From 1999 to 2006, Abt Associates conducted an experimental evaluation of the Welfare to Work Voucher Program for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The evaluation “Effects of Housing Vouchers on Welfare Families,” measured the impact of housing assistance for low-income families eligible for, or receiving, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. The study featured random assignment of vouchers to 8,700 eligible program participants in six study sites across the U.S., longitudinal tracking of sample members over a five-year period and measurement of the effects of vouchers on the following:

• homelessness and housing crowding,
• household composition, housing mobility,
• neighborhood quality, employment and earnings, and
• other aspects of family well-being. 

The study found that vouchers significantly reduced homelessness, housing crowding, household size, and the incidence of living with relatives or friends. Vouchers had no effect on marriage or cohabitation. Vouchers increased housing mobility, while reducing the number of subsequent moves, and resulted in small improvements to neighborhood quality. The study also found that having and using a voucher reduced employment rates and the amounts of earnings in the first year or two after random assignment. However, the small negative impact of vouchers disappeared over time, and vouchers had no significant impact on employment and earnings over three and half years of follow up.