WASHINGTON - The Obama administration's mortgage relief plan provided help to only 7 percent of borrowers who signed up last year, another black mark for the struggling program.

The plan was announced with great fanfare 11 months ago but has done little to stem the foreclosure crisis or its drag on home prices.

A record 2.8 million households were threatened with foreclosure last year, up more than 20 percent from a year earlier, RealtyTrac Inc. reported this week. Home prices, meanwhile, are down 30 percent nationally from the peak in mid-2006.

As of last month, only about 66,500 homeowners of the 900,000 enrolled had received permanent relief, the Treasury Department said Friday.

Under the program, homeowners in financial difficulties can see their mortgages modified to make them more affordable. Interest rates can be reduced to as low as 2 percent, the length of the loan can be extended, or the principal balance reduced.

Borrowers initially receive temporary modifications. They are supposed to become permanent after homeowners make three payments on time and complete necessary paperwork, including proof of income and a letter explaining the reason for their financial hardship.

The mortgage companies say they have struggled to get homeowners to return the necessary paperwork. The government is pressing the 102 companies participating in the program to do a better job. But many lenders, including the nation's largest, Bank of America Corp., continue to perform poorly.

Homeowners and housing counselors say navigating the bureaucratic maze often seems impossible.