Guide for Developing Housing for Ex-Offenders

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In response to a need expressed by those throughout the offender reentry community and those who represent them, Cheri Nolan, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, organized a focus group to examine the issues related to developing a guide for providing housing for ex-offenders. Represented in the group were people with a wide range of experi­ ence and commitment. The group indicated a willingness to look at innovative approaches, collaborative partnerships, and strategic plans for moving this initiative forward. The scale of the challenge of provid­ ing housing for ex-offenders requires developing new models. In response to the magnitude of the task, the focus group’s discussions centered around not only exploring past research and experience but also pursuing new directions.

As anyone who has attempted to design and develop a major program such as this can attest, implementation is much more than simply identifying a group of stakeholders and selecting the program com­ ponents to be applied. This guide is intended as a tool to help inter­ ested groups by presenting a step-by-step approach for developing housing for ex-offenders.1 It is based on suggestions from people experienced in working with this and similar populations. There is not simply one best way to accomplish this task, rather there may be many paths that lead to successful operations. Some of the important variables in this equation are:

• The specific segment of the population to be served.
• The type of housing to be provided.
• Stakeholders to be included in each phase.
• Source and availability of funds.
• Management capacity for the program.