D: Managing the Key Transition Period

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Outline
Introduction
Policy Statements:
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Additional Resources

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6: Transitional and supportive housing options may facilitate a successful re-entry, but they are not available in sufficient supply.

In this chapter:

Overview

Recommendations:

A. Ensure that transition planners, working with community-based organizations, are familiar with the full range of housing options available in each community and maintain lists or inventories of available housing.
B. Determine on an individualized basis the particular housing needs for each person released from prison or jail.
C. Evaluate the feasibility, safety, and appropriateness of an individual living with family members after his or her release from prison or jail.
D. Ensure that family violence risks are recognized and addressed in the housing plan of any person whose return to the community may pose a risk to the individual or to his or her family or partner.
E. Identify the appropriate housing option for each incarcerated individual well in advance of release.
F. Educate prisoners about strategies for finding and maintaining housing in the community, and teach them about their legal rights as tenants in the private rental market.
G. Provide individuals who are entering the private rental market-and who demonstrate that they are without adequate resources to pay rent-with small stipends and/or housing assistance for the period immediately after release.
H. Tap state and local funding used for traditional public safety and criminal justice purposes and leverage those resources to finance the development of supportive housing.
I. Develop "re-entry housing," to meet the specific and unique needs of people released from prison or jail.
J. Encourage private sector or nonprofit housing developers or community-based organizations to develop housing accessible to people leaving prison or jail.
K. Consider individuals leaving prison or jail who have histories of homelessness as part of the homeless priority population, to facilitate their access to supportive housing made available under the McKinney-Vento Act.
L. Coordinate with the local Public Housing Authority (PHA) to determine the eligibility of people leaving prison or jail for publicly managed or Section 8 housing.

Research Highlights:

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Some state correctional systems (and the federal system) utilize halfway houses designed to transition individuals returning to the community from prison, as a "halfway" step between prison and freedom. Less than one-half of one percent of all inmates released in 1999 was reportedly served by halfway houses. ^[1] A wide variety of supportive housing programs funded by private and charitable foundations, grants, or subsidies from state and federal governments, also exist. These residences are generally run by nonprofit and faith-based organizations, and are targeted towards eligible homeless individuals and families, as well as other people with chronic health challenges such as mental illness or HIV/AIDS. Only a handful of supportive housing programs nationally are targeted specifically towards people leaving incarceration, and of these, only a few receive funding from correctional agencies. Despite their limited supply, these types of housing programs present extremely promising ways to improve the odds of successful reintegration. ^[2] By providing a package of subsidized housing alongside a vast range of social services, these programs link recently released people to treatment, jobs, education, and assistance around family reunification-all components of successful reintegration and self-sufficiency.

Housing Options for People Released from Correctional Facilities
Type of Housing	Features	Benefits	Potential limitations
Private market rental housing	Individual secures apartment on the private rental market.	Most universally available. May be partly or wholly paid for by public assistance.	Rental property owners may screen for, and refuse to, rent to people with criminal backgrounds under federal and state statutes in all 50 states. Individual must have ability to pay security deposit immediately and rent subsequently. Public assistance may be denied to individuals with criminal records. Rental housing includes no supervision or service support to assist individual with maintaining housing.
Cohabitation with family members	Individual connects to family or other natural support system that accepts the individual into their homes.	Likely to be immediately available. May coincide with efforts to rebuild family relationships. May provide emotional and/or financial support.	Not all inmates maintain family ties. Family members must be willing to accept released individual. Reunification may produce additional financial, emotional, or other stresses on individual or family members. Unstable or risk-intense environments may put vulnerable returning individuals or their family members at risk. Legal status of family housing situation may be jeopardized by accommodation of individual with criminal record.
Public housing and Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs), i.e., tenant-based assistance or Section 8	Priority for housing is decided locally. Tenant pays 30 percent of adjusted income towards rent or, with HCV, up to 40 percent. Section 8 uses a voucher system to subsidize rents based on a Fair Market Rent (FMR) system. HUD pays the difference between 30 to 40 percent of the family's income and the FMR for the unit.	More affordable than private rental market housing. May include units specially designated for people with physical or mental disabilities or the elderly. May be used anywhere the family chooses to live and can find housing within the FMR.	Under federal law, Public Housing Authorities may screen or refuse to house or accept vouchers from people who have been convicted of certain offenses, as may any federally assisted housing provider. Formerly incarcerated individuals may not be immediately considered "homeless" and therefore not prioritized for placement in agencies that use homelessness as a priority need. Availability is limited-waiting lists may be long. The application process may be lengthy and intimidating. Income verification and a background check of all household members are required. May or may not make available additional service supports.
Nonprofit or privately owned and managed affordable housing	Financed using a variety of government subsidies (and limited private sources); generally, tenant pays 30 percent of income towards rent. Mission-driven to serve low-income or disadvantaged people. Often coordinated or run by community development corporations (CDCs) or neighborhood-based housing development organizations.	More affordable than private rental market housing. Not bound by statutory restrictions that govern public housing. May provide on-site support services.	Availability is limited-waiting lists may be long. Owners may exercise discretion to exclude people with criminal histories, though bound by Fair Housing laws.
Halfway houses, programmatic or transitional housing	Provides housing for individuals close to or just after release, usually in a highly supervised environment. May be focused on behavior change, including substance abuse. Housing may be conditional on compliance with community-based services or other conditions.	Offers transition between fully secure, structured, monitored environment of incarceration and the community. May have alternative funding streams, including Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment block grants, which provide revolving loans to help people with substance abuse disorders to secure housing. May enable individuals to work during their residency while keeping their expenses (if any) very low.	May be available for limited duration only. Availability is limited-waiting lists may be long. May not be desirable because of rigid structure, including possible limitations on visitation and freedom to come and go at will. Does not address subsequent (post-sentence) housing needs.
Supportive housing (special needs and homeless housing)	Specialized form of nonprofit owned and managed affordable housing (see above). Tenant pays 30 percent of income towards rent, often from public benefits (Supplemental Security Income, etc.) Provides services to tenants using case-management model. Focus is on housing stability, not behavior change or treatment. Funded and subsidized by a variety of federal, state and local sources; heavily reliant on federal McKinney-Vento programs.	May be the first available housing most people returning to communities can access. Offers affordable housing along with comprehensive social services, improving accessibility for recently released individuals. Tenancy is often longer-term and legally protected (not necessarily tied to compliance with services). Can lower the risk of detention and incarceration among formerly homeless people with mental illness.	Availability and funding are limited McKinney-Vento funded housing is targeted to homeless people as defined by federal statute, which excludes incarcerated persons who were not homeless (shelter- or street-dwelling) prior to incarceration. Many supportive housing programs are reliant on funding that may exclude people who have criminal records or are managed by PHAs and thus subject to restrictions against people with criminal records. Co-residency of released individuals may have a stigmatizing effect.
Specialized re-entry housing	Shares many of the same features as supportive housing, but provides specific services for recently released individuals. May provide emergency, transitional or longer-term housing. Often linked to transition planning activities.	Addresses specific housing and service needs of formerly incarcerated people. Nonprofit operators and staff are usually trained to interface with criminal justice personnel. May provide peer support and mentorship between releasees. May co-locate emergency with permanent or phased-permanent housing.	Very limited availability-not available in most jurisdictions. Difficult to create due to lack of dedicated funding streams and community opposition to target population.

American Correctional Association, Vital Statistics in Corrections (Lanham, MD: American Correctional Association) .
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Richard P. Seiter and Karen R. Kadela, "Prisoner Reentry," Crime and Delinquency 49, no. 3 .
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Reentry Policy Council

D: Managing the Key Transition Period

6: Transitional and supportive housing options may facilitate a successful re-entry, but they are not available in sufficient supply.

In this chapter: