF funds were used in preparation for the RAD conversion. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 10

12 Overview of Other Housing Owned and/or Managed by the PHA at Fiscal Year End Housing Program* Total Units Overview of the Program Market Rate 1 North Shirley Homes Market Rate 9 Alaska Homes Tax Credit 16 Hillside Terrace-Family Property Tax Credit 3 Salishan-Family Property Tax Credit 24 Bay Terrace Market Rate 49 Outrigger-Family Property Total Other Housing Owned and/or Managed 102 *Select Housing Program from: Tax-Credit, State Funded, Locally Funded, Market-Rate, Non- MTW HUD Funded, Managing Developments for other non-mtw Public Housing Authorities, or Other. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 11

13 (II.B) Leasing Information Actual Number of Households Served at the End of the Fiscal Year Housing Program: Number of Units that were Occupied/Leased through Local Non-Traditional MTW Funded Property-Based Assistance Programs** Number of Units that were Occupied/Leased through Local Non-Traditional MTW Funded Tenant-Based Assistance Programs** Number of Households Served* Planned Actual Port-In Vouchers (Not Absorbed) N/A 20 Total Projected and Actual Households Served * Calculated by dividing the planned/actual number of unit months occupied/leased by 12. ** In instances when a Local, Non-Traditional program provides a certain subsidy level does not specify a number of Units/Households Served, the PHA should estimate the number of Households served. Housing Program: Number of Units that were Occupied/Leased through Local Non-Traditional MTW Funded Property-Based Assistance Programs*** Number of Units that were Occupied/Leased through Local Non-Traditional MTW Funded Tenant-Based Assistance Programs*** Unit Months Occupied/Leased**** Planned Actual Port-In Vouchers (Not Absorbed) N/A 240 Total Projected and Actual Unit Months Occupied/Leased THA contracts with Pierce County to administer this program. In 2015, Pierce County and providers continued to work to expend the full contract amount and serve as many households as possible. The decrease of affordable housing stock in Tacoma might be a contributing factor to the actual number of households served. *** In instances when a Local, Non-Traditional program provides a certain subsidy level does not specify a number of Units/Households Served, the PHA should estimate the number of Households served. **** Unit Months Occupied/Leased is the total number of months the housing PHA has occupied/leased units, according to the unit category during the year. Households Served through Local Non-Traditional Services Only Average Number of Households Served Per Month Total Number of Households Served During the Year 0 0 Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 12

14 Reporting Compliance with Statutory MTW Requirements: 75% of Families Assisted are Very Low-Income HUD will verify compliance with the statutory objective of assuring that 75 percent of the families assisted by the Agency are very low-income families is being achieved by examining public housing and Housing Choice Voucher family characteristics as submitted into the PIC or its successor system utilizing current resident data at the end of the agency s fiscal year. The PHA will provide information on local, non-traditional families provided with housing assistance at the end of the PHA fiscal year, not reported in PIC or its successor system, in the following format: Fiscal Year: Total Number of Local, Non- Traditional MTW Households Assisted Number of Local, Non- Traditional MTW Households with Incomes 50% of Are Median Income Percentage of Local, Non- Traditional MTW Households with Incomes Below 50% of Area Median Income % 99.1% 100% Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 13

15 Reporting Compliance with Statutory MTW Requirements: Maintain Comparable Mix In order to demonstrate that the statutory objective of maintaining a comparable mix of families (by family size) are served, as would have been provided had the amounts not been used under the demonstration is being achieved, the PHA will provide information in the following formats: Baseline for the Mix of Family Sizes Served Family Size: Occupied Number of Public Housing units by Household Size when PHA Entered MTW Utilized Number of Section 8 Vouchers by Household Size when PHA Entered MTW Non-MTW Adjustments to the Distribution of Household Sizes* Baseline Number of Household Sizes to be Maintained Baseline Percentages of Family Sizes to be Maintained 1 Person % 2 Person % 3 Person % 4 Person % 5 Person % 6+ Person % Totals % Explanation for Baseline Adjustments to the Distribution of Household Sizes Utilized N/A Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 14

16 Baseline Percentages of Household Sizes to be Maintained** Number of Households Served by Family Size this Fiscal Year*** Percentages of Households Served by Household Size this Fiscal Year**** Percentage Change Mix of Family Sizes Served 1 Person 2 Person 3 Person 4 Person 5 Person 6+ Person Totals 43% 20% 16% 11% 7% 5% 100% ,523 43% 20% 16% 10% 7% 5% 100% Justification and Explanation for Family Size Variations of Over 5% from the Baseline Percentages N/A * Non-MTW adjustments to the distribution of family sizes are defined as factors that are outside the control of the PHA. Acceptable non-mtw adjustments include, but are not limited to, demographic changes in the community s population. If the PHA includes non-mtw adjustments, HUD expects the explanations of the factors to be thorough and to include information substantiating the numbers used. ** The numbers in this row will be the same numbers in the chart above listed under the column Baseline percentages of family sizes to be maintained. *** The methodology used to obtain these figures will be the same methodology used to determine the Occupied number of Public Housing units by family size when PHA entered MTW and Utilized number of Section 8 Vouchers by family size when PHA entered MTW in the table immediately above. **** The Percentages of families served by family size this fiscal year will reflect adjustments to the mix of families served that are directly due to decisions the PHA has made. HUD expects that in the course of the demonstration, PHAs will make decision that may alter the number of families served. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 15

17 Description of any Issues Related to Leasing of Public Housing, Housing Choice Vouchers or Local, Non-Traditional Units and Solutions at Fiscal Year End Housing Program Description of Leasing Issues and Solutions Public Housing No Issues HCV No Issues Pierce County did not serve the expected number of households Local Non-Traditional through this contract. THA and Pierce County are still working on identifying issues and revising the contract to address outstanding issues. Number of Households Transitioned to Self-Sufficiency by Fiscal Year End Activity Name/# Number of Households Transitioned* Agency Definition of Self- Sufficiency Local Activity for Work- Able Households/6 and Number of FSS graduates Housing Opportunity Number of households who 0 Program/17 reach 80% of AMI or higher Regional Approach to Special Purpose Housing/15 N/A** Number of households who leave the program and do not need rental assistance. McCarver Program/2 Number of households who 8 (cumulative over four years) leave the program and do not need rental assistance. Households Duplicated Across Activities/Definitions 10 ANNUAL TOTAL NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS TRANSITIONED TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY 10 *The number provided here should match the outcome reported where metric SS #8 is used. ** Note: THA is evaluating its Rapid Rehousing investment in 2016 and will provide an update in its 2016 MTW Report. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 16

18 (II.C) Wait List Information Housing Program(s)* Housing Opportunity Program (Housing Choice Voucher) Rapid Re- Housing Wait List Information at Fiscal Year End Wait List Type** Number of Households on Wait List Community Wide Wait List Open, Partially Open, Or Closed*** Was the Wait List Opened During the Fiscal Year 1,287 Closed No Central Intake 31 Open Open Youth Housing Central Intake 79 Open Open Low Income Site Based 10,433 Open Open Housing (total) * Select Housing Program: Federal MTW Public Housing Units; Federal MTW Housing Choice Voucher Program; Federal non-mtw Housing Choice Voucher Units; Tenant-Based Local, Non- Traditional MTW Housing Assistance Program; and Combined Tenant-Based and Project-Based Local, Non-Traditional MTW Housing Assistance Program. ** Select Wait List Types: Community-Wide, Site-Based, Merged (Combined Public Housing or Voucher Wait List), Program Specific (Limited by HUD or Local PHA Rules to Certain Categories of Households which are Described in the Rules for Program Participation), None (If the Program is a New Wait List, Not an Existing Wait List), or Other (Please Provide a Brief Description of this Wait List Type). *** For Partially Open Wait Lists, provide a description of the populations for which the waiting list is open. Housing Opportunity Program- Serves multiple population including families and senior disabled. Public Housing- Serves multiple populations including families and senior disabled. If Local, Non-Traditional Program, please describe: Rapid Rehousing- Local Non-Traditional Program being operated in conjunction with county. This program serves homeless or near homeless households in Tacoma and Pierce County. Youth Housing- Local Non-Traditional Program being operated in conjunction with county. This program serves homeless unaccompanied youth and young adults in Tacoma and Pierce County. N/A If Other Wait List Type, please describe: N/A N/A N/A If there are changes to the organizational structure of the wait list or policy changes regarding the wait list, provide a narrative detailing these changes. N/A Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 17

19 (III) Proposed MTW Activities: HUD Approval Requested All proposed activities that are granted approval by HUD are reported on in Section IV as Approved Activities. (IV) Approved MTW Activities: HUD Approval Previously Granted A. Implemented Activities: 1. EXTEND ALLOWABLE TENANT ABSENCE FROM UNIT FOR ACTIVE DUTY SOLDIERS Impact of Activity: THA proposed and implemented this activity in THA modified its policy for terminating households who were absent from their unit for more than 180 days. Modifying the policy was necessary to account for households with adults called to active duty from retirement, from the reserves, or national guards. THA s programs have a number of reserve or guard military families because of close proximity to Fort Lewis, one of the nation s largest military bases. Due to the war in the Middle East, more of these reserve or guard members have been called to active duty. Active duty may force a household to be absent from their assisted unit for more than 180 days the normal rules allow, leaving them without housing assistance when the service member returns home. Although the question of having to terminate such a household of service men and women arose only a few times during the war, the prospect of terminating them was too unsettling even to risk. This activity allowed THA to make the following policy revisions: Allow a previously assisted households returning from deployment to request reinstatement within 90 days from the date they return from deployment. HC #4: Displacement Prevention Number of households at or below 80% AMI that would lose assistance or need to move (decrease). If units reach a specific type of household, give that type in this box Met Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 18

20 Discussion of Benchmarks: This activity was not used in Revisions to Benchmarks or Metrics: No changes were made to the benchmarks or metrics. Changes to Data Collection Methodology: No changes were made to the data collection process. 2. TACOMA PUBLIC SCHOOLS SPECIAL HOUSING PROGRAM (FORMERLY MCCARVER SPECIAL HOUSING PROGRAM) Impact of Activity: The Tacoma Public Schools Special Housing Program began accepting families in the fall of During the school year, the program supported 33 formerly homeless families (56 students at McCarver). THA and TPS have decided to expand this program in the 2016 school year based on positive results of the third party evaluations completed by Geo Education Research. The details of the expansion are under development. THA will update HUD on the expansion of this program in its 2017 MTW Plan. CE # 4: Increase in Resources Leveraged Amount of funds $0 THA does not $322,866 N/A leveraged in have a specific dollars (increased). goal for resources leveraged in this program. SS #1: Increase in Household Income Average earned income of households affected by this policy in dollars (increase). $0 $17,061 $20,991 (16 of 33 households had earned income in 2015) $16,984 all households Did Not Meet but Made Substantial Progress Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 19

21 SS #3: Increase in Positive Outcomes in Employment Status Report the Baseline, Benchmark and outcome data for each type of employment status for those head(s) of households affected by the self-sufficiency activity. 1) Employed Full Did not meet Time 2) Employed part-time 0% 34% 32% Did not meet Did not meet 0 % 34% 12% Did not meet 3) Enrolled in an Educational Program (4 year Met cumulative) 0% 40% 52% Met 4) Enrolled in a (4 year Met Job Training Program 0% 50% cumulative) 52% Met 5) Unemployed Did not meet 100% 16% 34% Did not meet SS #5: Households Assisted by Services that Increase Self Sufficiency Number of households receiving services aimed to increase selfsufficiency (increase) Did not meet SS #6: Reducing per Unit Subsidy Costs for Participating Households Average amount of Section 8 and/or 9 subsidy per household affected by this policy in dollars (decrease). $789 in 2014 TBD in 2016 $729 TBD in 2016 but THA has seen a decrease in HAP Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 20

22 SS #8: Households Transitioned to Self Sufficiency Number of households transitioned to selfsufficiency (increase) by exiting the program for employment and/or increased income (4 year cumulative) Met Discussion of Benchmarks: Many of the program s benchmarks were met or made substantial progress in the school year. In the metrics listed above, it is important to note that the number of households enrolled in a job training or educational program were not reported separately in the third party evaluation. THA will begin to track these separately in the coming school year. Below is some promising information from the fourth year evaluation. Families have experienced increases in education, job training employment, and income. Incomes fluctuated monthly. In August 2015, 20 adults in 16 households in the Program had earned income (46.5% of the 43 adults in the 33 households). This is a decline from last year when 60.4% of adults were employed. The percentage of adults employed rose steadily from a low of 11.4% at Program entry to 60.4% last year. The families had 16 adults employed full time and 6 employed part time. Among the 43 adults in the 33 families in the Program in August 2015, many have maintained or gained employment while in the Program. Their jobs include: baker, machinist, housekeeper, custodian, customer service representative (2), carpenter (2), home health care worker, sales clerk (2), laborer (4), trainer, warehouse worker, administrative clerk, day care worker, CNA certified caregiver (4), cashier, mail carrier, recycler, truck driver, paint salesperson, car salesperson, medical receptionist, social worker, and pizza chef. Many (14) started with and some have continued receiving some government assistance. Seven households receive some SSI payments (5 for children); 10 receive child support; three receive TANF; two receive unemployment compensation; and none receive support from family members; most receive SNAP (food stamps Earned income (averaging $1,048/month) now far exceeds unearned income (averaging $384/month).) Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 21

23 Only 3 families (9.1%) receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF 1 ). The average amount of TANF funding received decreased from $558 per month to $494 for those receiving TANF. Some families also receive unearned income from other sources (e.g., child support, unemployment insurance). The efforts of caseworkers to help families apply for needed and qualified financial support has helped many supplement their incomes and increase their financial stability. Overall, median monthly household income stayed flat at $782. Average monthly household income rose 6.9% to $1,432. Due to the small size of the cohort (which skews the average when a few members have relatively large incomes), the median numbers are more meaningful. Among all households, six had zero income; another three received less that $500; eight received between $500 and $1,000; six received between $1,000 and $2,000; and 10 received more than $2,000. Households now get 73.2% of their income from employment (well up from 56.9% last year and from 36.2% at Program entry). These figures do not take into account family size. Hardships: This program saw an increase in hardship requests in the fourth year when households were expected to pay 60% of their rent. The number of households able to pay the expected share of rent without undue rent burden was fourteen (14). The number of households unable to pay the expected share of rent without undue burden was nineteen (19). Because of this, THA made an interim rent structure change. At the beginning of the fifth year of this program, participating households began receiving assistance under the MTW HCV rent calculation where households pay 28.5% of their income toward rent. THA is continuing to survey participating households to better understand the issue. THA may implement a new rent structure in the expansion of the program based on these discussions. Revisions to Benchmarks or Metrics: No changes were made to the benchmarks or metrics. Changes to Data Collection Methodology: No changes were made to the data collection process. 1 Possibly impacted by time limits on TANF support. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 22

24 3. LOCAL PROJECT- BASED VOUCHER PROGRAM (HCV) Impact of Activity: This activity has been completely implemented. THA waived the option that allows PBV holders to automatically receive a tenant based voucher after one year in THA grandfathered in anyone who had a PBV before October 1, THA began inspecting its own PBV units in early 2012 and noticed a small savings in the amount of money it cost the agency to inspect those units. CE # 1: Agency Cost Savings Total cost of task in dollars (decrease). $12,180 $8,526 $8,945 Although the outcome is higher than the benchmark, this is still considered an achievement. THA added 20 PBVs to its portfolio in 2014 which increased the dollar amount of this activity. CE # 2: Staff Time Savings Total time to complete the task in staff hours (decrease). Total amount of staff time dedicated to the task prior to implementation of the activity (in hours). Expected amount of total staff time dedicated to the task after implementation of the activity (in hours). Actual amount of total staff time dedicated to the task after implementation of the activity (in hours). Whether the outcome meets or exceeds the benchmark. CE # 3: Decrease in Error Rate of task Execution Average error rate in completing a task as a percentage (decrease). THA cannot establish a baseline for this metric. TBD in 2015 TBD in 2015 TBD in 2015 Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 23

25 HC #4: Displacement Prevention Number of households at or below 80% AMI that would lose assistance or need to move (decrease). TBD TBD TBD TBD Discussion of Benchmarks: THA sees annual savings through the authority that this activity gives the agency to inspect its own units. THA is working on setting benchmarks and a tracking system for metric CE#3 and will begin to report on this metric in the 2016 Report. THA will set baselines and benchmarks for HC#4 once the number of PBVs exceeds the 20% cap. Revisions to Benchmarks or Metrics: THA has made changes to the metrics to match HUD s standard metrics. Changes to Data Collection Methodology: No changes were made to the data collection methodology for this activity. 4. ALLOW TRANSFERS BETWEEN PUBLIC HOUSING AND VOUCHER PROGRAMS Impact of Activity: THA fully implemented this activity in THA used this activity to transfer 15 households in THA did not meet its goal of transferring 25 or more households in The agency continues to use a new database to help the transfer policy be more effective in THA expects to meet the benchmark of 25 households moving to a more suitable unit by the end of HC #5: Increase in Resident Mobility Number of household able to move to a better unit and/or neighborhood of opportunity as a result of the activity (increase) Did not meet Discussion of Benchmarks: THA believes it will meet its benchmark in Revisions to Benchmarks or Metrics: No changes were made to the benchmarks or metrics. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 24

26 Changes to Data Collection Methodology: No changes were made to the data collection process. 5. LOCAL POLICIES FOR FIXED INCOME HOUSEHOLDS Impact of Activity: THA received authorization for this activity in 2011 and fully implemented this activity in THA realized its first full year of administrative savings because of the triennial review cycle in The time avoidance was put to use by public housing staff spending more time on client needs. Section 8 THA created a new position to investigate fraud and program integrity. CE # 1: Agency Cost Savings Total cost of task in dollars (decrease). $21,438 $14,291 $13,915 Met CE # 2: Staff Time Savings Total time to complete the task in staff hours (decrease). 1, Met CE # 5: Increase in Agency Rental Revenue Rental revenue in dollars (increase). TBD TBD TBD TBD Discussion of Benchmarks: THA met its benchmarks in 2015 for agency cost and staff time savings. THA has not increased the minimum rent for this population, as THA is planning for program-wide rent reform to be implemented in 2018 which will likely impact this population. Hardships: Hardship numbers in Hardships Requested: 20 THA received twenty (20) hardships in the fixed income group in Revisions to Benchmarks or Metrics: No changes were made to the benchmarks or metrics. Changes to Data Collection Methodology: No changes were made to the data collection process. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 25

27 6. LOCAL POLICY FOR WORK-ABLE HOUSEHOLDS (HCV/PH) Impact of Activity THA received authorization for this activity in 2011 and fully implemented this activity in The last part of this activity to be implemented was the biennial recertifications. Biennial s resulted in staff time savings which was redirected towards increased fraud monitoring, client support and interim tracking. CE # 1: Agency Cost Savings Total cost of task in dollars (decrease). $56,202 $28,101 $28,395 Did not Meet but made substantial progress CE # 2: Staff Time Savings Total time to complete the task in staff hours (decrease) Met CE # 5: Increase in Agency Rental Revenue Rental revenue in dollars (increase). TBD TBD TBD TBD SS #1: Increase in Household Income Average earned income of households affected by this policy in dollars (increase). $12,372 $12,991 $15,873 Met Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 26

28 SS #3: Increase in Positive Outcomes in Employment Status Report the Baseline, Benchmark and outcome data for each type of employment status for those head(s) of households affected by the self-sufficiency activity. 1) Employed full-time 2) Employed part-time 3) Enrolled in Educational Program 4) Enrolled in Did not meet but made substantial progress 21% 14% 13% Did not meet but made substantial progress Did not meet but made substantial progress TBD 19% 18% Did not meet but made substantial progress TBD TBD 12 TBD TBD TBD 3% TBD TBD TBD 8 TBD TBD TBD 2% TBD Job Training 5) Unemployed TBD TBD 395 TBD TBD TBD 12% TBD SS #4: Households Removed from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Number of households receiving TANF assistance (decrease) Met SS #8: Households Transitioned to Self Sufficiency Number of households transitioned to selfsufficiency (increase). Number of households graduated from the FSS program. 0 TBD TBD TBD Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 27

29 Hardships: Hardship Numbers for 2015 Total Hardship Requests: 63 THA saw an increase in hardships in The minimum rent in this group is $75. Discussion of Benchmarks: THA continued to see a reduction in the number of annual reviews processed in 2015 thanks to biennial reviews. This led to an agency cost savings. Community services staff is continuing outreach to households that have $0 earned income to engage these households in employment services. THA continues to see improvement in employment status of households. Households removed from TANF in 2015 reflect all households removed from TANF regardless of whether the reason was due to an increase in income or to the temporary nature of the assistance. Additionally, THA is planning for program wide rent reform in Plan Year THA has not raised the minimum rent in this group because of that. THA will report on the increase in tenant share upon implementation of any such rent reform. Revisions to Benchmarks or Metrics: With the implementation of THA s new software in 2016, THA will be able to better track the effect of this activity regarding educational attainment and job training and may consider revisions to the benchmarks. Currently, THA only counts the educational attainment and job training of those enrolled in FSS. It is likely that there are more households achieving these milestones who are not captured. Changes to Data Collection Methodology: No changes were made to the data collection methodology. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 28

30 7. LOCAL INCOME AND ASSET POLICIES (HCV/PH) Impact of Activity: THA received permission to implement several policy changes that would reduce the agency s administrative burden. Part of this activity included allowing tenants to selfcertify assets valued at less than $25,000 and eliminate EID. Staff time interviews have shown that in 2015 they did not have any households with more than $25,000 in assets. That led to a 100% staff time savings on this activity. CE # 1: Agency Cost Savings Total cost of task in dollars (decrease). $19,726 $10,400 $0 Met CE # 2: Staff Time Savings Total time to complete the task in staff hours (decrease) Met CE # 3: Decrease in Error Rate of task Execution Average error rate in completing a task as a percentage (decrease). Cannot establish baseline. 0% 0% Met Discussion of Benchmarks: THA has seen a 100% savings from only verifying assets over $25K as none of THA s households have assets over this amount. Hardships: No hardships were requested in the 2015 because of this activity. Revisions to Benchmarks or Metrics: THA has made changes to the metrics to match HUD s standard metrics. Changes to Data Collection Methodology: No changes were made to the data collection methodology for this activity. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 29

31 8. LOCAL INTERIM PROCESSING AND VERIFICATION POLICIES (HCV/PH) Impact of Activity: THA has found that parts of the interim policy were causing more work than necessary. Because of that, THA will no longer require an interim increase for every interim decrease processed. THA will also limit interims to two per recertification cycle. In 2013, a process improvement project led to THA accepting all changes of circumstances (interims) online. The activity has worked well and THA supports clients who cannot use a computer and need assistance. Forms now come in 100% complete and correctly filled out. THA has seen an increase in the total number of interims processed from the first year implemented. The increased convenience of filling out a change of circumstance form online may be the reason for the increased number of interims in CE # 1: Agency Cost Savings Total cost of task in dollars (decrease). $33,354 $23,348 $41,260 Did not meet CE # 2: Staff Time Savings Total time to complete the task in staff hours (decrease). 1,635 1,145 1,780 Did not meet Discussion of Benchmarks: THA did not meet the 30% reduction number that it had set out in the benchmarks. This may be the result of online interims. THA will continue to monitor the number of interims submitted and will reassess the benchmark based on the changes to the process in Hardships: No hardships were requested in 2015 because of this activity. Revisions to Benchmarks or Metrics: No changes were made to the benchmarks or metrics for this activity. Changes to Data Collection Methodology: No changes were made to the data collection methodology for this activity. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 30

32 11. SIMPLIFIED UTILITY ALLOWANCE Impact of Activity: HUD approved this activity which allows THA to streamline the utility allowance (UA). THA implemented this simplified UA in November of This activity has had a positive impact on both staff and residents. It has made explanation of the UA much simpler and cut back on the amount of time staff uses to process the UA s. CE # 1: Agency Cost Savings Total cost of task in dollars (decrease). $6,793 $3, $1,680 Met CE # 2: Staff Time Savings Total time to complete the task in staff hours (decrease) Met CE # 3: Decrease in Error Rate of task Execution Average error rate in completing a task as a percentage (decrease). THA cannot establish baseline data for this metric. 0 0 Met Discussion of Benchmarks: THA met the benchmarks outlined for this activity. Hardships: 0. Revisions to Benchmarks or Metrics: No changes were made to the benchmarks or metrics for this activity. Changes to Data Collection Methodology: No changes were made to the data collection methodology for this activity. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 31

33 12. LOCAL PORT OUT POLICY Impact of Activity: THA implemented the activity in 2012 and has seen the monthly number of port outs decrease. The decrease combined with the attrition that comes with absorbing and households leaving the program have led to THA being close to its goal in The hours and dollars spent decreased but fell short of the 40% decrease benchmark. CE # 1: Agency Cost Savings Total cost of task in dollars (decrease). $6,630 $3,978 $3,563 Met CE # 2: Staff Time Savings Total time to complete the task in staff hours (decrease) Met Discussion of Benchmarks: THA met the benchmarks for both metrics for this activity in Revisions to Benchmarks or Metrics: No changes were made to the benchmarks or metrics for this activity. Changes to Data Collection Methodology: No changes were made to the data collection methodology for this activity. Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 32

34 15. REGIONAL APPROACH TO SPECIAL PURPOSE HOUSING Impact of Activity: THA received authorization for this activity in THA used this activity to implement its local non-traditional housing programs in THA partnered with Pierce County on two programs that worked with hard to house populations. The program uses the rapid rehousing model in order to quickly house or re-house homeless or at risk of being homeless families and individuals. The program also allows THA to leverage service dollars for the housing dollars spent. CE # 4: Increase in Resources Leveraged Amount of funds leveraged in dollars (increased). $0 $150,000 $393,259 Exceeded SS #5: Households Assisted by Services that Increase Self Sufficiency Number of households receiving services aimed to increase selfsufficiency (increase) Did not meet SS #8: Households Transitioned to Self Sufficiency Number of households transitioned to selfsufficiency (increase) TBD in 2016 TBD in 2016 Tacoma Housing Authority 2015 MTW Report Page 33