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Lottery Screening Forms

đź§© Configuring the Screening Form for Lotteries

Before launching a lottery, staff must configure the screening form that households will complete to enter. Public House supports screening forms for both standard and weighted lotteries.

For All Lotteries:

  • Staff choose a Screening Form Template in the Screening tab when setting up the Housing Program Campaign.
  • The screening form must collect all basic eligibility info (e.g., income, household size).
  • Households must complete this form to be considered for the lottery—even if they’re already a Prospect or Applicant in the system.

For Weighted Lotteries:

  • The screening form must include questions that define weighted criteria, each of which earns households additional entries into the lottery if selected.
  • These questions must follow these rules:
    • Cannot be dependent on another question (e.g., shown only if a previous answer is given)
    • Cannot also be used as eligibility criteria
    • Must be formatted as:
      • Yes/No questions (e.g., “Do you live in the city?”)
      • Picklists with clearly ordered options (e.g., “How long have you lived in the area?”)

🎯 Example: Picklist-Based Weighted Criteria

A picklist for “Years lived in the area” might look like this:

  • Less than 1 year → 1 entry
  • 1–2 years → +1 entry
  • More than 2 years → +1 entry

✅ A household selecting “More than 2 years” would receive 3 entries total, one for each level they’ve surpassed.

Each entry is labeled by the criteria it corresponds to (e.g., Years in Area: 1 year, 1–2 years, >2 years) and is ranked separately during the lottery process.