Research Brief
A Los Angeles Supportive Housing Program Interrupted the Cycle Between Jail and Homelessness—and Largely Paid for Itself
Aug 16, 2022
In 2017, Los Angeles County initiated the Just in Reach Pay for Success project, which aimed to provide long-term housing and supportive services as an alternative to jail for individuals who had a history of homelessness and one or more chronic behavioral or physical health conditions. This report examines whether the program was associated with reduced use of county services, including justice, health, and homeless services.
Impact Evaluation and Cost Analysis of a Permanent Supportive Housing Program
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Discharging individuals from jails and prisons who may be poorly equipped for independent living—such as those with a history of chronic health conditions, including serious mental illness—is likely to reinforce a pattern of homelessness and recidivism. Permanent supportive housing (PSH)—which combines a long-term housing subsidy with supportive services—has been proposed as a mechanism to intervene directly on this relationship between housing and health.
In Los Angeles County, jail has become a default housing and services provider to unhoused individuals with serious mental health issues. In 2017, the county initiated the Just in Reach Pay for Success (JIR PFS) project, which provided PSH as an alternative to jail for individuals with a history of homelessness and chronic behavioral or physical health conditions.
The authors of this report assessed whether the project led to changes in use of several county services, including justice, health, and homeless services. The authors examined changes in county service use, before and after incarceration, by JIR PFS participants and a comparison control group and found that use of jail services was significantly reduced after JIR PFS PSH placement, while the use of mental health and other services increased. The researchers assess that the net cost of the program is highly uncertain but that it may pay for itself in terms of reducing the use of other county services and therefore provide a cost-neutral means of addressing homelessness among individuals with chronic health conditions involved with the justice system in Los Angeles County.
Chapter One
Background
Chapter Two
Methods
Chapter Three
Results
Chapter Four
Discussion
Appendix A
Cost Estimates
Appendix B
Data Cleaning and Processing
Appendix C
Substance Abuse Prevention and Control Data
Appendix D
Service Use and Costs Estimates
Appendix E
Sensitivity Analyses
This research was sponsored by the project financing of the JIR PFS initiative through JIR PFS, LLC, and a grant awarded to the Corporation of Supportive Housing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development/U.S. Department of Justice Pay for Success Permanent Supportive Housing Demonstration Program. The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported by funding under an award with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This research was conducted by the Community Health and Environmental Policy Program within RAND Social and Economic Well-Being.
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