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

Agency Size
Most housing counseling agencies are relatively small organizations. About one-quarter have no
more than five full-time equivalent employees, half have no more than 15 employees, and threequarters
have no more than 50 employees. The agencies with the largest numbers of employees tend
to be those with a social service or legal assistance mission (Exhibit 3-11). Agencies whose primary
mission is housing counseling are typically much smaller: nearly half of those surveyed have five or
fewer full-time equivalent employees.
Exhibit 3-11. Number of FTEs by Agency Mission Type
1 to 5
5.1 to 15
Housing
Counseling
49%
27%
Housing/
Neighborhood
Development
24%
36%
Social
Service
6%
12%
Consumer
Credit
11%
38%
Legal
Assistance
9%
17%
All
Agencies
15.1 to 50 14% 26% 29% 43% 37% 25%
More than 50 10% 13% 53% 8% 37% 24%
All agencies 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Source: Abt Associates survey of HUD-approved counseling agencies.
Note: Based on survey responses of 1,116 agencies.
24%
26%
In addition to the overall number of employees, the survey also asked agencies to provide the number
of full- and part-time employees that directly support the agency’s housing counseling and education
activities. The ratio of housing counseling employees to total employees gives us a measure of how
central housing counseling is to the agency’s mission. As shown in Exhibit 3-12, the average ratio of
housing counseling employees to total employees is highest for agencies whose primary mission is
housing counseling (0.64), followed by consumer credit counseling agencies (0.53) and agencies that
focus on legal assistance (0.43).
Chapter 3. Characteristics of Counseling Agencies 35