Content uploaded by Zachary Hamilton
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Zachary Hamilton on Jan 18, 2016
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
Homelessness and Reentry: A Multisite Outcome Evaluation of Washington State's Reentry Housing Program for High Risk Offenders
Abstract
Each year many offenders are released homeless putting them at great risk of being returned to prison. To reduce the likelihood of recidivism, Washington State implemented the Reentry Housing Pilot Program (RHPP) to provide housing assistance for high risk/high need offenders leaving prison without a viable place to live. This study provides a longitudinal (2008-2011), multisite outcome evaluation that considers how ex-offenders in the RHPP program (n = 208), who were provided housing and wraparound services, compared with similar offenders released with an elevated risk of homelessness while being traditionally supervised (n = 208). Findings show that the RHPP program was successful in significantly reducing new convictions and readmission to prison for new crimes, but had no significant effect on revocations. In addition, results showed that periods of homelessness significantly elevated the risk of recidivism for new convictions, revocations, and readmission to prison. The authors recommend that subsidized housing for high risk offenders become a central part of coordinated responses to reentry.
... Stable housing conditions are important conditions for successfully re-entering the community [34]. In an evaluation of housing programs for high-risk individuals [24], it was found that the timing of achieving stability in housing in the first period after finishing the custodial sentence is important for achieving long-term house stability and preventing recidivism. Research pertaining to the Housing First Model underscores the importance of immediate access to affordable and permanent housing conditions for young people [13]. ...
Background
To improve rehabilitation and reduce recidivism, adolescent criminal law provides tailor-made sanctioning in which the emphasis is on the offender’s development. This results in the possibility that juvenile sanctions, in which education, treatment and rehabilitation are central, can be applied to young adult offenders. It is unknown, however, whether there is a relationship between the developmental focus of adolescent criminal law and the rehabilitation of young adult offenders. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether juvenile sanctions are efficacious in rehabilitating young adult offenders.
Methods
A quasi-experimental design was used with judicial observational data. From a total of young adults (n = 671) sentenced with juvenile sanctions and young adults (n = 7.221) sentenced with adult sanctions different subsamples were composed. The subsamples were based on distinct starting conditions: (1) young adults engaged in education or employment, (2) young adults without education, income or on unemployment benefits, (3) young adults living independently, and (4) young adults living with parents or institutionalized. Rehabilitation was operationalized as changes or stability in education/employment status and housing conditions two years after the sanction was imposed. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to assess the associations. Results: Young adults who were engaged in education or employment before their conviction were more likely to maintain this status after a juvenile sanction (OR = 1.43, p < 0.05) than after an adult sanction. Young adults who were not engaged in education or employment had a lower chance (OR = 0.677, p < 0.05) of improving their status after a juvenile sanction than after an adult sanction. No significant differences were found for housing conditions.
Conclusions
By focusing on maintaining existing engagement in education and employment, juvenile sanctions align with the developmental needs of young adults and promote stability in their transition to mature societal roles. This study highlights the importance of reinforcing existing prosocial bonds and providing adequate support for those needing to establish new prosocial bonds.
Over the past two years, fact-finding efforts have examined the historical chronology of homelessness in the United States, discussed the policy and regulatory responses to homelessness, and systematically reviewed the macro and micro-level predictors of homelessness at the national level. The factors impacting homelessness are numerous and complex with structural or macro factors, such as affordable housing, playing a significant role in homelessness across the country. This report provides an analysis of mostly structural-level conditions and their impact on homelessness in Washington State using publicly available data at the county-level from the Washington State Department of Commerce and the U.S. Census American Community Survey. Factors such as median rent, rent burden, income inequality, unemployment, and poverty rates were examined. It highlights county variations in key variables, such as median rent and rent burden, that impact their homelessness rates over time. While the multivariate analysis presented here is limited due to the small number of cases (counties) that can be included, it revealed that median rent for one-bedroom apartments was the strongest predictor of homelessness rates in Washington from 2016 to 2020 for all counties. When examining only rural counties, median one-bedroom rent remained the strongest predictor of homelessness rates. The second largest predictor was the percentage of the population 65 and over. For all counties, the proportion of single person households also significantly increased homelessness rates, but it was not a significant predictor for rural counties.
Additionally, this report briefly summarizes the evaluation of homeless services, programs, and service models to identify interventions that have been proven successful across several studies. Housing-First services are the most evaluated programs with case management, transitional housing, supportive housing, and clinical services specifically receiving much attention. Overall, studies highlight the importance of providing comprehensive services that meet the diverse needs of individuals experiencing homelessness and customizing interventions based on specific needs, goals, and characteristics of these individuals.
There has been little theoretical development concerning the role of housing and the more subjective notion of ‘home’ in supporting desistance from crime. Through narrative interviews with 16 men with histories of imprisonment in Aotearoa New Zealand, this article explores key psycho-social benefits of home that support men to desist from crime. The article expands knowledge on the role of place and space in desistance by emphasising that to fully engage with the desistance process, those leaving prison need more than a roof over their heads; they need a home with psycho-social benefits that enhance their sense of wellbeing and ontological security. It is argued that a home provides a crucial setting for those leaving prison to ‘do’ desistance, and it is imperative that reintegration policy and practice recognise the psycho-social benefits of home.
Cet article se situe dans la lignée des travaux en sociologie carcérale qui œuvrent à la « déspécification » de de la prison. Son intérêt tient à la place qu’il attribue aux affects afin de mieux comprendre comment le « carcéral » pourrait se prolonger dans l’après-prison, par le biais d’un sentiment de carcéralité renouvelé « hors les murs ». En recourant à l’étude d’un cas individuel, nous décrivons le régime émotionnel de ce temps de transition qu’est la libération conditionnelle. Ensuite, nous montrons que ce dernier peut durablement installer une « mécanique du temps plein de la libération » et, par-là, cristallisent certaines réactions émotionnelles face aux difficultés d’une expérience de sortie de prison.
This paper describes the development of a proposed best-evidence model of care (MoC) and program logic (PL) for supported accommodation (SA) for people released from prison. Evidence from a systematic review, interviews with clients of SA, and consultation with service providers were synthesized to develop a draft MoC that was embedded into a PL. The MoC and PL were refined in a workshop with researchers and SA providers. The MoC comprised five best-evidence core components to be standardized across any SA, operationalized by flexible activities that need to be determined by services to suit their circumstances. The PL comprised client needs that the program targets, a rationale for why core components would be effective and appropriate process and outcome measures. The development and uptake of a best-evidence MoC and clearly defined PL will help engender a larger and more rigorous SA evidence-base, and improve outcomes for people released from prison.
The current study examined the role of sanctions and incentives in improving community supervision outcomes, utilizing data collected from 300 individuals under probation supervision by the Denver Adult Probation Department. The research expanded the current literature by addressing two important existing gaps. First, we included supervision failure due to absconding as a unique dependent variable. Second, we controlled for client behavior to enhance our confidence in study findings. Findings revealed no evidence in support of the use of sanctions to improve supervision outcomes. Incentives, however, were associated with both an increased likelihood of supervision completion and a lower incidence of criminal offending. Study findings suggest a need to prioritize efforts to integrate incentive use into everyday supervision practices, as well as a need to increase funding to support the research and development of incentive programs to guide agencies in creating and sustaining programs that will have the greatest impact.
Background: The Transitional Hotel Project (THP) is a noncongregate emergency hotel initiative with comprehensive wrap-around services implemented at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was designed to address the emergency housing needs of adults transitioning from incarceration (returning citizens) to community reintegration.
Objective: The study aims to explore the external and internal recovery needs of returning citizens participating in the THP, with a focus on their housing stability, mental and behavioral health, employment, and the development of prosocial relationships.
Methods: This mixed-methods case study used de-identified case management data, focus groups, and interviews with 24 participants, including employees, key partners, and returning citizens. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify key themes related to the recovery process of returning citizens.
Findings: Thematic analysis revealed three primary themes: (a) safety, including both physical and psychological aspects; (b) mutual empathy; and (c) person-centered decision-making. Two subthemes emerged under the safety theme: (a) physical safety and (b) psychological safety. Mutual empathy between participants and peer mentor staff played a critical role in fostering the recovery of returning citizens.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that the physical and psychological safety provided within the hotel setting, along with the empathy and support from peer mentor staff, were significant factors contributing to positive changes in returning citizens. These elements of the THP appear to have facilitated improvements in both external recovery needs (e.g., housing stability and employment) and internal recovery processes (e.g., restructured self-identity, human agency, and perceptions of hope).
Using data from the Returning Home study of male prisoners returning to Chicago, this policy brief examines the extent of and reasons for residential mobility among released prisoners and how mobility affects reentry outcomes. Findings indicate that residential mobility among this group is not particularly high, and that those who do move are not necessarily at greater risk of relapse and recidivism. In fact, it appears that those who move do so either to avoid family conflict and/or to be more independent. Many change residences in order to reside with an intimate partner or friend. From a policy perspective, there may be little reason to identify movers as a particularly vulnerable population. Indeed, moving could be a sign of increased financial responsibility on the part of the released prisoner.
Homelessness is a persistent problem facing offenders returning to the community from prison. Many offenders were homeless prior to incarceration, and often return to homelessness after release. Additionally, the costs of incarceration have led policy-makers to consider large-scale alternatives to rapidly and effectively reduce correctional costs. The Washington State Department of Corrections’ Housing Voucher Program (HVP) is a reentry program that seeks to divert offenders from homelessness by paying for returning offenders’ rent expenses in private housing for up to three months following their release. The current study provides an impact evaluation and cost assessment of HVP. Findings demonstrate support for the program and indicate dramatic reductions in associated correctional costs.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of jailed Americans leave prison and return to society. Largely uneducated, unskilled, often without family support, and with the stigma of a prison record hanging over them, many, if not most, will experience serious social and psychological problems after release. Fewer than one in three prisoners receive substance abuse or mental health treatment while incarcerated, and each year fewer and fewer participate in the dwindling number of vocational or educational pre-release programs, leaving many all but unemployable. Not surprisingly, the great majority is rearrested, most within six months of their release. As long as there have been prisons, society has struggled with how best to help prisoners reintegrate once released. But the current situation is unprecedented. As a result of the quadrupling of the American prison population in the last quarter century, the number of returning offenders dwarfs anything in America's history. A crisis looms, and the criminal justice and social welfare system is wholly unprepared to confront it. Drawing on dozens of interviews with inmates, former prisoners, and prison officials, the book shows us how the current system is failing, and failing badly. Unwilling merely to sound the alarm, it explores the harsh realities of prisoner re-entry and offers specific solutions to prepare inmates for release, reduce recidivism, and restore them to full citizenship, while never losing sight of the demands of public safety. As the number of ex-convicts in America continues to grow, their systemic marginalization threatens the very society their imprisonment was meant to protect.
One of the first contemporary works to bring together research focused on community corrections officers, Professional Lives of Community Corrections Officers: The Invisible Side of Reentry, by Faith E. Lutze, helps readers understand the importance of community corrections officers to the success of the criminal justice system. The author brings the important work of these officers out from the shadows of the prison and into the light of informed policymaking, demonstrating how their work connects to the broader political, economic, and social context. Arguing that they are “street-level boundary spanners” who are in the best position to lead effective reentry initiatives built on interagency collaboration, the author shows how community corrections officers can effectively lead a fluid response to reentry that is inclusive of control, support, and treatment. This supplement is ideal for community corrections or probation and parole courses to supplement core textbooks.
During the past decade, there has been a renewed interest in prisoner reentry. This is due to a change in many of the factors surrounding the release of prisoners and their reentry to the community. These changes include a modification of sentencing from the use of parole to determinate release with fewer ex-offenders having supervision in the community, an increased emphasis on surveillance rather than assistance for those under supervision, less community stability and availability of community social service support, and dramatically larger numbers returning to the community. More releasees are being violated and returned to the community than ever before Therefore, it is important to identify prisoner reentry programs that work. We define reentry, categorize reentry programs, and use the Maryland Scale of Scientific Method to determine the effectiveness of program categories. We conclude that many such categories are effective in aiding reentry and reducing recidivism.
At no time in history, and certainly in no other democratic society, have prisons been filled so quickly and to such capacity than in the United States. And nowhere has this growth been more concentrated than in the disadvantaged-and primarily minority-neighborhoods of America's largest urban cities. In the most impoverished places, as much as 20% of the adult men are locked up on any given day, and there is hardly a family without a father, son, brother, or uncle who has not been behind bars. While the effects of going to and returning home from prison are well-documented, little attention has been paid to the impact of removal on neighborhoods where large numbers of individuals have been imprisoned. In the first detailed, empirical exploration of the effects of mass incarceration on poor places, this book demonstrates that in high doses incarceration contributes to the very social problems it is intended to solve-it breaks up family and social networks; deprives siblings, spouses, and parents of emotional and financial support; threatens the economic and political infrastructure of already struggling neighborhoods; and destabilizes the community, thus further reducing public safety. Especially at risk are children who, research shows, are more likely to commit a crime if a father or brother has been to prison. Demonstrating that the current incarceration policy in urban America does more harm than good, from increasing crime to widening racial disparities and diminished life chances for youths, the book argues that we cannot overcome the problem of mass incarceration concentrated in poor places without incorporating an idea of community justice into our failing correctional and criminal justice systems.
Matched sampling is often used to help assess the causal effect of some exposure or intervention, typically when randomized experiments are not available or cannot be conducted. This book presents a selection of Donald B. Rubin's research articles on matched sampling, from the early 1970s, when the author was one of the major researchers involved in establishing the field, to recent contributions to this now extremely active area. The articles include fundamental theoretical studies that have become classics, important extensions, and real applications that range from breast cancer treatments to tobacco litigation to studies of criminal tendencies. They are organized into seven parts, each with an introduction by the author that provides historical and personal context and discusses the relevance of the work today. A concluding essay offers advice to investigators designing observational studies. The book provides an accessible introduction to the study of matched sampling and will be an indispensable reference for students and researchers.