Updated June 15, 2021

For many people in the criminal justice system, finding safe and stable housing is a top priority. Yet limited affordable housing options, coupled with policy barriers and stigmas associated with a criminal record, present significant challenges. Many people in the justice system also have significant behavioral health needs that make it difficult for them to secure housing. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) includes more than $12 billion dedicated to housing and supportive services and additional flexible funding to states and localities that can be used to help people in the justice system quickly find and maintain affordable housing.

[1] A Continuum of Care (CoC) is a local planning entity that, among other activities, receives homeless assistance funding for housing and supportive services from HUD, prioritizes housing and services projects for funding, and coordinates intake and prioritization of people for housing and shelter placements. HUD requires that all CoCs maintain a Coordinated Entry System, a unified system of intake and prioritization that governs access to all housing and supportive service resources under the CoC’s jurisdiction.

The ARP provides for an additional $350 billion in State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds for communities to address local fiscal priorities in response to the pandemic. Learn more about how to use these funds to advance safety and justice goals in our guide. State, local, and tribal governments can request recovery funds directly through the Treasury’s website.

1. Deploy rental assistance to immediately reduce homelessness for people leaving the justice system: Rental assistance measures, such as emergency housing vouchers, allow communities to quickly move people into permanent housing. Together, justice system leaders, PHAs, and housing services providers can determine how to prioritize people in the justice system for this assistance. In addition, PHAs receiving these vouchers should consider removing leasing restrictions on people with criminal histories in their Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Plans.  

2. Expand affordable, permanent housing: The ARP is a rare infusion of substantial new federal resources for developing permanent housing, so criminal justice leaders should begin conversations early with state and local governments on prioritizing people involved with the justice system. Many projects will still need to leverage other funding to meet development costs, such as Low–Income Housing Tax Credits. State and local governments can also match funding for projects targeting people in the justice system to incentivize these developments. Successful new housing projects can serve as “proof of concept” to attract support for future development, including through outcomes-based models like “Pay for Success,” which tie funding to measurable progress and achievements.

3. Use housing as a platform to address complex care needs: By adopting a “Housing First” approach, new housing programs can connect people to permanent housing without preconditions such as sobriety or treatment engagement. This has been shown to increase housing retention and reduce future justice involvement while reducing costs to other public systems and providing a platform for recovery. Local leaders can couple this approach with the Permanent Supportive Housing model, which pairs affordable housing with intensive support services like case management and behavioral health treatment for people with the highest needs.