The Moving To Work (MTW) program, authorized by section 204 of the
Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996, offers a
limited number of PHAs the opportunity to design and test innovative strategies
for addressing the needs of their tenants and their communities.
HUD's Report to Congress recommending expansion of the program here and CLPHA's article about the report is here.
MTW agencies have the flexibility to find new approaches that accomplish
three primary statutory goals:
Reducing cost and achieving greater costs
effectiveness in Federal expenditures
Giving 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 programs, or programs that
assist people to obtain employment and become economically self-sufficient
Increasing housing choices for low-income
families
Some of the flexibilities available include:
Combining operating, capital, and tenant-based
assistance funds into a single agency-wide funding source
Refining rent policies for purposes such as
eliminating unnecessary recertifications and simplifying those that are
necessary (most, e.g., KingCounty)
Creating local housing programs to address local
needs, such as the sponsor-based housing programs in KingCounty, Seattle,
Cambridge, Portland,
etc. or Minneapolis’
mortgage foreclosure prevention and homeownership initiatives
Streamlining development processes and using
acquisition strategies to preserve or even increase the local stock of hard
units (e.g., Charlotte)
As of January 2010, there are 33 PHAs with MTW status. Each has an
agency-specific MTW agreement with HUD, detailing the flexibilities granted in
order to meet program goals. Allagencies have had their agreements
extended through the end of FY2018 at the earliest. Each year, the PHA completes an annual plan,
to be approved by HUD, and an annual report on the outcomes achieved.
