Evaluation of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and Corporation for Supportive Housing's Pilot Program

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Abstract

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and the Corporation for Supportive Housing Ohio Office developed a pilot program that provides permanent supportive housing to individuals released from several Ohio prisons. The Pilot intends to reduce recidivism and homelessness/shelter usage and decrease the costs associated with multiple service system use. The Urban Institute is evaluating the Pilot to explore whether it is meeting its intended goals. This Interim Report covers the first year of the evaluation—describing the Pilot and its eligibility requirements; the UI evaluation methods; and the characteristics and preliminary outcomes of the Pilot's first 57 clients.

Introduction

In March 2007, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) and the Corporation for Supportive Housing Ohio Office (CSH) joined forces to develop a pilot program designed to provide permanent supportive housing to individuals returning from selected prisons throughout the state of Ohio. These institutions include: the Allen, Chillicothe, Grafton, Hocking, London, Lorain, Madison, Marion, Pickaway, and Trumbull Correctional Institutions, the Ohio Reformatory for Women, and the Franklin and Northeastern Prerelease Centers. The pilot, funded primarily by ODRC, but also a part of CSH's national Returning Home Initiative, has three main goals: (1) to reduce recidivism; (2) to reduce homelessness/decrease shelter usage; and (3) to decrease the costs associated with multiple service use across the criminal justice, housing/homelessness, and mental health service systems. Enrollment of clients in the pilot began that same spring.

The Urban Institute (UI) was asked by ODRC and CSH to develop an evaluation for the pilot. The evaluation relies on multiple methods to assess the impact of the pilot and whether the costs associated with the pilot outweigh the benefits. As part of the evaluation, UI was asked to complete an interim report documenting client characteristics and outcomes after one year. As such, this Interim Report covers the first year of the pilot evaluation—October 2007 through September 2008. The study details the status of the UI evaluation, including descriptive statistics and preliminary outcomes for the pilot's first 57 clients.¹ The report begins by briefly outlining the Returning Home Initiative, the model for the pilot program, and how the UI evaluation will examine the extent to which the pilot is meeting its intended goals. The majority of this report is focused on describing client characteristics and preliminary outcomes, based on information provided by the housing providers and ODRC. The report concludes by discussing the remaining steps for the evaluation, which will be completed in years two and three of the pilot.

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