Unpacking housing needs: Utilization of rental assistance among a national sample of households with children with disabilities

Background

Affordable housing provides a critical foundation for children's health. Yet little is known about how households of children with disabilities engage in federal rental assistance programs.

Objective

This study examines the rates of participation in HUD rental assistance programs among households of children with disabilities in 2023 and assesses the odds of these households residing in specific HUD rental assistance programs.

Methods

This paper engages a population level cross-sectional analysis of HUD-assisted households using HUD household and member data files. The sample included all households receiving HUD rental assistance in 2023 that were led by an adult between the ages 18–61 and included at least one child (n = 1,558,711). Participation in HUD rental assistance programs was quantified and characterized through descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression.

Results

Eight percent (n = 134,628; 1 in 12) of HUD-assisted households with children included at least one child with a disability. Compared to HUD-assisted households with a child without a disability, HUD-assisted households with a child with a disability had higher odds of participating in a Housing Choice Voucher Program than in Multifamily Housing by a factor of 2.6 and higher odds of participating in Public Housing than Multifamily Housing by a factor of 2.2.

Conclusions

HUD rental assistance programs serve a substantial share of households with children with disabilities, with notable variation in participation by program type. This study provides the most comprehensive national estimates to date of HUD participation among households with children with disabilities, offering a critical foundation for future research.