BACKGROUND (CONT'D)
Congress created the Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing (MTO) program in the mid-1990s in order to measure the role neighborhoods have on the success of families with children. MTO was a 10-year research program that occurred at the public housing authorities (PHAs) in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City. Within these PHAs, three experimental groups were created. One consisted of households with children who were randomly selected and given housing counseling and vouchers that had to be used in areas with less than 10 percent poverty rates. The housing counseling was designed to help them find housing in low-poverty areas that would provide access to better schools and jobs. Two control groups were included to test the effects of the program: one was a group of families living in public housing and the other consisted of families that were just entering the Section 8 program. Neither of these groups received counseling.
The initial results of the research on the MTO program were disappointing. Parents who received the vouchers did not seem to earn more in later years than otherwise similar adults, and children did not seem to do better in school. Now, however, expanded new Harvard research shows that neighborhoods have a very significant impact on the success rates of low-income children, as does the age when a low-income child moves into a better neighborhood. The studies are based on five million families who moved and a re-analysis of the MTO data. The data from the studies was then used to estimate the causal effect of each county in America on upward mobility.
Among the 100 largest counties in the U.S., Contra Costa was found to have the fifth greatest impact on earnings. Below is a chart showing the top ten and bottom ten counties in terms of impact on earnings out of the largest 100. Attached to this Board Order are a map showing the impact of Bay Area counties relative to the national average, a summary of Contra Costa's impact, an executive summary of the MTO study and an executive summary of the five million mover families study.
Top 10 and Bottom 10 Among the 100 Largest Counties
Percentage Gains/Losses Relative to National Average
|
|
|
|
Rank |
|
Earnings Gain |
|
Rank |
|
Earnings Loss
|
|
|
|
1 |
DuPage, IL |
+15.2% |
 |
91 |
Pima, AZ |
-12.2% |
|
|
|
2 |
Snohomish, WA |
+14.4% |
92 |
Bronx, NY |
-12.4% |
|
|
|
3 |
Bergen, NJ |
+14.2% |
93 |
Milwaukee, WI |
-12.4% |
|
|
|
4 |
Bucks, PA |
+13.2% |
94 |
Wayne, MI |
-12.6% |
|
|
|
5 |
Contra Costa, CA |
+12.2% |
95 |
Fresno, CA |
-13.0% |
|
|
|
6 |
Fairfax, VA |
+12.0% |
96 |
Cook, IL |
-13.4% |
|
|
|
7 |
King, WA |
+11.4% |
97 |
Orange, FL |
-13.4% |
|
|
|
8 |
Norfolk, MA |
+10.8% |
98 |
Hillsborough, FL |
-13.4% |
|
|
|
9 |
Montgomery, MD |
+10.4% |
99 |
Mecklenburg, NC |
-13.8% |
|
|
|
10 |
Middlesex, NJ |
+8.6% |
100 |
Baltimore City, MD |
-17.2% |
|
FISCAL IMPACT
None. Information item only.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION
None. Information item only.
CLERK'S ADDENDUM