Cityscape: Volume 25 Number 2 | Reentry Housing After Jail or Prison | Rental Assistance and a Fresh Start to Spur Criminal Desistance: Evidence From a Pilot Housing Experiment

The goal of Cityscape is to bring high-quality original research on housing and community development issues to scholars, government officials, and practitioners. Cityscape is open to all relevant disciplines, including architecture, consumer research, demography, economics, engineering, ethnography, finance, geography, law, planning, political science, public policy, regional science, sociology, statistics, and urban studies.

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Reentry Housing After Jail or Prison

Volume 25 Number 2

Mark D. Shroder

Michelle P. Matuga

Addressing Homelessness Among People With Justice Involvement: Los Angeles County’s Just in Reach Pay for Success Demonstration Project

Sarah B. Hunter
RAND Corporation

Stephanie Mercier
Corporation for Supportive Housing

This article provides an overview of the implementation and outcomes of Los Angeles County’s first Pay for Success (PFS) initiative. In 2017, the county initiated a program to provide long-term housing and supportive services as an alternative to jail for individuals with a history of homelessness and chronic health conditions using a PFS model. The PFS model included two primary investors, two funding partners, an intermediary team that monitored the implementation and outcome metrics, and an independent evaluation team responsible for evaluating the program’s overall effect. The county operated the program with support from a housing rental assistance and navigation service provider and a team of intensive case management service providers. Participants were enrolled during a 2-year period, and outcomes following post-supportive housing placement were observed along with trends among a comparison group of similar individuals who were not enrolled in the program. In this article, the authors bring together information about program operations, the funding model and outcomes from the metric monitoring, and the broader impact evaluation to highlight Los Angeles County’s experience of applying PFS to supportive housing provision for people involved with the justice system.