Reentry Housing Policy Recommendations Elizabeth J Appley Esq
Reentry Housing Policy Recommendations Elizabeth J. Appley, Esq. Public Policy Advocate Housing Georgia Central Outreach and Advocacy Center
The Reentry Housing Work Group came together from a wide range of relevant perspectives, both public and private, in order to address the critical need for housing to support successful reentry for returning citizens that will enable them to be successfully restored to their communities, reduce recidivism, promote public safety, and conserve limited public resources.
Reentry Housing Work Group Facilitators: Doug Ammar, Georgia Justice Project Paul Bolster, Georgia Supportive Housing Association Elizabeth J. Appley, Housing Georgia and Central Outreach and Advocacy Center
Reentry ; Housing Work Group Agency Participants: Harris Childers Department of Community Supervision Michael Kraft, Department of Community Supervision Mark Morris, Georgia Department of Corrections Ron Pounds, Department of Community Affairs Doug Scott, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
Reentry Housing Work Group Participants: Elizabeth Danley, United Way of Metro Atlanta Talley Wells Atlanta Legal Aid Society Mariel Sively, Georgia Supportive Housing Association Susan Reif, Georgia Legal Services Program Debra Nesbit, Association of County Commissioners of Georgia Robyn Garrett, Georgia Association of Community Service Boards OJ Booker Athens Community Service Board Susan Goico, Atlanta Legal Aid Society Brenda Smeeton, Georgia Justice Project Josiah Conrad, Georgia Association of Community Service Boards
Reentry Housing Recommendations to Criminal Justice Reform Council The Criminal Justice Reform Council led by Governor Deal has made marked progress in addressing some key issues of criminal justice reform in recent years. Drawing on public and private expertise to help people return to the community successfully, reduce the risk of repeat offenses, and conserve limited state resources. 95% of persons who are incarcerated are eventually released. Housing is a key to successful re-entry to the community and avoiding recidivism (along with employment, food, healthcare, and benefits). The Department of Corrections is the largest provider of mental health services of any entity in the state. How to meet the needs of this population on reentry?
Housing Market Access Nearly one-third of the US population has a criminal record of some sort – as many as 100 million US adults. People with a prior arrest or incarceration face stiff obstacles in the housing market. Many landlords have blanket policies that refuse to lease to people if they have ever been arrested or been incarcerated. 2015 U. S. Supreme Court decision upheld finding of violation of Fair Housing Act from disparate impact against a protected class. African Americans and Hispanics are disproportionately arrested and incarcerated in the US today, and there are widespread racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system. HUD Office of General Counsel Guidance (April 2016): “[W]here a policy or practice that restricts access to housing on the basis of criminal history has a disparate impact on individuals of a particular race, national origin, or other protected class, such policy or practice is unlawful under the Fair Housing Act if it is not necessary to serve a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest of the housing provider, or if such interest could be served by another practice that has less discriminatory effect. ”
Housing Market Access The HUD Guidance makes clear that blanket bans on rental to persons based on a prior arrest or incarceration are prohibited as unlawful race discrimination under the Fair Housing Act and any policy on rental to formerly incarcerated persons must be narrowly tailored to meet the particularized interests of the lessor, considering time from arrest, evidence of rehabilitation, nature of the crime, and other factors. Arrest alone cannot serve as a bar. RECOMMENDATION #1: Urge private landlords to adopt rules that comply with HUD Guidance regarding the use of a person’s criminal record when making leasing decisions. Support DCA model policies to comply with HUD Guidance by all Public Housing Authorities and all entities that receive state or federal funds or tax credits. Support public education that broad bans on leasing housing to persons based on arrest or prior conviction violates the Fair Housing Act.
Housing Market Access The Georgia Department of Community Affairs has addressed this issue in its 2017 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) core policy section and stated that its requirements are subject to enforcement through the annual Owner’s certification. “While having a criminal record is not a protected characteristic under the Fair Housing Act, criminal history-based restrictions on housing opportunities violate the Act if, without justification, their burden falls more often on renters or other housing market participants of one race or national origin over another. All properties funded under Georgia multifamily affordable housing programs must have a clearly defined screening policy that establishes criteria for renting to prospective tenants that is not in violation of the Fair Housing Act. This criteria includes reasonable and non-discriminatory policies around applicant income, employment requirements, and background checks. On April 4, 2016, HUD issued new regulations with regard to criminal background checks. Each property’s screening policy should at a minimum, include the following: Arrests records are not a valid reason to deny an applicant housing. Applicants with a criminal conviction may be denied housing only if the reason for their convictions clearly demonstrates that the safety of residents and/or property are at risk. Blanket terms in screening criteria that say ‘Any criminal convictions will be denied’ are now considered discriminatory and in violation of the Fair Housing Act. “
Housing Market Access RECOMMENDATION #2: Expand to Department of Community Supervision (DCS) authority to issue Completion Certificates (now issued by DOC) that confer a rebuttable presumption that landlord acted with due care in leasing to a person with a certificate. Certificates indicate a person in good standing under its supervision and symbolize the achievements towards successful reentry. RECOMMENDATION #3: Provide an income tax credit to landlords who lease housing to returning citizens (akin to HB 828 adopted in 2016 granting tax credit to employers who employ parolees within one year of release).
Long Term Housing Supports for Persons with Disabilities Long term supports are needed for returning citizens with disabilities who are unlikely to obtain employment or income benefits sufficient to enable them to obtain market rate housing, and who may require support services. RECOMMENDATION #4: Provide a long term rent subsidy program for people with developmental or intellectual disabilities, brain injuries or other disabilities who would be paroled but for the ability to identify appropriate long term housing. Use as a model the Housing Voucher Program created under the DOJ Settlement with DBHDD for people with severe and persistent mental illness, including those with SPMI leaving prison or jail, as a model. Start with a 200 person pilot program.
Long Term Housing Supports for Persons with Disabilities RECOMMENDATION #5: Expand the Forensic Supervised Housing program administered by DBHDD beyond the 40 units of housing for persons who are unable to stand trial or have been found guilty but are not sentenced to prison terms by reason of their mental illness. This housing model gives a judge the opportunity to place a person in a structured residential setting in the community in a way that protects public safety and conserves limited tax dollars over current institutional care.
TRANSITION SUPPORT SERVICES The most difficult reentry task is the transition from incarceration to community based systems of support. At the moment of release from the Department of Corrections to the Department of Community Supervision, the responsibility for supporting the returning citizen shifts from one state administrative structure to another and community based organizations must take responsibility for the support. The success of the state’s Community Coordinator program is dependent upon expanding the availability of community providers and the transition from prison to community needs additional support in order to secure success. RECOMMENDATION #6: Expand the in-reach program at the Department of Community Supervision to each of the state prisons to work closely with the DOC counselors during the six months prior to release. The in-reach staff is charged with making a firm connection to available community supports.
TRANSITION SUPPORT SERVICES RECOMMENDATION #7: Expand the Forensic Peer Mentor program developed by DBHDD beyond the current three prisons and eight day reporting centers to include the eight prisons with the highest percentage of persons with Level 3 or 4 Mental Illness and all 15 of the day reporting centers.
SHORT TERM HOUSING The lack of short term housing options often prevents a person from accessing community based systems of support and results in longer term incarceration in jail or prison or increased homelessness. The Georgia Reentry Partnership Housing (RPH) program has enabled prisoners who lack an appropriate residential plan to obtain the short term housing that enables parole or probation. The expansion of Accountability Courts has provided an alternative to incarceration which has lowered the need and cost of jails and prisons. Community based short term housing has played an important role in the success of these alternatives but the housing options need to be further expanded.
SHORT TERM HOUSING RECOMMENDATION #8: Housing Support for Accountability Courts Create a grant program for housing providers working with Accountability Courts to provide housing for persons who would otherwise not be able to participate in the services of an Accountability Court due to lack of housing. Appropriate additional funds to the Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless administered by the Department of Community Affairs so faith based and other providers can participate in the grant program. Begin the program with a pilot of 20 grants of $50, 000 each and secure data on the outcome of the pilot program.
SHORT TERM HOUSING RECOMMENDATION #9: Expand the Reentry Partnership Housing (RPH) Program RPH provides three months of support post release by paying providers $600 per month. $675 person for four months for persons with SPMI). Expand the RPH program by recruiting new providers in the parts of the state that currently do not have participants and where the demand for such housing is greater than the available providers. Increase the provider support payments per participant which have not changed over the 10 year life of the program and add to the length of stay under the current program.
IMPROVE DISCHARGE PLANNING While there is growing community support for returning citizens, the time and obstacles to connect persons to the supports is a significant barrier. It is important to increase the availability of supports that can be incorporated in the discharge plan as people leave jail and prison. RECOMMENDATION #10: Georgia should follow the lead of many other states and change policy to suspend Medicaid enrollment upon incarceration rather than terminate it. This will give quicker access to Medicaid upon release and provide retuning citizen with a disability needed access to the behavioral health services, medications and substance abuse treatment they will need in the community. (Supported by ACCG)
IMPROVE DISCHARGE PLANNING RECOMMENDATION #11: Insure that all persons have a state issued ID card upon release from prison or jail. Returning citizens cannot access housing, employment, or benefits until they have an official state ID, a process that is expensive and time consuming, and serves as a significant barrier to successful reentry. Institute pre-release strategies partnering the Department of Driver’s Services (DDS), The Department of Public Health ( DPH) Vital Records Unit, and the Department of Corrections or Sheriffs Departments at the county jail to insure that an official state identification card (or state driver’s license) is provided to all returning citizens on the day of release from jail or prison. Note: Initial data shows that 44% of persons within a year of release from state prison have all the needed documentation at the Department of Driver Safety to provide an ID upon release. The Department of Corrections is beginning to provide these IDs at its expense. (At present, the 2, 000 persons released from Transitional Centers leave with an ID in hand. ) Continuing efforts are necessary to facilitate the issuance of ID for the remaining population which involves access to birth certificates, proof of citizenship, social security cards, photographs that meet DDS requirements, etc. Additionally, cooperation is needed between city and county jail administrators, DDS, and DPH to develop a system to insure that persons leaving jails have state issued ID in hand.
IMPROVE DISCHARGE PLANNING RECOMMENDATION #12: Identify persons with disabilities who were receiving or who are likely to be eligible for the SSI or SSDI benefits of Social Security and begin the restoration or application process during incarceration to facilitate prompt receipt of benefits upon release. RECOMMENDATION #13: The Department of Community Supervision should expand its Prison Reentry Initiative model for local community based reentry collaboratives that bring together Department of Corrections, Sheriffs Departments, Public Defenders, Community Service Boards, non-profit and faith based community service providers, legal services programs, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities in every county to facilitate reentry for all persons leaving prison or jail. Look to the GRIP program in Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale, the Nick Program in De. Kalb, and the Macon Reentry Coalition as programs that can assist in development of a model that builds on their work. Use the Family Connections Partnership paradigm of a public-private partnership with state level expertise and continuing responsibility to support the creation of local collaboratives statewide.
“We raise up [our] voice[s] – not so [we] can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. ” -- Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Laureate Elizabeth J. Appley Attorney at Law Experienced Advocacy in Legislative, Judicial and Executive Branches eja@appleylaw. com (404) 523 -3800 230 Peachtree Street, N. W. , Suite 1950 Atlanta, Georgia 30303
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