Area of Expertise: Justice and Reentry Systems

Twenty years ago, CSH developed the FUSE (Frequently Used Systems Engagement) model to deliver a transformative solution that aligns housing, health, and justice systems to provide supportive housing and coordinated care. With a proven track record of success, FUSE has become a national model for cross-sector collaboration and data-driven intervention.

For 20 years, CSH has partnered with communities across the country to identify people with complex needs who frequently cycle through emergency systems—such as shelters, hospitals, and jails—and connect them to the housing and services they need to break the cycle, achieve stability, and thrive.

This brief highlights 4 communities that have successfully implemented FUSE. Partners share their lessons learned and the lasting impact that FUSE has had on systems, residents, and communities.

This resource is intended to support health centers in identifying some important components to effective programming for HIV+ individuals leaving carceral settings to ensure smooth linkage to care and housing following discharge.

Our work in supportive housing has shown repeatedly that people with incarceration histories can be successful tenants when connected with appropriate housing and services. Further, it is a smart public investment that reduces crisis and institutional costs and increases public safety. Still, there are many misconceptions around providing housing to residents with justice system involvement. In this document, we break down common myths for landlords and property managers regarding renting to people who have conviction and arrest history records. This document was created in collaboration with people with lived expertise of homelessness and the justice system. By dispelling common myths about people with justice system involvement, we can remove barriers to housing.

This guide helps supportive housing providers improve their relationships with local law enforcement. Fostering positive relationships between supportive housing staff and law enforcement can lead to better outcomes for supportive housing tenants and the broader community.

This includes reducing emergency response, addressing root causes around law enforcement engagement (e.g. mental health needs), enhancing public safety, and reducing criminalization of tenants. By working together, supportive housing providers and law enforcement can create a more compassionate and effective approach to addressing homelessness. 

Supportive Housing is an evidence-based solution that combines affordable housing with tenant-centered support services to help people who face complex health challenges, including mental health and substance use disorders, get and stay housed. It’s been shown to reduce returns to jail and homelessness, as well as engagement with emergency services such as shelters, emergency rooms, and law enforcement.

In New York City, Justice Involved Supportive Housing (JISH) is specifically designed for individuals leaving Rikers who are at risk of homelessness and in need of behavioral health support. It aims to keep them stably housed and prevent further use of jails, shelter, and/or other emergency services.

This template is a resource for housing providers and property managers to use as they implement a background screening process that improves fairness and lowers barriers for people who have historically been excluded from housing opportunities.

The template can be used as is or adjusted to suit the needs of the community.

While the most fair and efficient process for filling housing units would be to eliminate background checks entirely, or use a policy that is the least restrictive possible, this template can help housing providers create a process that aims to improve fairness if they do opt to utilize a background screening.

This resource outlines best practices for housing providers who want to promote more fairness and reduce applicant denials based on conviction history. These best practices are intended to help housing providers screen more applicants in, rather than screen them out.

These best practices are non-exhaustive and are based on emerging practices informed by research and expertise from the housing field. Today, the housing field is continuing to evolve. Research is growing to support more fair screening practices and policies related to tenants with conviction or arrest histories.

This guide can be used as a starting point as providers begin developing tenant selection policies. The adoption of this guidance is encouraged but strictly voluntary, and does not carry with it any statutory conditions or requirements.

This resource presents frequently asked questions and answers regarding background screening processes. This FAQ resource addresses the most common concerns when building fair tenant screening policies for supportive housing.

The New York City Frequent Users System Engagement program (FUSE) was part of the CSH’s Returning Home Initiative, a multi-year effort of public, inter-agency collaboration and investment that provided supportive housing for people cycling between incarceration and homelessness. NYC FUSE targeted persons with recurring homelessness and incarceration, most of whom challenged also by health, mental health, and/or substance use issues.

Columbia University researchers evaluated FUSE by comparing program participants with a closely matched comparison group of “frequent users.” This evaluation found that supportive housing significantly reduced participants’ (re)admissions to and time spent in jail and homeless shelters and their use of crisis healthcare services. These reductions resulted in significantly lower costs for publicly supported services, offsetting housing and other program costs. Results have inspired jurisdictions throughout the US to launch similar efforts.

Now, 10 years later, the FUSE Long Term Study presents a unique opportunity to examine stable housing as a critical component of successful community reentry, not simply in the short term but over people’s lives.

How to Assess the Landscape of Background Screening in your Community

Criminal background screenings are a significant barrier to accessing housing for people involved in the justice system. It is crucial to understand how these screening procedures operate in each community to address the unfair impact of criminal background screenings in housing applications.

A “Landscape Assessment” can help identify trends in screening procedures and areas for reducing barriers. CSH designed this Landscape Assessment tool to help you conduct a comprehensive analysis of criminal background screening procedures in your community that can reduce barriers to housing and lead to recovery and stability for people involved in the justice system.