Reentry Coalition of NJ:
Homelessness and Prisoner
Reentry
Kristin Miller
June 22, 2017
The Source for
Housing Solutions
Homelessness is an institutional
circuit
Drug
Treatment
Shelter
Psych
Center
Jail
Hospital
Detox
(IPT)
Street
Emergency
Room
Breaking the Cycle
“In order to end homelessness, we
must reduce the number of people who
enter the criminal justice system from
homelessness and prevent
homelessness among people leaving
criminal justice settings.”
~ USICH, August 2016
What is Supportive Housing
Permanent, affordable,
independent, tenant centered,
flexible, targeted
4
FUSE
Frequent Users Systems Engagement: FUSE
Thousands of people
with chronic health
conditions cycle
through jails,
diversion courts,
hospital ED’s and
homelessness - at
great public expense
and with limited
positive human
outcomes
Targeted
supportive
housing for this
most vulnerable
and costly of this
group can reduce
costs while getting
better outcomes
By finding a
solution to the
frequent user
issue, the FUSE
program serves as
a catalyst for
system change
FUSE
 Providing frequent users of systems with safe,
stable supportive housing leads to:
Increased…
Decreased…
Evaluation Results:
FUSE Reduces Recidivism in NYC
Results from Columbia
University’s evaluation of
the New York City FUSE
program, released in
November 2013
 40% fewer jail days
 91% fewer shelter days
 50% fewer psychiatric
inpatient
hospitalizations (not
shown)
 Cost benefit analysis
showed $15,000 in
savings per client
35 Communities Strong
Hennepin Co
FUSE
King Co FACT
Washtenaw
FUSE/SIF
Detroit FUSE
Columbus BJA
FUSE
Lane Co. FUSE Planning
Pittsburgh FUSE
Iowa City FUSE
- Planning
KCC/SIF
Denver FUSE
Chicago FUSE
Penn Place FUSE
(Indy)
Clark Co FUSE Planning
Louisville ACT
10th Decile Project
Just in Reach 2.0
Project 25
Rhode Island FUSE
CT FUSE
CT SIF
Hudson Co
NYC JISH
FUSE
Wash. DC FUSE
Fredericksburg FUSE
Richmond FUSE
MeckFUSE
Maricopa Co
FUSE
Travis Co
BJA
Tarrant Co. FUSE
Orlando Hospital FUSE
Re-entry FUSE
Health FUSE
Health + Reentry focused FUSE
Integrated Care
for the
Chronically
Homeless
Houston 1185
Program
Palm Beach County FUSEPlanning
Miami Coalition LIFT –
Planning
Accessing Rental Housing:
Barriers
Lack of
affordability
Poor credit
history
Tight rental
housing
markets
Literacy and
language
barriers
Lack of
security
deposit
Criminal or
poor rental
history
Discrimination
HUD Notice on Arrests
Examples
Boston Housing
Authority
 NYCHA’s Family Reunification Program
 95 people reunited with family living in
NYCHA housing
 Criteria: exited jail or prison within last 3
years; family agrees to reunification;
participant agrees to minimum 6 months case
management with reentry service provider
 Outcomes: 9 people now on lease or living
independently, 7 more planned on lease next
month; permanent exclusion policy reexamined
 Replicated in Syracuse, Schenectady and
White Plains
Justice Involved SH (prelim. data)


Deep targeting: 5/5/4 = jail stays and shelter stays
in 4 years, most have mental health and
substance use issues; assigned from list
90% retention rate
Enrolled in Medicaid
73%
Participated in SU Treatment 2016
68%
Participated in MH Treatment 2016
74%
Visited ER in 2016
25%
Had Hospital stay of at least 1 night in 2016
14%
“JISH’s great innovation is to use data already
available to City government to pre-qualify people for
supportive housing. This rapid placement process plus
intense support services has enabled JISH providers
to demonstrate that persons with long histories of
cycling through jail and shelter can succeed in
permanent housing.”
Dr. Mary Bassett, Commissioner, NYC DOHMH
NYS HCR: Reducing Barriers
Resources
 CSH PHA Toolkit 
http://www.csh.org/phatoolkit
 HUD Re-Entry Guide  google, “It
Starts with Housing”
 Shriver Center “When Discretion
Meets Denial” 
http://www.povertylaw.org/wdmd