Notice2023-25231
Family Self-Sufficiency Achievement Metrics (“FAM”) Score
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
November 15, 2023
Issuing agencies
Housing and Urban Development Department
Abstract
This notice describes updates to the FAM Score that HUD has implemented to track the program performance of Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) that receive HUD Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program coordinator grants and that were brought onto the Moving to Work (MTW) Demonstration after December 15, 2015. This notice does not apply to the initial MTW PHAs, which are PHAs that received MTW Demonstration designation prior to December 15, 2015.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 219 (Wednesday, November 15, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78374-78376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25231]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-6406-N-01]
Family Self-Sufficiency Achievement Metrics (``FAM'') Score
AGENCY: Office of Public and Indian Housing, Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD).
ACTION: Notice of updated Family Self-Sufficiency Achievement Metrics
(FAM) Score for the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program.
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SUMMARY: This notice describes updates to the FAM Score that HUD has
implemented to track the program performance of Public Housing Agencies
(PHAs) that receive HUD Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program
coordinator grants and that were brought onto the Moving to Work (MTW)
Demonstration after December 15, 2015. This notice does not apply to
the initial MTW PHAs, which are PHAs that received MTW Demonstration
designation prior to December 15, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions on this notice may be
addressed to Jason Amirhadji, 202-402-5467, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4f091c1c0f273a2b61282039"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="57110404173f223379303821">[email protected]</span></a>.
Electronic Data Availability. This Federal Register notice,
overview of the
[[Page 78375]]
revised FAM Score methodology, and a spreadsheet containing scores
applying this revised methodology to FSS programs funded in any of the
last three years will be available electronically from the HUD FSS web
page: <a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/hcv/fss">https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/hcv/fss</a>.
Federal Register notices also are available electronically at
<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/">https://www.federalregister.gov/</a>, the U.S. Government Printing Office
website.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On December 12, 2017, HUD published a notice in the Federal
Register (82 FR 58434) describing and requesting comment on a
performance measurement system that HUD planned to implement for Public
Housing Agencies (PHAs) that receive HUD Family Self Sufficiency (FSS)
program coordinator grants, with the exception of those in the initial
MTW cohort. Through a subsequent Federal Register (83 FR 57493) dated
November 15, 2018, HUD announced its intent to implement the revised
system. Through this Federal Register notice, HUD is announcing
adjustments to this system to strengthen its ability to effectively
track the performance of PHA FSS programs. HUD has also re-calibrated
the baseline for determining FAM Scores using the PIH Information
Center (PIC) data through 2019.
Under section 23(i)(5) of the Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437u(i)), ``Program performance shall be reviewed periodically as
determined by the Secretary.'' Additionally, 24 CFR 984.102 states,
``The Department will evaluate the performance of a PHA's or owner's
FSS program using a scoring system that measures criteria, such as
graduation from the program, increased earned income, and program
participation, as provided by HUD through a Federal Register notice.''
Accordingly, HUD has developed the FAM Score to provide HUD, Congress,
PHAs, and other entities with information on the performance of
individual FSS programs. The information will help grantees determine
how their programs compare to others across the country in their
ability to help participants to successfully graduate from the program
and make progress toward economic security. The information will also
help HUD understand the extent to which FSS program performance--
individually and collectively--improves or declines over time.
As described more fully in the Federal Register notices cited
above, the FAM Score consists of three components: Earnings
Performance, Graduation Rate, and Participation Rate. HUD uses data
that PHAs submit through PIC, or any successor data system such as the
Housing Information Portal (HIP), to calculate FAM Scores for all FSS
programs that receive FSS coordinator funding from HUD other than for
the initial 39 MTW PHAs. Since the methodology relies on an analysis of
historical performance data, new FSS programs will not initially have a
FAM Score. As new FSS programs begin operation, their FAM Scores will
be based solely on their Participation Rate for their first three
years, until there is enough data to produce an Earnings Performance
Score or a Graduation Rate score, which require a minimum of four years
of data to compute. For a complete description of the methodology for
computing FAM Scores, see the description posted on HUD's website at:
<a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/hcv/fss">https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/hcv/fss</a>.
At this time, FAM Scores do not apply to the initial 39 MTW PHAs,
PHA-based FSS programs that do not receive coordinator funding, or to
FSS programs administered by Multifamily Owners of Project-Based Rental
Assistance (PBRA) housing. HUD is investigating options for evaluating
the performance of FSS programs administered by the initial 39 MTW
agencies, PHAs that do not receive FSS coordinator funding, and FSS
programs administered by Multifamily PBRA Owners.
II. Summary of Adjustments to the FAM Score
Through this notice, HUD is implementing a series of adjustments to
improve the FAM Score. These adjustments will help provide a more
comprehensive and accurate assessment of a PHA's performance and reduce
the possibility for volatility in scores from one year to the next for
reasons unrelated to a PHA's performance. The changes are as follows:
A. For both the Earnings Performance Measure and the Graduation
Rate, HUD will use a new rolling three-year average rather than a one-
year measure as the basis for computing a PHA's component score. The
three-year average provides a more comprehensive measure of performance
and helps correct for any significant impact in one year (e.g., the
closing of a nearby factory or the impact of a natural disaster). For
example, if the PIC data being used in the calculation is through
December 31, 2020, HUD would determine the Earnings Performance Measure
for each PHA through the end of three annual periods: 2018, 2019, and
2020. HUD would then compute the average of these three measures to
determine the three-year average Earnings Performance Measure. HUD will
use the three-year average Earnings Performance Measure to determine
the PHA's Earnings Performance Score by applying the applicable
thresholds, which are noted below. HUD will apply the same approach in
determining the Graduation Rate score.
B. HUD has modified the number of comparison households used to
determine the Earnings Performance Measure in the event that more than
three households are equally similar to the FSS program participant in
terms of considered metrics. In selecting comparison households for
purposes of determining the Earnings Performance Measure, HUD selects
the three households (and more if there is a tie; see discussion below)
that are most similar to each FSS participant along these metrics:
earnings as of the time of the FSS household's entry into FSS, age of
head of household, length of time in the voucher or public housing
program, number of adults in the household, number of children in the
household, presence of a child with a disability, and presence of a
non-head of household adult with a disability. HUD has added a metric
(number of children in the household) to the criteria for determining
the similarity of comparison households to the FSS household. In
addition, HUD has found that in some cases, more than three comparison
households are equally similar to the FSS household on these metrics.
Previously, HUD used three households randomly selected from among
these similar households as the comparison households for calculating
the Earnings Performance Measure in a given year. Going forward, HUD
will use all households that are equally similar to the FSS household
in the calculation. This will help reduce the possibility of volatility
in scores from one year to the next.
C. HUD has made changes to the adjustment it makes for local
economic conditions to improve year-to-year stability of Earnings
Performance Scores. To adjust for local economic conditions, HUD first
uses a linear regression model to examine the relationship between the
Earnings Performance Measures across PHAs and the median incomes of the
counties in which each PHA serves residents. On average, unadjusted
Earnings Performance Measures tend to be higher in counties with high
median incomes, and lower in counties with low median incomes. HUD then
adjusts for this
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variation by using the relationship estimated in the linear regression
and applies this adjustment factor to the earnings performance measure
for each PHA, resulting in an adjusted Earnings Performance Measure
that is used to determine the PHA's score for the earnings component of
the FAM Score. Going forward, to improve year-to-year stability of
scores, HUD will implement this adjustment to ensure the average of the
adjusted earnings measure is the same as the average of the unadjusted
measure.
D. HUD adjusted and clarified how joint FSS grantees are counted
across years. For each of the three years included in the measures,
calculations are made at the joint applicant level so that each PHA in
a joint funding group has the same measure for the year. Because the
component calculations are made during each of the three years, joint
funding recipients are only included in a group for the time period
associated with the measure in the year(s) when they are part of the
joint funding group. As a result, PHAs in joint FSS programs without
stable agency membership will have members with different measures and
scores when averaging across all three years of calculation to produce
composite measures, scores, and components.
E. Using the revised year-year average score methodology for the
baseline year ending December 31, 2019 (reflecting the average of
scores for 2019, 2018, and 2017), HUD has recalibrated the thresholds
for converting the Earnings and Graduation measures into scores and
specified the updated thresholds below. Going forward, these thresholds
will be fixed to allow HUD and PHAs to gauge the extent to which
individual PHAs and the entire FSS program as a whole are making
progress toward higher performance levels. The only exceptions are the
thresholds for determining Earnings Performance Scores, which shall be
adjusted annually. This annual adjustment will account for changes in
the average earnings using a custom inflation index based on the
weighted hourly series for the first (lowest) quartile of wage earners
within the wage growth data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
This will help ensure that the thresholds for determining Earnings
Performance Scores keep pace with wage inflation over time.
III. Revised Thresholds
The following are the updated thresholds HUD will use to compute a
FAM Score for each PHA.
1. Step One: Assigning Scores to Each of the Three Measures
In Step One, HUD will assign a score of 0 to 10 to each PHA's FSS
program for each of the three measures. Scores will be assigned using
the thresholds and procedures described below. The ranges for awarding
points between two values include those values as well as all
intermediary values.
a. Earnings Performance Measure (50% of final score):
<bullet> 10 points: three-year average Earnings Performance Measure
of $6,315 or higher.
<bullet> 7.5 points: three-year average Earnings Performance
Measure between $4,795 and $6,314.99.
<bullet> 0 points: three-year average Earnings Performance Measure
below $2,283 and a p-value of <.10 on a statistical test measuring the
likelihood that a PHA's three-year average Earnings Performance Measure
is significantly lower than the median measure of $4,247 (see December
12, 2017 Federal Register Notice at page 82 FR 58437 for an explanation
of this statistical test).
<bullet> 5 points: All PHAs that do not qualify for a 10, 7.5, or a
0.
<bullet> These thresholds will apply to Earnings Performance
Measures for the 2019 audit year, which reflect an average of Earnings
Performance Measures for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 calendar years. As
described above, to keep pace with inflation, HUD will adjust the
thresholds used to compute Earnings Performance Scores annually to
reflect changes in the weighted hourly series for the first (lowest)
quartile of wage earners in the wage growth data from the Federal
Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
b. FSS Graduation Rate (30% of final score):
<bullet> 10 points: three-year average FSS Graduation Rate of 42%
or higher.
<bullet> 7.5 points: three-year average FSS Graduation Rate between
32% and 41.99%.
<bullet> 0 points: FSS Graduation Rate below 15%.
<bullet> 5 points: All PHAs that do not qualify for a 10, 7.5, or a
0.
c. Participation Rate (20% of final score):
<bullet> 10 points: participation rate of 2.20 or higher.
<bullet> 9 points: participation rate between 1.95 and 2.19.
<bullet> 8 points: participation rate between 1.70 and 1.94.
<bullet> 7 points: participation rate between 1.45 and 1.69.
<bullet> 6 points: participation rate between 1.2 and 1.44.
<bullet> 5 points: participation rate between .95 and 1.19.
<bullet> 0 points: participation rate of lower than .95.
2. Step Two: Developing the Final FAM Score and Ranking
In Step Two, after computing individual scores for each of the
three measures, HUD will aggregate each PHA's scores using the weights
noted above to develop a final FAM Score from 0 to 10. Based on this
score, HUD will assign the following ranking to the PHA's FAM Score:
<bullet> Category 1: FAM Score of 7.9 or higher.
<bullet> Category 2: FAM Score between 4.0 and 7.89.
<bullet> Category 3: FAM Score between 3.5 and 3.99.
<bullet> Category 4: FAM Score of less than 3.5.
IV. Environmental Impact
This notice does not direct, provide for assistance or loan and
mortgage insurance for, or otherwise govern or regulate, real property
acquisition, disposition, leasing, rehabilitation, alteration,
demolition, or new construction, or establish, revise or provide for
standards for construction or construction materials, manufactured
housing, or occupancy. Accordingly, under 24 CFR 50.19(c)(1), this
notice is categorically excluded from environmental review under the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321).
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing,
Richard J. Monocchio, having reviewed and approved this document, is
delegating the authority to electronically sign this document to
submitter, Aaron Santa Anna, who is the Federal Register Liaison for
HUD, for purposes of publication in the Federal Register.
Aaron Santa Anna,
Federal Register Liaison for the Department of Housing and Urban
Development.
[FR Doc. 2023-25231 Filed 11-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P
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