Furthering Fair Housing Choices for Voucher Tenants in Austin

The main purpose of this report is to examine best practices that have been implemented around the country to further fair housing opportunities for families with Housing Choice Vouchers. The report first provides an overview of the Housing Choice Voucher program, followed by the benefits of promoting desegregated housing for voucher tenants, along with a summary of how the program is administered in Austin by the city and the two area housing authorities. The next section of the report explores the barriers that stand in the way to creating fair housing choices for voucher tenants. The next section, the heart of the report, explores three core areas of best practices that could be adopted locally to further fair housing opportunities for voucher tenants in Austin. This section includes case studies for three cities (Dallas, Chicago, and Baltimore) with the most highly regarded voucher “mobility” programs—extensive programs that proactively seek to secure desegregated housing choices for tenants in high opportunity neighborhoods. In the final section of the report, we offer a set of policy proposals for Austin.La