TEST REPLACE
July 20, 1998 Contact: Joel Williams (773) 702-2287 [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEDERAL PROGRAM PROMOTES HOUSING DISCRIMINATION
The Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Section 8 program, designed to expand housing options for low-income recipients, may actually encourage discrimination against this unprotected class, according to an article by Stacie Young, a student researcher at the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago.
"Many landlords use Section 8 [vouchers and certificates] as a proxy for refusing poor, African-American, female-headed households," notes Young in the fall 1998 issue of the Chicago Policy Review, an academic journal published for researchers, policy practitioners, and students of public policy.
In fact, Young cites some tests that have found landlords willing to accept white-Caucasian Section 8 holders, but refusing equally qualified African-American applicants. With policy trends moving to replace public housing subsidies with Section 8 vouchers, Young says this type of racial discrimination will exacerbate already segregated housing patterns.
According to Young, allowing landlords to legally refuse Section 8 tenants may help to drive Section 8 recipients toward areas of high poverty and away from job-growth areas that would facilitate their transition into self-sufficiency.
Young, a University of Chicago graduate student studying housing policy, suggests protecting the estimated 1.4 million Section 8 recipients under federal fair housing laws, so that landlords could not refuse applicants solely on subsidy status. This protection would eliminate the opportunity for landlords to use the Section 8 subsidy as a vehicle for racial discrimination.
The article, one of six addressing the theme of discrimination in the current issue of the Chicago Policy Review, is designed to stimulate action-oriented debate on policy issues of both regional and national significance. Also included in this issue are the following original articles:
-- "Language and Social Policy: An Analysis of Forces That Drive Official Language Politics in the United States," Rodney K. Hopson, postdoctoral research fellow at Johns Hopkins University; Paul E. Green, assistant professor at the University of California at Riverside; Carol Camp Yeakey, professor at the University of Virginia; Jeanita W. Richardson, doctoral candidate at the University of Virginia; and Tracey A. Reed, assistant professor at Ohio University;
-- "Is There Wage Discrimination Against People With Disabilities? Implications For Public Policy," Thomas DeLeire, assistant professor at the University of Chicago;
-- "American Indians in the Twilight of Affirmative Action," Steve Russel, assistant professor at the University of Texas;
-- "An Economic Consideration of Same-Gender Marriage and Fertility," Adam A. Dory, master's candidate at the University of Chicago; and
-- "The Rent/Commuting Tradeoffs of Black Middle Class Households in Large Metropolitan Housing Markets," Mark Shroder, economist at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The theme of the winter 1998 issue of Chicago Policy Review will feature articles and essays regarding international development policy.
The Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago is among the leading public policy research and training programs in the world, with core concentrations in such policy areas as children and families, international relations, political economy, public management, and poverty studies and welfare. Established in 1988, the Harris School evolved from the Committee on Public Policy Studies, which for 13 years served as the primary locus of training and research on public policy issues at the University of Chicago.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Article transcripts may be obtained by contacting the Chicago Policy Review, 1155 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, (773) 834-0901, or via e-mail at: [email protected].
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