Q: Can facilitating housing for individuals returning from prison and jail make communities safer and those individuals more successful?

A: Yes. Finding a place to live and getting the support needed to maintain safe and secure housing within the community is crucial to successful reentry from prison or jail. Without stable housing, individuals have a much harder time accessing employment, substance abuse treatment and other support services, and making or restoring connections with community resources and positive social networks. Parolees or probationers who are homeless are at a much higher risk of violating conditions of community supervision, and unstable housing is associated with increased risk of re-arrest.1 The first month after release is a particularly vulnerable period, during which the risk of becoming homeless, committing new offenses, violating conditions of release, or relapsing into substance abuse is high.

Q: How big a problem is homelessness among returning individuals?

A: Many people returning from jails or prisons live on the streets or in emergency shelters soon after release. Many were also homeless before their incarceration. Although estimates vary, we know from HUD’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress that about 6 percent of adults entering shelters in 2008 and 2009 spent the previous night in a jail or prison.2 More than 10 percent of those coming into prisons and jails are homeless in the months before their incarceration.3 For individuals with mental illnesses, the rates are even higher—about 20 percent were homeless before a prison stay.4 The rates are higher still in some urban communities: a California study reported, for example, that whereas 10 percent of the state’s parolees were homeless, an estimated 30 to 50 percent of individuals currently under parole supervision in San Francisco and Los Angeles were homeless.5

Q: Why should taxpayers and policymakers invest in housing for people who have been incarcerated?

A: Investments in reentry and supportive housing pay off in improved public safety, better outcomes for individuals, and taxpayer savings. Stable housing is linked to lower rates of reoffending and more effective supervision in the community, as individuals requiring tracking can be more easily located. These investments also reduce significantly the number of people who end up in homeless shelters or who live on the streets. Individuals with stable housing are less likely to use emergency rooms and other expensive crisis services, or return to jails or prisons—all options that bear high price tags for taxpayers.

Addressing the housing needs of families that include a recently incarcerated parent also can help provide safety and stability for children. Furthermore, returning parents who can re-establish a home and take responsibility for their children are less likely to be reincarcerated, which has a lasting benefit for families and communities.

Q: What organizations or public agencies should be involved as potential partners in planning for reentry housing in a state or community?

A: State and local corrections agencies should be active partners in planning housing for returning individuals by assessing their needs, conducting effective discharge preparation, and establishing good connections to community partners. The following entities and individuals also should be considered as planning partners:

• Public housing authorities (PHAs) at the state and/or local levels
• State housing finance agencies (HFAs)
• Local government housing and community development agencies, including community development corporations*
• Homeless assistance providers and partners organized through the continuum of care†
• Nonprofit affordable and supportive housing providers
• Community action agencies
• Tenant associations and neighborhood organizations
• Faith-based organizations
• Family members of returning individuals
• Grassroots organizations

Q: What housing options might be available in our community?

A: Families and friends: The vast majority of people in jail or prison expect to live with their families or friends after release. For many people, reconnecting with children, parents, or other family members and positive social networks can be a source of support and a powerful motivation for change, helping to reduce recidivism and improve community reintegration. Corrections agencies can help sustain relationships between incarcerated people and their families to ease the transition. When family members are living in public or assisted housing, help should be offered to explain local public housing policies and lease provisions that may restrict opportunities for some ex-offenders to live with their families (Learn More).

Other options: Living with family or friends after release may not always be an option, particularly if the living arrangement or neighborhood connections contributed to problems or behaviors that resulted in incarceration or puts others at risk. A new living arrangement may be an important part of a plan for making a fresh start. These options include

• private-market rental housing,
• public housing,
• housing choice vouchers for rental housing,
• affordable housing (nonprofit or privately owned and managed),
• halfway housing and other types of transitional housing (including sober living models such as Oxford House or therapeutic communities modified for correctional settings),
• supportive housing (including Housing First models),
• specialized reentry housing.

Halfway, supportive, specialized reentry housing, or other types of transitional housing may offer eligible individuals immediate availability, peer support and positive role models, structure, services, connections to employment opportunities, and support for recovery. For people with co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorders, there is evidence that modified therapeutic community programs that are recovery-oriented significantly reduce reincarceration by integrating in-prison residential treatment and after-care transitional housing, and by providing strong peer community support.6 It is important to plan for the end of time-limited transitional programs or for individuals' inability to meet strict program rules regarding sobriety. This is particularly important for people with disabilities or individuals who may not have sufficient income to pay for unsubsidized private rental housing.

A dedicated housing specialist from a reentry program can help to identify housing options that are appropriate for each individual, facilitate applications and eligibility determinations, and negotiate with landlords and housing program administrators. Housing specialists often cultivate a network of supportive landlords and establish successful partnerships that are responsive to housing providers' needs

Q: What is supportive housing and whom does it serve?

A: This housing option combines affordable housing with supportive services that help with stabilization and recovery, which significantly reduces the risk that people who have been incarcerated will return to jail or prison. These services are flexible and often delivered at the housing site (in a supportive housing building or through home visits by a practitioner). Supportive housing may 1) be a specialized form of nonprofit-owned and -managed affordable housing or 2) consist of privately owned apartments that are subsidized through a rental assistance program. It is usually intended to serve people with disabilities who have been or would otherwise likely be homeless, including single adults and families. The tenant typically holds a lease and pays 30 percent of income toward rent (often from public assistance such as Supplemental Security Income or SSI). Supportive housing units may provide on-site services for addressing substance abuse and mental illness, with a focus on fostering housing stability.

The availability of supportive housing options has expanded significantly in many communities over the last decade. New projects may be under development or available for occupancy by eligible applicants in your community. Depending on the sources of funding, eligibility for supportive housing may be limited to people who have been living on the streets or in emergency shelter. This includes those individuals who are returning from brief periods of incarceration (up to 90 days) if they were previously homeless, or people with specified disabilities.

Q: Even after identifying available housing options, we still have some people in our jail who were homeless when they were arrested and are likely to be homeless again when they leave. What can be done to stop this revolving door?

A: In many communities, a small number of homeless individuals are caught in an extraordinarily costly spiral of involvement with crisis services. They cycle through jails, shelters, ambulance response calls, emergency rooms, psychiatric hospitals, and detox or sobering centers. These "frequent users" of public services often have complex health and behavioral health problems, but are not effectively engaged in coordinated care. A growing number of communities have implemented promising programs that are achieving better outcomes, often at significantly lower costs to taxpayers.

Promising practices for stopping the cycle of chronic homelessness include the following elements:

• A range of available housing options, including Housing First program models, as a stabilizing factor to enhance and enable service effectiveness
• Networks of community housing providers, including operators of units that are dedicated to reentry or other special needs housing, as well as other landlords who are willing to accept homeless people with criminal backgrounds as tenants
• Assessment of homelessness/chronic homelessness upon jail intake
• Data analysis to identify high-cost "frequent users," which allows program coordinators to target housing and services to these individuals, and track cost savings associated with their lower rates of recidivism and reduced use of shelters and emergency services
• Linkages between jail and community providers to support "in-reach" and care coordination, with connections to housing options that include a clear strategy for the first twenty-four hours after release
• Community supervision by parole or probation officers designated to work specifically with people who have been homeless and/or who have a mental illness or other special needs, and who work effectively with housing and service providers
• Integrated services by multidisciplinary teams
• Ongoing partnerships among agencies and direct service providers with shared goals and accountability for serving the same population, with memoranda of understanding to document agreements
• Leadership support, buy-in, and resource commitments for partnerships

Q: Are there additional housing resources and options available for veterans?

A: Yes. The Veterans Administration (VA) has the Veteran Justice Outreach (VJO) Initiative for individuals who have served in the armed services and are being released from local jails.‡ The VA also operates Healthcare for Reentry Veterans (HCRV) for those individuals released from state and federal prisons.§ Clinicians in these programs can help access transitional housing in community-based programs that are funded through the VA's Grant and Per Diem Program, as well as permanent housing through the HUD-VA Supportive Housing program (VASH). In the HUD VASH program, VA case management services are linked to housing vouchers administered by Public Housing Authorities. A homeless veteran with a criminal background may be eligible to participate in the VASH program, even if ineligible for other types of housing assistance, as long as he or she is not subject to lifetime registration as a sex offender.**

Q: Can people who have been incarcerated be successful tenants and good neighbors?

A: Yes, but some will need assistance. Some people who are returning from incarceration have never had experience as tenants holding leases in their own housing. They will need education regarding their rights, responsibilities, and the legal obligations of tenancy. A housing specialist can provide the support needed to help them become successful tenants.

There are also transitional housing programs that can help reentering people establish a track record of successful tenancy. Most transitional housing programs require residents to maintain sobriety and comply with other program rules. They must often participate in supportive services that focus on recovery, employment or education goals, parenting skills, and preparation for permanent housing. Many of these programs serve only people who are homeless, although some provide aftercare for people who have completed substance abuse residential treatment—usually with a maximum length of stay of twenty-four months. Some programs are designed for transitional reentry housing. For example, the Oakland and King County Housing Authorities operate programs for mothers who are reunifying with their children after a jail stay. On successful completion, families are eligible to live in other public housing developments.* Similarly, the "transition-in-place" or "sponsor-based"† model prepares individuals for successful tenancy. A nonprofit organization may lease privately owned apartments that are made available to people returning from incarceration. This "master lease" arrangement may be attractive to landlords who are assured that the nonprofit organization will guarantee rent payments, provide support services, and help to resolve any problems that arise. Tenants can take over the lease upon renewal if they have succeeded in meeting the program's requirements.

Q: How can people with criminal backgrounds, and little or no transitional housing experience, get housing if landlords conduct criminal background checks?

A: Many landlords use criminal background checks to screen potential tenants. Reentry staff, along with individuals returning from prison and jail, should review criminal records and clean up any inaccuracies.‡ Providing detailed evidence of rehabilitation can help to convince a landlord to accept a tenant despite a history of incarceration. Programs that provide services to people returning from jail or prison can help to provide or compile this documentation, which is similar to what might be needed to get a job in spite of a criminal record. Materials that demonstrate rehabilitation may include the following:

• Letters from clergy or a community organization regarding participation in reentry programming, community leadership, or volunteer activities
• Evidence of participation, motivation, and good performance in school, job training, employment, counseling, or drug treatment
• A letter from a parole or probation officer about positive outlook, exceptional motivation, clean drug tests, and compliance with supervision requirements

In addition, landlords may be more willing to accept a tenant if there is a detailed plan backed by a letter from the provider outlining the services that will be given to support successful reentry, and a contact for the landlord if problems emerge.

Q: Can people with criminal records get public housing and Section 8 housing?

A: In some cases they can. It is important to understand that two of the largest federal low-income rental assistance programs have complex rules of administration: public housing and the Housing Choice ("Section 8") Vouchers (HCV) program are administered locally throughout the country by more than 3,300 different agencies called public housing authorities (PHAs). Both of these programs provide deep rental assistance, allowing eligible families, individuals, seniors, and people with disabilities to pay only 30 percent of their income—no matter what that income—toward housing. In public housing, the subsidy is tied to the unit; in the HCV program, the tenant takes the subsidy as a voucher and uses it in the private market. Some housing vouchers may also be "project-based" and attached to privately or nonprofit-operated housing developments. Some PHAs also own, operate, or administer additional housing resources for their communities, including supportive housing projects and vouchers just for particular groups of people. Often, these other housing resources are made available through partnerships with local service providers. Federal regulations govern how public housing and HCV programs are administered, but each PHA develops its own plans, policies, and procedures within the federally mandated structure.

• Eligibility: A combination of federal laws and local policies may limit eligibility by some people with criminal records. For example, under federal law, PHAs must deny housing to individuals 1) subject to lifetime registration as a sex offender or 2) convicted of manufacturing methamphetamines on the premises of federally assisted housing. Except in cases of permanent prohibitions to admission (in the cases mentioned above), PHAs may consider factors that indicate favorable future conduct. For example, PHAs must deny applicants who have been evicted from federally assisted housing as a result of drug-related criminal activity within the last three years unless the PHA determines the evicted household member has 1) successfully completed rehabilitation (at a facility approved by the PHA) or 2) the circumstances leading to the eviction no longer exist (i.e., the offending household member has died or is imprisoned). These mitigating circumstances may result in the PHA allowing program entry. In addition, the PHA could deny current drug users and may deny access to those who abuse alcohol or whose pattern of alcohol use would create a threat to the health or safety of the housing development or the right of other residents to peacefully enjoy the premises. Here too, the PHA could consider mitigating circumstances in determining a final course of action.
• Additional PHA/Housing Provider Discretion: PHAs and housing providers have the authority to adopt local policies regarding criminal records, which means these policies may be more restrictive than the federal law. In their efforts to be good property managers and to address safety concerns of other tenants and neighbors, some PHAs and housing providers have used this flexibility to deny housing to people who have any criminal convictions within the past five years, or those who are under community corrections supervision. This has led to the misperception that individuals returning from jail or prison are not eligible to live in public housing or receive housing assistance from PHAs as a matter of federal law. Whereas some PHAs have very restrictive policies, others have reduced housing barriers for people returning from jails and prisons under some circumstances. These modified (or "low barrier") policies often apply only to particular housing projects or housing voucher programs that offer supportive services, including for individuals who are homeless or have disabilities. Some PHAs may initially deny applications for housing based on criminal backgrounds, but then provide housing following an appeal based on a case-by-case review, including evidence of rehabilitation. In recent years, vouchers targeted to specific special needs populations, such as homeless veterans and homeless people with disabilities, have been added to the array of programs administered by PHAs. The rules for these special programs vary. It may be useful to learn more about the PHA's experience serving people with criminal backgrounds through these special programs, and build on practices that have been successful.
• Resource Barriers: It is important to recognize that policies regarding criminal backgrounds are not the only barriers that limit access to public housing or affordable housing vouchers: First, the demand that PHAs face for assistance far overwhelms their limited resources. Federal housing assistance is available for only one of every four eligible U.S. households, resulting in lengthy wait lists for subsidized housing in most communities. In many cases, PHAs have closed their Section 8 waiting lists as the number of households already on the list overwhelms supply. In addition, virtually all new vouchers that have been provided to housing authorities over the past several years have been targeted to specific populations—e.g., individuals exiting nursing homes, homeless families referred by state child welfare agencies, or veterans. Finally, it is important to recognize that the Section 8 program provides private-market rental assistance to households, but landlords are not legally mandated to rent to applicants with criminal records. Landlords may be reluctant to make exceptions on a case-by-case basis§, particularly in a tight rental market. There are a significant number of people who are issued Section 8 vouchers, but then fail to pass landlord background screenings.

Q: How are PHAs helping individuals returning from incarceration whose families are currently receiving Public Housing or Section 8 housing assistance?

A: Many PHAs recognize that some of the individuals living in public or assisted housing have family members who are returning from incarceration. Facilitating successful reentry and helping families maintain stability, while also addressing concerns about community safety, can be challenging-particularly when children of incarcerated parents are living in public or assisted housing. A growing number of housing authorities are exploring new approaches that support successful family reunification when appropriate. Partnerships between PHAs and reentry programs linked to ongoing supportive services can be a critical part of these promising new approaches. PHAs and child welfare agencies partnering together can use housing vouchers made available through HUD's Family Unification Program**.

Under federal law, PHAs may allow individuals to get or keep subsidized housing or to return to family living in public or assisted housing, if they can demonstrate successful completion of a rehabilitation program. Many housing authorities have formal or informal hearing procedures that allow for case-by-case consideration of factors related to a criminal background, including mitigating circumstances, the type and level of involvement in the crime, significant life changes, and the effect on other members of the household if access is denied.

In a small, but growing, number of communities, PHAs have used some of their resources to help to create or finance reentry housing programs, often in partnership with nonprofit housing and service provider organizations. Critical to the success of these projects is the availability and reliability of supportive services to facilitate successful reentry, and good property management to ensure that housing is safe and well-maintained. PHAs are more willing to enter into partnerships in which they can be confident that partner agencies can make and sustain funding commitments and have the demonstrated capacity to operate high-quality programs. A small number of PHAs have been designated as "Moving to Work" (MTW) Housing Authorities, a federal demonstration program that provides PHAs the opportunity to design and test innovative, locally designed strategies that use federal dollars more efficiently, help residents find employment and become self-sufficient, and increase housing choices for low-income families. This designation gives them significant flexibility to waive or modify many rules and implement innovative programs in ways that most PHAs cannot, and have facilitated the development of these reentry initiatives.