Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Housing Committee
                           JOINT FAVORABLE REPORT
    Bill No.: HB-5242
               AN ACT CONCERNING THE RISK OF HOMELESSNESS FOR THOSE
        Title: RELEASED FROM THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION.
 Vote Date: 3/10/2020
Vote Action: JF To Appropriations
   PH Date: 2/27/2020
    File No.:
Disclaimer: The following JOINT FAVORABLE Report is prepared for the benefit of the
members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and
explanation and does not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber
thereof for any purpose.
SPONSORS OF BILL:
The Housing Committee
Co-Sponsors: Rep. David Michel, 146th Dist.& Sen. Saud Anwar, 3rd Dist.& Rep. Jeff Currey,
11th Dist.
REASONS FOR BILL:
Transitional programs are necessary to assist those exiting incarceration to provide housing
opportunities to prevent them from exiting into homelessness. Early screening prior to an
inmate's release date would provide enough time to obtain services through United Way.
Programs that assist the formerly incarcerated obtain housing help to reduce recidivism.
RESPONSE FROM ADMINISTRATION/AGENCY:
Christine Perra Rapillo, Chief Public Defender  Division of Public Defender Services  State
of Connecticut  supports  As drafted the bill would focus on persons who may become
homeless upon release from incarceration by assessing housing needs including
homelessness risk, family support, prior employment and housing searches for utilization in
the person's re-entry plan. Section 2 of the bill mandates the Departments of Correction and
Housing create a returning home program to assist persons released on parole or to a
supervised community setting. A report to the General Assembly is required regarding
homelessness and needs of incarcerated persons. Obtaining stable housing is one of the
main challenges our clients face when reentering the community from incarceration. While
the Department of Correction makes efforts to ensure that returning citizens have safe living
arrangements, resources are limited and particularly challenging for individuals being
discharged at the end of a sentence. Any attention or resources that can be devoted to
increasing housing options for returning citizens will help improve their outcomes and
enhance public safety.
Trina Sexton- Director of Reentry Services & Erin Forrest, Counselor Supervisor  Reentry
Services, Department of Corrections  State of Connecticut  supports -The Department of
Corrections is committed to providing programs and services to help prepare individuals for
successful reentry. Housing is the foundation to successful reentry yet securing stable, safe
housing is one of the greatest challenges for some of the men and women returning to the
community. In a review of research conducted on a national level, the connection between
incarceration and homelessness is well documented. Those experiencing multiple
incarcerations are likely to have higher rates of homelessness. Individuals cycling in and out
of the correctional system are more likely to experience housing instability or homelessness
prior to admission.
Of note, the proposed language of the revised risk assessment strategy in this bill requires
the Department of Correction to "screen all offenders [] to assess their housing needs and
homelessness risk" and that "such assessment shall be used to inform the offender's reentry
plan under section 2 of this act." While the agency supports the concept, this cannot
be done within available appropriations. The Department of Correction recommends the
homelessness screening apply only to the sentenced population in alignment with most
aspects of the risk assessment strategy.
The Department of Correction is committed to working with the CT Coalition to End
Homelessness to develop a homeless screening and assessment tool that will likely be
incorporated into an existing review process that assesses community resource needs
throughout the individual's sentence. This mechanism can be modified to capture risk of
homelessness in additional to other pertinent reentry related needs.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF SUPPORT:
Kathleen Flaherty  Esq - Executive Director - CT Legal Rights Project Inc  P.O. Box 351
Middletown, CT 06457  supports - We know that people returning to the community from DOC
custody face barriers to housing. HB 5242 would prevent people from being discharged from
corrections into homelessness. I urge this committee to support the bill.
Richard Cho - Chief Executive Officer & Sarah Fox - Director of Advocacy and Community Impact
- Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness (CCEH) - 257 Lawrence Street, Hartford CT 06106
 supports and believes that this bill will help to address a major driver of homelessness in our
state, which is involvement in the criminal justice system. Data analysis that my organization has
conducted found that 20 percent of people who wind up in homeless shelters in our state are
people who have been recently released from the Department of Correction (DOC) custody. That
amount is equivalent to approximately 1,200 people every year who are in shelters. This number
does not even include people released from the Department of Correction who wind up homeless
on the streets, in tents, or sleeping in vehicles. We also know that a significant number of
homeless men and women are also under probation supervision. Our data analysis also showed
that incarceration did not cause homelessness among the majority of individuals, but rather, most
individuals have been going around a revolving door between prisons and homelessness for
decades: individuals enter prisons, are released to homelessness, fail to comply with their
probation or parole supervision or are rearrested, and wind up back in prison and the whole cycle
repeats itself. This is not only a human tragedy, but a failure of our public systems.
                                                                          Page 2 of 5 HB-5242
The solution is to provide the Department of Correction with the tools, the resources, and the
accountability for preventing homelessness (or returns to homelessness) among people
discharged from prisons.
We believe that HB 5242 would provide DOC with these tools, resources, and accountability:
 We agree that the Department of Correction should screen all inmates entering DOC custody
for housing needs and homelessness risk so they can proactively identify which inmates will
require housing assistance.
  We agree that DOC should work with the Department of Housing to develop an evidence-
based program to assist people reentering the community from prison to obtain stable housing in
the community. We think this program should be modeled after successful models like rapid re-
housing in which community-based non-profit organizations are contracted to provide housing
search and navigation, housing application assistance, and short-term rental assistance for
people released from DOC who are identified as having prior homelessness histories or being at-
risk of homelessness. This type of model has been shown to successfully house people at a cost
of approximately $7,600 per person, including rental assistance and services.
  We agree that DOC should report on outcomes and also to report on how many people are in
need of housing assistance, how many are served, what their outcomes are, and how many
identified did not receive assistance.
  We agree with the idea that we should track the impact of this program to see if we are cutting
the number of people released from DOC in the last three years who wind up homeless from the
current baseline of 1,200 per year.
 We think this program should ideally be funded at a $3 million level thatat a per person cost
of $7,600would enable DOC to serve nearly 400 individuals per year, which should enable
DOC to bring the number of people who experience post incarceration homelessness from 1,200
to zero within three years. We also think HB 5242 could be strengthened by expanding its scope
to include a focus on preventing and addressing homelessness among probationers. This could
include:
 Requiring the Court Support Services Division (CSSD) at the Judicial Branch to screen and
track homelessness and housing status among probationers,
 Requiring CSSD to work with the Department of Housing to create a similar housing program
for probationers and providing $3 million in funding to support this program to serve 400
probationers every year,
 Requiring CSSD to track and report on the impact of this program on reducing recidivism
among probationers.
With these additions, HB 5242 would have the impact of decreasing the number of people who
enter homeless services by 20%.
 In addition, HB 5242 would have greater impacts on public safetyreducing rates of arrests,
technical violations, and convictions among people released from prison and who are under
probation supervision. We believe it will ultimately save taxpayer dollars while also helping people
to rebuild their lives, rather than stay on a revolving door between prison and homelessness.
Kiley Gosselin  Executive Director  Partnership For Strong Communities  227 Lawrence
Street, Hartford, CT 06106  supports House Bill No. 5242 and its purpose to require the
Department of Correction to assess the risk of homelessness for incarcerated persons
released from its custody, create a program to address such homelessness, and measure the
extent of such homelessness. Individuals exiting the criminal justice system are at a much
higher risk of experiencing homelessness. Increasing supports to successfully transition out
of the criminal justice system into housing could lead to a decrease in homelessness and
housing instability for this vulnerable population.
                                                                            Page 3 of 5 HB-5242
Elizabeth Hines  Executive Director  Community Partners in Action  supports  our staff are
on the front line of reentry and have observed the significant challenges people face when they
discharge from prison to homelessness. We are deeply concerned about the large number of
people who are being discharged into homelessness after prison. Therefore, we strongly
support an approach that would reduce the number of people discharging from prison into
homelessness.
Cathleen Meaden  Director of Housing Services  Columbus House  New Haven, CT 
supports  I have worked in the housing field for over 25 years with a significant concentration on
the housing of individuals leaving the criminal justice system for over 15 years. I currently
oversee the CSSD pilot program for Rapid ReHousing of individuals on probation. I previously
ran the Re-Entry Assisted Community Housing (REACH) program for 10 years. During this time
one thing has become increasingly clear to me. If we are really invested in reducing recidivism
and reducing the size of the prison population then we MUST address housing.
In order to survive at the most basic level human beings need air, food, water and shelter. We
would never say someone has to earn the right to air, food or water. We understand it as a
necessity to life. Yet, we have historically said that housing is something that must be earned. I
hope that you choose to support Raised Bill No. 5242 and expand it to the CSSD population.
Julia Wilcox, Manager of Advocacy & Public Policy, The Alliance  75 Charter Oak Avenue Suite
1-100 , Bldg. One, Hartford, CT 06106  supports - The Alliance and our members, are greatly
concerned about the extensive numbers of individuals who are being discharged into
homelessness, following their release from incarceration. We commend the Committee for your
leadership and vision, in raising HB 5242, which stands to play a critical role in addressing many
areas of concern. The correlation between homelessness and involvement in the criminal justice
system, is well documented. In March 2019, the Connecticut Coalition to End Homeless (CCEH)
provided the Office of Policy and Management with data from Jan 1, 2016 to Jan 1, 2019 -
retrieved from the Homeless Management Information System, to cross match with the states
criminal justice databases. The key findings are staggering:  8,187(48%) of persons who used
the shelters between 2016 to 2019 had a DOC record  3,562 (21%) of persons who used the
shelters within 2016 to 2019 were also released from DOC within same time frame.
The Alliance supports the concepts and recommendations presented in H.B. 5242, including:
 Screening of all inmates entering DOC custody for housing needs and homelessness risk
 Collaboration between DOC and the Department of Housing to develop an evidence-based
program to assist people reentering the community from prison to obtain stable housing in the
community
 Reporting of outcomes by DOC regarding the number of individuals in need of housing
assistance, the number served and numbers who are under-served
  Tracking of the impact of this program to determine long-term outcomes. In addition, The
Alliance recommends the following additional considerations:
 Expanding the scope of this legislation by including a focus on preventing and addressing
homelessness among probationers as follows:
       o Require the Court Support Services Division (CSSD) of the Judicial Branch to screen
and track homelessness and housing status among probationers
        o Require CSSD to work with the Department of Housing to create a similar housing
program for probationers o Require CSSD to track and report on the impact of this program on
reducing recidivism among probationers.
We urge the Committee to support H.B. 5242, and to consider the recommendations of The
Alliance, as noted. Thank you for your consideration of these important issues.
                                                                           Page 4 of 5 HB-5242
Kelly McConney Moore  Policy Counsel  ACLU - 765 Asylum Avenue, First Floor Hartford, CT
06105  supports - All people in Connecticut, including people who have a criminal record, have
the right to safe and stable housing. Yet at any given time, approximately 25 percent of the states
homeless population are also living with a criminal record.1 Without stable and safe housing, it
can be difficult for people reentering society to obtain and keep employment. Lack of stable
housing can also contribute to increased recidivism for people who are formerly incarcerated.2
For these reasons, the ACLU-CT applauds the intention of House Bill 5242, which requires the
Department of Correction to evaluate the risks for each person reaching the end of their
incarceration, and to track and report figures for homelessness among people who have recently
returned to their communities. The bills plan to create a partnership between the Department of
Correction and the Department of Housing to provide housing assessment to people assessed to
at risk of homelessness is also an important step in ensuring stable and affordable housing for
people returning home from incarceration. We support all these efforts.
This bill, however, could do even more for people reentering the community by prohibiting
housing discrimination against them. The ACLU-CT urges this Committee to support this bill and
to amend it to make it even more effective and robust.
Several folks from the City of New Haven provided testimony in support of HB-5242.
Mayor of the City of New Haven  Justin Elicker
Aicha Woods  Director of the City Plan department
Rafael Ramos  Livable Cities Initiative
Alderperson Evette Hamilton 
Dr. Karen Dubois-Walton - Housing Authority Director
Jenna Montesano  Deputy Director of City Plan for Zoning & Habitat for Humanity of Greater
New Haven.
This bill takes important steps to addressing different challenges both in development of housing
and in the prevention of homelessness.
New Haven has proposed legislation that would create regional affordable housing trust funds to
stimulate the development of affordable housing projects in a larger geographic region. As towns
continue to resist affordable housing, this would be a step towards bridging the gap and providing
an incentive to develop their affordable housing stock. That being said, if action is not taken
swiftly, we cannot afford to wait. I ask that this committee focus on the urgent need to develop
quality affordable and deeply affordable housing throughout the state and to take whatever
actions necessary to ensure that every municipality does its part to provide affordable housing.
NATURE AND SOURCES OF OPPOSITION:
None Stated.
Reported by: Karen Godbout                                 Date: 03/09/2020
                                                                            Page 5 of 5 HB-5242
Statutes affected: 
Raised Bill: 18-81z, 18-81w