In 2006, CSH partnered with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) to design a reentry supportive housing pilot, Returning Home Ohio, that provided pre-release coordination and post-release supportive housing to people with a disability who were homeless at the time of arrest and/or at risk of homelessness upon release. An evaluation report released August 15 describes the rigorous evaluation conducted by the Urban Institute to measure rates of rearrest, recidivism and returns to homelessness among Returning Home Ohio participants, and determine the pilot’s cost-effectiveness. The evaluators found that during a one year follow up period:
- Participants were significantly less likely to be rearrested for misdemeanors.
- Participants were significantly less likely to be reincarcerated.
- Very few individuals – in either the treatment or control group – used emergency shelter.
- Participants received more community-based services, particularly mental health and substance abuse services.
“We are incredibly encouraged by the promising results from the evaluation and will use them to identify what additional steps need to be taken in order to continue reducing offender recidivism, thus keeping Ohio’s communities safe,” says ODRC Director Gary Mohr.
For more, read CSH President Deb De Santis’s thoughts about the work in Ohio in her recent Huffington Post blog.
