Housing Subsidies and Early Childhood Development: A Comprehensive Review of Policies and Demonstration Projects

ABSTRACT

In this article, we ask how housing subsidies might influence young children. We examine two national housing policies – public housing assistance and the Section 8 vouchers program – and two demonstration projects that aimed to improve the administration of providing housing subsidies – HOPE (Homeownership Opportunities for People Everywhere) VI and Moving to Opportunity. This article is a critical examination of these policies and demonstration projects in relation to the following housing dimensions that promote the healthy development of young children: income supplements residential stability, physical environment, access to services and amenities, housing choice, neighborhood safety, and social capital. We compared advantages and limitations of each of these national housing policies and demonstration projects and examined ways in which they might influence children in these housing dimensions. The article concludes with implications and future research directions for U.S. housing policy by discussing its most recent U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) initiative, Rental Assistance Demonstration, in addressing limitations of housing policies and demonstration projects we examined.

KEYWORDS:

• housing subsidies
• child development
• low income
• public policy
• rental assistance demonstration (RAD)

Acknowledgment

We are grateful for comments on a previous draft of this article from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) research staff and research assistance by Mercedes Ekono, Justina Yang, and Micaela Linder. This article reflects the views of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of HUD.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Very few studies have examined Section 8 project-based assistance separately from other housing subsidies, so it was not included in this review.

2. Rent calculation is different for housing authorities that implement the Family Self-Sufficiency Program, but it is not discussed in this article.

Additional information

Funding

This project is supported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [H-21666CA]

Notes on contributors

Yumiko Aratani

Yumiko Aratani is the director of the Health and Mental Health Unit of the National Center for Children in Poverty, and assistant professor, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Sarah Lazzeroni

Sarah Lazzeroni is the administrative manager and research associate at the National Center for Children and Families at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Jeanne Brooks-Gunn

Jeanne Brooks-Gunn is the Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Child Development at Columbia University’s Teachers College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons. She also directs the National Center for Children and Families at the University.

Diana Hernández

Diana Hernández is assistant professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.