MTW AGENCIES
The Moving to Work (MTW) program provides public housing authorities (PHAs) exemptions from many traditional public housing and voucher rules and provides flexibility for how they use their federal funds. This allows MTW housing authorities the opportunity to design and test innovative, local strategies to improve outcomes for their residents and local communities.
There are currently 39 housing authorities with Moving to Work status. Each has an agency-specific MTW agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), detailing the flexibilities granted in order to meet program goals.
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MTW agencies have the flexibility to find new approaches that accomplish three primary statutory goals:
Reducing cost and achieving greater cost effectiveness in federal expenditures;
Giving 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
Increasing housing choices for low-income families.
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All existing agencies have had their MTW agreements extended through the end of 2028. Each year, the housing authority completes an annual plan, to be approved by HUD, and an annual report on the outcomes achieved. Congress authorized the expansion of the MTW program to 100 additional agencies in the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act. HUD anticipates the first cohort of new agencies will be added in 2019.