CDC COMMUNITY GUIDE: Housing: Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Programs

CDC

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

Tenant-based rental assistance programs provide vouchers or direct cash assistance to allow low-income families more housing options than they could afford by themselves. This assistance is designed to allow families to move to safer neighborhoods.

The Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends tenant-based rental assistance programs on the basis of sufficient evidence of reductions in exposure to crimes against person and property and decreases in neighborhood social disorder. The Task Force was unable to determine the effectiveness of such programs on housing hazards, youth risk behaviors, and psychological and physical morbidity, because too few studies of adequate design and execution reported these outcomes.

Results / Accomplishments

Results from the Systematic Reviews:
Twelve studies qualified for the review.

• Household victimization: median decrease of 6% (interquartile interval: -22% to 6%; 5 studies)
• Social disorder: median decrease of 15.5% (interquartile interval: -89% to 3%; 4 studies)
• The rental assistance programs reviewed were implemented in urban areas. Only low-income socioeconomic groups were represented, including White, Latino, and African-American populations. Effects were similar for all of these groups.

About this Promising Practice

Primary Contact
communityguide@cdc.gov
Topics
Economy / Housing & Homes
Community / Social Environment
Community / Crime & Crime Prevention
Source
Community Guide Branch Epidemiology and Analysis Program Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Location
USA
For more details
http://www.thecommunityguide.org/index.html#topics
http://www.thecommunityguide.org/social/tenantrent...
Target Audience
Adults, Families, Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Additional Audience
Low-Income

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An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.