Moving to Work (MTW) Background and Purpose

Moving to Work (MTW) is a demonstration program that was authorized under the
Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-134, 110 Stat 1321), dated April 26, 1996. The program offers public housing authorities (PHAs) the opportunity to design and test innovative, locally-designed housing and self-sufficiency strategies for low-income families by allowing exemptions from existing public housing and tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher rules and permitting PHAs to combine operating, capital, and tenant-based assistance funds into a single agency-wide funding source, as approved by HUD.

The purposes of the MTW program are to give PHAs and HUD the flexibility to design and test various approaches for providing and administering housing assistance that accomplish three primary goals:

• Reduce cost and achieve greater costs effectiveness in Federal expenditures;

• Give incentives to families with children where the head of household is working, is seeking work, or is preparing for work by participating in job training, educational programs, or programs that assist people to obtain employment and become economically self-sufficient; and

• Increase housing choices for low-income families.

PHA Participation

As authorized in 1996 by Section 204 of the Appropriations Act, the MTW Demonstration permits up to 30 PHAs to participate in the demonstration program. Nineteen PHAs were selected for participation MTW demonstration in response to a HUD Notice published in the Federal Register on December 18, 1996 and five of the 30 slots were filled through the Jobs-Plus Community Revitalization Initiative.

An additional 2 PHAs were specifically named and authorized to join the demonstration in 1999 under the VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act of 1999 (Pub L. 105-276, 112 Stat. 2461), dated October 21, 1998.

A Public and Indian Housing Notice (PIH Notice 2000-52) issued December 13, 2000 allowed up to an additional 6 PHAs to participate the MTW demonstration.

Four PHAs were specifically named and authorized in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 to join the demonstration in 2008.

Twenty-nine of the 30 current MTW sites have signed the Standard Agreement which extends each site's agreement through the end of the agency's 2018 fiscal year.