Study Enrollment

The goal of the Community Choice Demonstration is to understand what services and supports help eligible families access neighborhoods with high performing schools and low rates of poverty. A family is considered eligible if they have a Housing Choice Voucher and at least one child aged 17 or under that they consent to have participate in the study.

A number of families from the current Metro HRA Housing Choice Voucher waitlist are also being invited to participate in the Demonstration. Participation in the program and study is completely voluntary. To have a chance of being offered services under the program, however, you must agree to participate in the study.

To help you determine if participating in the Community Choice Demonstration is right for your family, Metro HRA and MPHA host regular information sessions so you can learn more about the study.

Information sessions

To help you determine if participating in the Community Choice Demonstration is right for your family, Metro HRA and MPHA host regular information sessions so you can learn more about the study.

Attending an info session is the first step to enrolling in the study. Info sessions last 30 minutes and are held both in-person and virtually.

Current participants that received an email or letter from us can RSVP using the link in the letter or contact us at ccdemo@metc.state.mn.us or 651-602-1401.

Enrollment*

After attending an info session if you are interested in enrolling, you will be asked to schedule an enrollment meeting.** The enrollment meeting takes 1.5-2 hours to complete and can be held virtually or in-person. You will receive a $25 gift card after you complete all enrollment steps. Here is what to expect:

  1. At a minimum, at least one child 17 or under and their parent or guardian living in your household must enroll in the study. The Head of Household on your voucher must also enroll in the study if they are not the parent/guardian.
  2. You will be asked to answer some questions about yourself and your family such as the names and ages of the people living with you. Metro HRA will review a form with you that explains more about the study and the requirements if you decide to participate and ask you to indicate whether you consent to participate in the study. 
  3. If you consent to participate in the study, you will be asked some additional questions about your child’s current school experiences, and your child’s health. You will also be asked to fill out a survey that will ask about your housing situation, your thoughts on moving, your education and employment status, and your health. You will receive a $25 gift card for filling out the survey.
  4. After you consent and fill out the survey, you will be will be assigned to one of two study groups. This assignment will be random, like pulling names from a hat, to make sure that each family that participates has an equal chance of being placed in either group. Groups will not be decided by any person; rather, they will be randomly determined by a computer. The first group will be offered a Housing Choice Voucher and the usual services from the Metro HRA without any additional services. The second group will be offered a Housing Choice Voucher and a set of additional services that will assist them in searching for and moving to housing in specific areas of their choice, called Opportunity Areas.
  5. If you are assigned to the second group, you will be referred to a Mobility Coordinator and may begin receiving services and financial assistance after enrollment.
  6. Regardless of which group you are assigned, you may be asked to participate in future surveys or interviews as researchers study the impacts of the services provided under the Community Choice Demonstration. Your participation in those future study activities is voluntary. You will continue to participate in the Community Choice Demonstration even if you decide not to participate in those future study activities.
  7. To learn about the long-term effects of being offered these services and supports, researchers may collect data about you and your children from different sources for several years, even after the study has concluded.

The study will allow for a better understanding of how to support families with a Housing Choice Voucher in finding housing in Opportunity Areas. Researchers will use information collected from the study to measure whether children in households that receive services and move to new neighborhoods do better in school and earn more money later in life. The study will also measure how well these services help adults in the household.

For more information about how you can participate in the study, contact ccdemo@metc.state.mn.us or 651-602-1401.

* Enrollment in the study does not guarantee you will receive services. People that enroll in the study will be randomly selected into either the standard services group (no additional services) or a group that receives mobility-related services in addition to the standard HCV services.

** Enrollment spots are extremely limited. If the number of people that attend a group info session in any given month is more than the maximum number of people we can enroll in the study for that month, we will randomly select people that attended a group briefing to be invited to an individual enrollment meeting for the month. You will still be provided another opportunity to enroll within the year and should respond at that time, at which point you will be able to enroll.