The Influence of State and Regional Factors on Public Housing Restrictiveness

• In Event: Housing and Collateral Consequences

Abstract

While some states (e.g., Delaware Family Reentry Program) and cities (New York City’s Family reentry pilot) have moved towards piloting family reunification programs to connect recently released individuals with their families in public housing; access to public housing for individuals with criminal histories is still largely dependent upon individual public housing authorities (PHAs). While prior research has documented variation in policy restrictiveness, the influence of state and regional factors (e.g., political party affiliation, housing markets, population, urban v. rural) remains unclear. To address this gap, this study examines geographic differences in public housing policies using policy provisions from 645 county-level PHAs to measure restrictiveness. Multilevel modeling will be employed to assess variations while accounting for the nested structure of PHAs within counties and states. Preliminary findings suggest that PHAs in the Southern and Northeast regions maintain more restrictive policies than housing agencies in the West and Midwest. The study will also provide significant implications for future policy reform and state-wide changes.

Author

• Selena Munoz-Jones, University of Colorado Boulder