{"id":448124,"date":"2025-12-15T06:59:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T06:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/448124\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T06:59:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T06:59:09","slug":"phlhousing-tests-a-new-cash-transfer-program-for-phila-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/448124\/","title":{"rendered":"PHLHousing+ tests a new cash-transfer program for Phila. families"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Housing Initiative at Penn and Penn\u2019s Department of Psychology are collaborating with the City of Philadelphia on PHLHousing+<\/a>, a three-year rental assistance pilot that provides monthly cash transfers to 301 low-income families. Researchers from both departments are evaluating how the cash assistance compares to traditional housing vouchers and how the program affects youth well\u2013being.<\/p>\n

Housing Initiative at Penn Faculty Director Vincent Reina, who studies low\u2013income housing policy, explains that the project compares cash transfers with the Housing Choice Voucher program. Families typically receive a subsidy ensuring they pay no more than 30% of their income toward rent. There are limitations to the current system, though, including administrative barriers, long wait times, and finding landlords who will accept vouchers. It\u2019s a \u201cdual take\u2013up challenge,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Unconditional cash for rent is almost nonexistent in U.S. housing policy. Most assistance programs (like vouchers or public housing) pay landlords directly or impose strict rules on how funds can be used. The idea of simply giving families cash and trusting them to secure stable housing runs against decades of policy assumptions. Earlier federal housing programs have, however, included more flexible, cash\u2013based components, which informed the design of this pilot.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia is one of the first cities in the country to test whether no\u2013strings\u2013attached payments can function as effectively as traditional rental subsidies. Matthew Fowle, the project\u2019s director of research, says he was struck by how closely the outcomes of the cash and voucher groups aligned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s this expectation that low\u2013income families might use cash on frivolous things,\u201d Fowle said. \u201cBut we\u2019re seeing very similar reductions in eviction and homelessness among families receiving cash compared to those with vouchers, which really suggests that people are using the money to stabilize [their] housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program also integrates psychological research with housing policy. \u201cChildren and families exist in a context, and that context is sometimes shaped by the kind of social policies that they encounter locally and at the state level and nationally,\u201d says Professor Sara Jaffee, Chair of Penn\u2019s Psychology Department. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of data showing that housing insecurity, poor housing quality, [and] the kind of financial insecurity that goes along with being unable to afford housing is a real source of stress for children and for families, and that has impacts on mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jaffee\u2019s team surveys participating households every six months. They collect caregiver reports on depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and more. Parents also report on children\u2019s emotional and behavioral functioning. To avoid overburdening families, measures of child emotional and behavioral health are alternated with questions about children\u2019s physical health.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve had significant early findings: \u201cRates of forced moves drop by anywhere from 60 to 75% in our cash group, and they drop by about 50% in our voucher group,\u201d says Jaffee. \u201cRates of homelessness in our cash group also drop by a really substantial degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also says the team has seen reductions in reported serious housing quality problems in both the cash and voucher groups. Reina notes that reductions in housing cost burdens appeared to correspond with the improvements families reported.<\/p>\n

Fowle also recalled an early interview that stuck with him: a household that received its first cash payment just days before an eviction hearing.\u00a0\u201cThey used the money to pay the back rent they owed and completely prevent the eviction,\u201d Fowle said. \u201cIt was a wonderful example of how the cash came at the perfect time to stabilize someone\u2019s housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team is examining how different approaches may suit different types of households. \u201cThere are multiple models that work to promote housing security,\u201d Jaffee explains. \u201cHousing authorities could have kind of a toolbox of housing assistance tools, and they could target the right housing assistance program with the right family.\u201d The study could show whether housing programs influence other systems, such as contact with Child Protective Services, given how often poverty-related allegations intersect with housing conditions in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

The study highlights how important cross\u2013departmental work can be, and how Penn\u2019s academic environment can be helpful in facilitating it. \u201cOne of the things that I love about Penn is that it really does promote interdisciplinary research,\u201d says Jaffee. \u201cIt\u2019s been really great to bring in undergraduates who have these interests that span urban studies and psychology, and [they] have been really instrumental in helping us with different parts of the study.\u201d<\/p>\n

PHLHousing+ is funded for three years. After the pilot ends, researchers plan to continue following families through a separate grant to understand longer-term effects on housing and youth outcomes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Housing Initiative at Penn and Penn\u2019s Department of Psychology are collaborating with the City of Philadelphia on…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":448125,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,1448,2830,1311,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-448124","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-pa","10":"tag-pennsylvania","11":"tag-philadelphia","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115722294083689348","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}