Evaluating the Targeting of Eviction Prevention Services

Last registered on February 15, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Evaluating the Targeting of Eviction Prevention Services
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012951
Initial registration date
February 12, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
February 15, 2024, 10:00 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Daniel Tannenbaum
Affiliation
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Juliana Quattrocchi
PI Affiliation
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-02-12
End date
2028-11-01
Keywords
Labor, Welfare
Additional Keywords
Eviction, Housing
JEL code(s)
J01, H00, R38, I30
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This RCT evaluates an emergency rental assistance program for tenants at imminent risk of eviction. We partner with Pierce County Human Service’s Eviction Prevention Program to facilitate the randomization of eligible applicants to a control group and two treatment arms: 1) case management services plus up to seven months of rental assistance, and 2) rental assistance only. We study four primary outcomes through linked administrative data and survey data: 1) eviction, 2) homelessness, 3) housing stability, 4) earnings. Our goal is to learn whether households can be targeted ex ante as being more likely to benefit from emergency funds. To do so, we will use an intake survey and linked administrative data to study heterogeneity of effects for two key subgroups: 1) those experiencing transitory v. persistent distress; and 2) those with v. without access to family support.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Quattrocchi, Juliana and Daniel Tannenbaum. 2024. "Evaluating the Targeting of Eviction Prevention Services ." AEA RCT Registry. February 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12951-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This study involves a pure control group that receives no services but instead receives information about other available programs in the area, and two treatment arms: 1) rental assistance only, with payment of 3 months of rent arrears and up to 4 months of present and future rent, and 2) the rental assistance only treatment, plus up to 6 months of case management.
Intervention Start Date
2024-02-12
Intervention End Date
2026-10-09

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
- Emergency shelter entry
- Eviction court judgment
- Employment
- Quarterly earnings
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Primary outcomes will be studied at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years following random assignment.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
- Whether the tenant has any interaction with the HMIS system
- Whether the tenant is living in the original unit
- Whether the tenant is doubled up
- Whether the tenant anticipates having to relocate in the next 3 months
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The Pierce County Eviction Prevention Program serves tenants at imminent risk of eviction residing in Pierce County, WA. Households in possession of an eviction or pay-or-vacate notice may apply to the eviction prevention program. Once per month, Pierce County Human Services randomly assigns eligible applicants to control or a treatment arm. There are two treatment arms: 1) rental assistance for up to three months of rent arrears and four months of current and future rent, and 2) the rental assistance treatment and up to six months of case management. The control group will receive a flyer with information about other resources in the area and will not be able to reapply to the program with the same address of residence for six months.

We will use an intake survey to classify tenants into key subgroups to study heterogeneous effects: 1) those experiencing transitory v. persistent distress, and 2) those with v. without access to family support.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization completed in an office by Pierce County Human Services by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Household
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
3,600 households
Sample size: planned number of observations
3,600 households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
2,580 households control, 510 case management plus rental assistance, 510 rental assistance only
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
The study will initially have 17 months of enrollment, though we also plan to track interim outcomes while the study is still enrolling. Based on 2023 program application data, we anticipate that during our 17-month enrollment period, we will have 3600 eligible households, with 510 assigned to T1 (rental assistance) and 510 assigned to T2 (rental assistance + case management), and approximately 2240 households to control. For simplicity, the power calculations reported below assume (conservatively) 1 tenant per household, and report (also conservatively) the MDE for T1 differing from the control in a two-sided test. We conduct power calculations for outcomes measured at 1 year from randomization, assuming a desired power of 80 percent and significance level of 5 percent, and assuming a 66 percent one-sided compliance rate: Eviction judgment (indicator). Assuming a control mean of 0.25 and standard deviation (s.d.) of 0.40 the MDE is -8.3 pp Emergency shelter entry (indicator). Assuming a control group mean of 0.04 and s.d. of 0.08, the MDE for this study is -1.67 pp Earnings (quarterly in USD). Assuming mean quarterly earnings of $4,300 and a s.d. of $3,809, the MDE is $794.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Nebraska Lincoln Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2023-11-01
IRB Approval Number
20231123161EX
Analysis Plan