Although Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program websites often contain information on program design, they are less likely to provide real-time information about the extent to which programs are distributing assistance. States can bridge this information gap by providing regularly updated data dashboards or progress reports on how much funding has been disbursed, what it is being used for, and who is receiving it. State programs should share progress with the public to ensure transparency, maintain accountability, and build trust. These dashboards can also help inform mid-course corrections to programs and promote equitable program design and delivery.
At minimum, dashboards should contain basic information on the amount of funding approved and distributed, the number of households that have applied, and the distribution of where applicants are in the application process (denied, in process, approved). Dashboards should also contain the date of the last update. The Texas Rent Relief dashboard and New Hampshire Emergency Rental Assistance Program dashboard provide examples of how programs can clearly present this information.
Additional indicators can provide a more in-depth picture of how a program is working, including the average amount of household assistance, amount of funding going toward past versus current and future rent, amount of funding distributed for utilities or relocation expenses, and the reasons applications are denied. Programs should consider sharing aggregated demographic information of ERA recipients, such as race, income, and geography, to inform equitable program design. Programs currently tracking this more detailed information include: Texas Rent Relief Program, Colorado Emergency Rental Assistance Program, Unite Connecticut, and Maine Housing.
NLIHC has identified 13 states that have created live data dashboards or that regularly publish progress reports: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri. Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming. Combined, these 13 states have approved or distributed approximately 11% of their first-round ERA allocations. The amount of overall allocation approved and distributed in each state varies widely, however, from .1% in Wyoming to 25.8% in Texas. On average, programs are paying out $4,723 per household, though this ranges by state from $2,630 in Nebraska to $6,580 in Connecticut. These differences are expected, given the varied costs of living and amount of months covered across states.
In the coming weeks, NLIHC will update the Treasury Emergency Rental Assistance Dashboard to track state spending and program progress.