No Home of One’s Own: An Examination of Restrictive Public Housing Policies Across U.S. Counties

• In Event: Public Policy and Collateral Consequences

Abstract

Background: Access to public housing for people with criminal histories is largely determined via discretion permitted in individual public housing authority (PHA) policies. While variation in public housing policies has been documented by previous studies, explanations for such variation remain scarce. This study seeks to test if ethnic/racial composition and political party affiliation of a county can help explain the variation in public housing policies for previously incarcerated individuals.

Methods: Using policy provisions found in county public housing policies (n=227), I used factor analysis to create a quantitative scale to measure public housing restrictiveness in PHAs located in counties with populations at or above 200,000. Further, using OLS models, I test if public housing restrictiveness can be explained by county race/ethnicity estimates and county voting records.

Results: Preliminary results suggest an interaction between county racial/ethnic composition and county political party affiliation may help explain the variation in restrictiveness of county housing policies, specifically for counties that are politically conservative and have a high proportion of Black residents.

Conclusion: This study will produce detailed information on housing criteria in the U.S. and its correlates, which can help address the larger issue of housing stability for people with criminal histories.

Author

• Selena Munoz-Jones, University of Colorado Boulder