2018 ANNUAL REPORT 13 PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT BOOK DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM Each year, KCHA inspects more than 9,000 homes leased by participants in the Housing Choice Voucher program. These inspections ensure that units meet federal safety and quality standards while also providing a critical touchpoint with residents. In 2018, we leveraged these contact opportunities by starting a book distribution program that puts age- and language-appropriate books in the hands of the young children living in these homes. Each week, Lindsay Niko, administrative assistant for the inspection program, pulls a report to see which units are to be inspected that week, checks to see if there are children under the age of seven living in those households, and finds out what languages are spoken inside the home. She matches books for each family with the inspector scheduled to inspect the unit. Since July 2018, 469 books in six different languages have been distributed to 231 households. The project has allowed our staff to expand the standard inspection process to achieve two key aims: increasing access to books and strengthening our connection with families. Lindsay points out that inspections can be anxiety provoking for residents. “We are coming into the resident’s home, their safe place,” she says. But the books have proven to be great icebreakers, and inspector Tim Cheslik has witnessed that thaw firsthand: “One child started drawing the pictures he saw in the book. By the time I finished the inspection, he had completed and showed me 10 drawings. He was very proud of his artwork and smiled so big as I fawned over his masterpieces.”