Transcript Housing and Criminal History

Wendy Olson
U.S. Attorney, District of Idaho
Kathy Griesmyer
Public Policy Strategist, ACLU of Idaho
April 14, 2014
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97% of the offenders in prison today will be
released at some point. Most of them will be
returning to the communities in which they lived
when they offended; the vast majority will be
living in the state where they had been
incarcerated.
Many of these offenders will struggle to find
appropriate housing. And their residential
instability will make them more likely to fail in the
community and return to prison.
Research has found a significant connection not
only between homelessness and incarceration, but
between homelessness and re-offending (John Jay
College, The Fortune Society, BJA, 2009).
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Studies have shown that the first month after
release is a vulnerable period during which
the risk of becoming homeless and/or
returning to criminal justice involvement is
high
Yet in most jurisdictions, affordable and
available housing is in short supply
• There is a growing consensus among
federal, state, local and private entities
involved with offender reentry initiatives that
their vision is to collaboratively develop
strategies that will promote a greater
likelihood of offender success after release
to the community.
• Having a greater percentage of offenders
successfully reintegrate into communities
means a reduction of recidivism and
enhanced public safety (fewer crimes, fewer
victims).
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There are 7.3 million adults currently under
criminal justice supervision in the U.S.
◦ $60 billion spent annually (does not
include prosecution costs, costs to
victims, etc.) up from $9 billion in 1980
7 million adults represents 1 in every 31
adults in U.S.
◦ It was 1 in every 90 adults in 1980
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2.3 million adults are in prison or jail (a 700%
increase in the last 35 years). 1.5 million in prison;
800,000 in jail.
Over 5 million adults are under community
supervision (1 in every 45 adults in U.S. currently
under community supervision).
◦ 4.27 million adults are on probation (3 million in 1995).
◦ 828,000 adults are on parole
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Approximately 30% of the nation’s
adult population has a criminal record.
There are 13 million released felons in
the U.S.
◦ 6.5% of the entire adult population
◦ 11% of the adult male population
 Bureau of Justice Statistics, US Dept. of Justice
11th highest incarceration rate in U.S. despite low
crime rate, 7th lowest in the nation
(National Institute of Corrections)
4th highest
populations
of
probationers
in U.S.
12th highest
populations
of parolees in
U.S.
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Justice Reinvestment
Initiative
◦ National reform project
brought to Idaho by Council
on State Governments
◦ Looks to address three
primary issues:
1. Reduce recidivism
2. Prioritize non-violent, lowrisk individuals to be
released on parole
3. Improve data collection
systems
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Reducing Recidivism
◦ IDOC study from 2013 shows 35%
recidivism rate for all individuals
involved in the correctional system
◦ 30% of people on felony
probation/rider sentences end up
violating term of program and end
up in prison (CSG report 2014)
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In 2013, approximately 700,000 offenders
were released from prisons in the U.S. and
returned to their communities.
◦ 144,000 offenders were released from prisons in
1980.
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This large number of returning offenders
places great strain on existing community
resources – to include appropriate housing.
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A significant number of offenders fail to successfully
reintegrate into communities – nearly 2/3 will be
rearrested within three years of release, and half of
those reincarcerated. (Langan and Levin, 2002; BJA, 2006.)
Revocations are the fastest growing category of
prison admissions
◦ Parole violators account for 35% of new prison
admissions today, as compared to 17% in 1980.
◦ About 41% of offenders on probation fail to
successfully complete supervision.
◦ New court commitments declined from 81% to 60% of
prison admissions (1980-2000)
◦ Over ¾ of offenders have a history of
substance abuse use
◦ Lack of job skills/limited education
◦ Poor reasoning skills/criminal
thinking/attitude and decision making
processes
◦ Absence of pro-social support groups
◦ Mental health/ general health problems
◦ The nature of the person’s social network
and associations
◦ Absence of a stable residence
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Nationally, more than 10% of offenders are
homeless at the time of their release from
prisons and jails– it may be up to 30% or
more in large urban centers (Black and Cho,
2004).
There are approximately 850,000 homeless
people in the U.S. at present. BJA, Reentry
Policy Council, 2007
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Stable and appropriate housing has always been a
critical concern for returning offenders, criminal
justice organizations, and local communities.
Homelessness in the first 90 days after release
significantly increases the likelihood of re-offending
(Harding and Harding, 2006).
◦ Housing and job instability contribute enormously to
offender failure under supervision. GA DOC.
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Individuals who move initially from prison or jail to
homeless shelters are 7 times more likely to abscond
from parole than other offenders (Vera Institute, N.Y.,
1999).
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In New York, it costs more than $32,000 per
year to serve a single person who stays in
homeless shelters and returns to prison.
Hospitalizations and child welfare involvement
drive this price tag even higher.
Prison and jail are among the most expensive
settings to serve people who are homeless: one
nine-city study calculated median daily costs for
prison and jail at $59.43 and $70.00
respectively, compared with $30.48 for
supportive housing.
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Options for a returning offender:
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Own a home/live with family
Live with friends
Private market rental housing
Non-profit housing options
Half-way houses
Supportive housing
Shared living arrangements
Specialized reentry housing
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Higher Turnover
Lease Violations
Community Reputation
◦ Fighting NIMBY (may exist already in
affordable housing)
Damage Collections Against Tennant
Risk of Injury to Residents/Staff
Landlord Liability for Known/Preventable
Action
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Landlords cannot screen and deny for all criminal
history
◦ Likely violation of fair housing laws
◦ May be disproportionate impact on some groups given
disproportionate incarceration rates of those groups
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Consider screening only for convictions that pose
threat to tenants or property
◦ Murder vs. trespassing
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Criteria typically establishes timeline based on
conviction
◦ How old is it?
◦ What has history been since that time?
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“This is an Administration that believes in the
importance of second chances . . . And at
HUD, part of that support means helping exoffenders gain access to one of the most
fundamental building blocks of a stable life –
a place to live.”
◦ HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, 1/5/2011
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There are few federal restrictions that would
prevent offenders from living in publicly assisted
housing. The federal restrictions apply to the
following:
◦ Sex offenders who must register for life
◦ Offenders convicted of manufacturing or possessing
methamphetamine in publicly assisted housing.
◦ Three year ban if evicted from publicly assisted housing
for drug-related criminal activity
◦ Committing arson while living in publicly assisted housing
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While local PHAs may choose to create more
restrictions, these are not imposed by HUD.
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PHAs can decline admission to:
1. Individuals who have engaged in any
drug-related or violent criminal activity or
other criminal activity during a reasonable
time period prior to the application for
housing if it would adversely affect the
health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment
of the premises by other residents.
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2. Individuals who are illegally using a controlled
substance, or have a history of abuse of drugs or alcohol
that may interfere with the health, safety, or right to
peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents.
3. Any individual that has been evicted from federally
assisted housing because of drug-related criminal activity
in the previous three years. This includes individuals and
household evicted under HUD’s “One Strike” policy. Under
this policy, evictions may occur if any member of a
household or guest of a household engages in any criminal
activity that threatens the health, safety, or right to peaceful
enjoyment of the premises by other tenants or any drugrelated criminal activity, on or off the premises.
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Supportive housing has been shown to reduce
criminal justice involvement, reducing jail
incarceration rates up to 30 percent and prison
incarceration rates up to 57 percent.
According to a cost analysis by the Corporation
for Supportive Housing, a single re-entry housing
unit in New York used by two people over one
year can save $20,000 to $24,000 relative to the
cost of release to shelter and re-incarceration.
◦ Culhane, 2002
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“In 2006, the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH)
launched its Returning Home Initiative. Under this initiative,
CSH has worked collaboratively with the Cook County Jail in
Illinois to pilot a program that links people with long histories
of homelessness, mental illness, and incarceration to
supportive housing. This effort focuses on people that:
Have demonstrated a history of repeated homelessness upon
discharge from jail;
Have been engaged by the jail’s mental health services or
state mental health system at least 4 times;
Have a diagnosed serious mental illness of schizophrenia,
bipolar, obsessive compulsive or schizo-affective disorder.”
Source: “Moving towards evidence based housing programs”. Roman,
2009
Many Landlords/Operators Not Completely Against
Allowing Ex-Offenders
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Primary issue is financial
◦ Who is going to provide guarantee?
 Property
 Rent (financial)
 Risk to residents/community reputation
◦ Potential additional costs to the Provider/Landlord
 Additional Staffing
 Security
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