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| Topics and Issues | Background checks (71) FOIA (11) |
In May 2022, HUD posted to its website, Tenant Screening with Criminal Background Checks: Predictions and Perceptions Are Not Causality. The post was under “Message From PD&R Senior Leadership” and comes from Calvin Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Research, Evaluation, and Monitoring.
In June 2022, HudsonCook, a D.C.-based law firm, filed a FOIA request with HUD seeking documents reflecting or relating to communications connected to the development of the posting.
The post notes that
[c]riminal history is not a good predictor of housing success. A study of housing outcomes among tenants participating in an intervention based on the Housing First model found that the performance of tenants with a criminal history was similar to that of participants without a criminal history. Although few studies examine the association between criminal history and housing success, no empirical evidence exists to justify a ‘blanket exclusion’ of people with criminal histories from housing.
Looking at the data
In some instances, the HUD post refers to sources but does not offer citations or links. Below are places where citations are missing and we infer the authority on which the blog post relies.
Housing First
The HUD post refers to sources but does not offer citations or links. The Housing First model noted above, which purports to find that “the performance of tenants with a criminal history was similar to that of participants without a criminal” may be referring to a 2019 report in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. This study looked at a Canadian program, “Housing First,” which “provides immediate access to subsidised housing along with support services to homeless people, including those with mental illness.” The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry study concluded that
Housing First, on average, has little impact on criminal justice involvement. Community services such as Housing First are potentially an important setting to put in place strategies to reduce criminal justice involvement. However, forensic mental health approaches such as risk assessment and management strategies and interventions may need to be integrated into existing services to better address potential underlying individual criminogenic risk factors. Further outcome assessment studies would be necessary./1/
“Few studies examine the association between criminal history and housing”
The HUD post also notes that while “few studies examine the association between criminal history and housing success, no empirical evidence exists to justify a ‘blanket exclusion’ of people with criminal histories from housing.” There is no citation to support this point, although it could also be referring back to the CJP study.
/1/ Leclair MC, Deveaux F, Roy L, Goulet MH, Latimer EA, Crocker AG. The Impact of Housing First on Criminal Justice Outcomes among Homeless People with Mental Illness: A Systematic Review. Can J Psychiatry. 2019 Aug;64(8):525-530. doi: 10.1177/0706743718815902. Epub 2019 Jan 6. PMID: 30612450; PMCID: PMC6659163.