Housing Counseling Process Evaluation and Design of ... - HUD User

counseling between 10 and 24 percent of their clients by phone, with 13 percent of agencies using the
phone to counsel 25 to 49 percent of clients, and 20 percent of agencies counseling a majority of their
clients by phone.
Exhibit 6-10. Distribution of Agencies by Share of Delinquency Clients Counseled by Phone
30%
Share of Agencies
25%
25%
20%
21%
21%
20%
15%
13%
10%
5%
0%
None 1-9% 10-24% 25-49% 50%+
Share of Clients Counseled by Phone
Source: Abt Associates survey of HUD-approved counseling agencies.
Note: Based on survey responses of 559 agencies.
While large call centers may be the most prominent example of the growth in phone counseling for
delinquent clients, HUD-approved agencies of all sizes report using telephone counseling to some
degree. When agencies are categorized by the number of mortgage delinquency clients assisted in FY
2007, there is no strong pattern for larger agencies to be more likely to use telephone counseling
(Exhibit 6-11). Among agencies serving more than 25 delinquency clients in FY 2007, for example,
the average share of clients counseled by telephone was between 20 and 22 percent, while agencies
serving fewer than 25 clients assisted an average of 28 percent of clients by telephone. This likely
reflects the fact that smaller agencies are more likely to be located in rural areas where telephone
counseling is needed to compensate for the difficulty of traveling greater distances to meet with
counselors in person.
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Chapter 6. Characteristics of Education and Counseling Services