Idaho public housing authorities approach proposed work requirements with caution

Only one of Idaho’s public housing authorities has signed on to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development coalition to consider adding work requirements to its subsidized housing programs. Other authority leaders say they remain skeptical about the benefits of a work requirement. 

Feds encourage public housing authorities to impose work rules, time limits

The Work and Dignity Coalition was announced by HUD earlier this year in tandem with a proposed rule to allow independent housing authorities to enforce “work requirements, time limits, and supportive service frameworks for able-bodied, non-elderly adults receiving assistance.”

“Housing assistance was never meant to trap work-able individuals on government support their entire lives,” U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner said in a press release. “Rather it should be a temporary foundation to launch into a life of self-sufficiency. Getting a paycheck is empowering, getting a welfare check is not.”

The proposed rule and the coalition signal a change in HUD’s approach to public housing assistance, focusing on proving self sufficiency.

How would HUD’s proposal affect Idahoans?

While the leadership of many of Idaho’s housing authorities align with these goals, slashed operating budgets, increased administrative burden, and concerns around efficacy leave them circumspect about joining the coalition.

Sunny Shaw leads four different Idaho housing authorities, overseeing the work of Twin Falls, American Falls, Jerome and Buhl. Many of the programs she manages, which overwhelmingly serve disabled and elderly populations, would not see changes from a work requirement rule, she said. 

“There’s 196 households that we serve in Twin Falls. 82% of those are elderly disabled, so that eliminates them. I have 34 households that are able-bodied by definition, and 83% of those are working. So it’s such a minor amount,” Shaw said. “I don’t generally see a population who is just choosing to be able-bodied and not working.”

One Idaho housing authority, however, sees opportunities to combat fraud in the system. In Pocatello, Housing Alliance and Community Partnerships joined the Work and Dignity Coalition this May. 

With a work requirement as part of the system, Executive Director Jared Magnum said, the government could have a better understanding of enrollees’ income. 

“If someone’s working under the table or they’re doing something on the side, it’s just unreported — that happens a lot,” Magnum said. “With the work requirements, it has to be a W-2 job, something the government’s going to be able to track.”

Magnum also praised the coalition’s consideration of time limits on housing vouchers, which provide government assistance to pay for housing in the private market.

“Someone could be on the voucher for 20 years, or 30 years, or 40 years, as long as they otherwise qualify,” Magnum said. “If you were doing two-year vouchers, you would probably be able to help a lot more people, because the only time that a new voucher is going to come available is if someone passes away or they lose the voucher. ”

Other Idaho housing authority officials are still weighing their options

The Southwestern Idaho Cooperative Housing Authority and Boise City/Ada County Housing Authorities have not made final decisions on joining the work and dignity coalition. 

Elisa Velasco, executive director of Southwestern Idaho Cooperative Housing Authority, expressed concern about extra work her staff might have to take on, without extra funding, should a work requirement be instated. 

Idaho leads the nation in housing growth. The data shows it’s still not enough.

“They’re only funding us at 86% of what we’re entitled to right now. So we’re not being paid anymore to do this,” Velasco said.

“So many of the targets set by this program are laudable and worthwhile, there remain some concerns,” said Deanna Watson, executive director at Boise City/Ada County Housing Authorities. “Too often employment does not pay a living wage, does not include benefits or paid time off so the loss and risks of losing assistance in a trade for precarious working conditions.”

Idaho’s largest housing authority, the Idaho Housing and Finance Association, has not joined the coalition. 

“Idaho Housing won’t make a decision about what, if anything, changes until the final rule is published,” IHFA spokesperson Jason Lantz said. 

In Pocatello, Magnum remains optimistic about the possibility of improving the public housing system. 

“It’s a monster to try to tackle something that big, and I applaud HUD for at least trying to do something,” he said.