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Just Released: ResearchWorks Volume 1, Number 4

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The Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) is
pleased to offer free subscriptions to ResearchWorks, the
PD&R newsletter that brings housing policy research
together with the latest news from the field.

The fourth issue of ResearchWorks is now available, with
coverage that includes a high performing housing agency,
a PATH-sponsored energy efficient home, financial
education and asset building for welfare recipients, and
a study on housing assistance and the effects of welfare
reform.

The lead article profiles the Housing Authority of the
City of Austin (HACA). Although the transformation took
six years of hard work and persistence, HACA went from
being one of the lowest performing metropolitan housing
agencies to achieving a top-six ranking nationwide in
housing assistance management. HACA partners with
nonprofit organizations such as Goodwill Industries and
Austin Community College to offer job training and job
placement assistance in keeping with the goals of their
Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Program. HACA's
homeownership program is still in development; however,
the initial strategies focusing on education, employment,
and professional growth to foster financial independence
and eventual homeownership have earned HACA NAHRO's
Commissioner of the Year Award.

This issue also showcases the 2004 NextGen Demonstration
Home, a project sponsored by PATH. The latest NextGen
house made its debut at the International Builders' Show
in Las Vegas earlier this year; it incorporates many
energy- and resource-efficient features, making it more
affordable to operate and maintain. Among the innovative
technologies deployed in the house are an energy-
efficient HVAC system, spray foam insulation, and various
water conservation systems. Through careful selection and
integration with other innovative products and systems,
these components can save homeowners nearly $500 a year
in operating costs.

Buyers of energy-efficient homes may also qualify for
energy-efficient mortgages, which are based on the
principle that homeowners will be saving on their monthly
energy costs, and can therefore afford to carry a
somewhat larger loan. While the efficiency upgrades
generally make up for the difference in their cost in
about two to three years, the savings continue throughout
the usable life of the home.

To illustrate the point, the article describes the
benefits of buying an $8 energy-efficient 27-watt compact
fluorescent bulb versus a standard 100-watt incandescent
bulb. Although the upfront cost is more, the compact
fluorescent bulb lasts 10 times as long, and coupled with
energy savings, can save approximately $70 over a six-
and-one-half-year period.

This month's ResearchWorks also highlights the work of
the public/private partnership between the Illinois
Department of Human Services (IDHS) and the Financial
Links for Low-Income People (FLLIP) in training low-
income people in financial management and asset building.
Through the collaboration, non-profit partners offer
financial education classes and Individual Development
Accounts (IDAs) programs. Local financial institutions
have offered support, such as help with teaching the
classes or even making initial deposits into graduates'
accounts. Within a year of graduation from the program,
many participants have been able to make major asset
purchases. FLLIP expects the money management skills it
teaches to have long-lasting positive affects for
participants.

The final article in the June issue discusses a recent
study commissioned by the office of PD&R titled "Housing
Assistance and the Effects of Welfare Reform: Evidence
from Connecticut and Minnesota." A rigorous experiment
designed to measure the impacts of welfare reform found
that, at least in Connecticut and Minnesota, the impacts
of welfare reform on employment and earnings were
consistently larger for recipients with housing
assistance than for those without assistance.

ResearchWorks is available as a free download from HUD
USER at
https://archives.huduser.gov/periodicals/ResearchWorks/ResearchWorks.html
or in single-issue printed form by calling 1-800-245-
2691. Free subscriptions are available on the HUD USER
Web site at
https://www.huduser.gov/emaillists/subscribe_emails.html
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