Supportive Housing for the Disabled Reentry Population: The District of Columbia Frequent Users Service Enhancement Pilot Program

• NCJ Number: 238879
• Author(s): Jocelyn Fontain; Douglas Gilchrist-Scott; Aaron Horvath
• Date Published: December 2011
• Length: 78 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2009-SU-B9-0006
• Sponsoring Agency: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA); Justice Grants Admin, Executive Office of the Mayor, District of Columbia; Open Society Foundation
• Corporate Author: The Urban Institute
• Sale Source: The Urban Institute
• Publication Format: Document; Document (Online)
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report describes the characteristics of the District of Columbia Frequent Users Service Enhancement (FUSE) Pilot Program administered by the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) and University Legal Services, its implementation, the characteristics of program participants, and preliminary outcomes.

Abstract

FUSE is a permanent supportive housing program targeted to high-risk, high-need individuals with mental illness who have extensive histories of cycling between systems ("frequent users") in the District of Columbia. FUSE's goals were to create 50 units of permanent supportive housing for the frequent-users discharged from jail; to improve coordination across systems that serve frequent users; to improve financial integration and policy coordination among corrections, mental health, and human services agencies; to document decreased recidivism rates and increased housing stability for frequent users; and to achieve cost-savings in corrections, human services, and mental health services agencies. FUSE began operations in October 2010. An analysis of the characteristics of 196 male frequent users during the planning period and over its first 6 months of operation found that FUSE-eligible individuals were primarily Black and middle-aged, with an average of approximately 10 lifetime incarcerations in the DC jail and diverse criminal histories. The facilitators and barriers to the envisioned program implementation are identified and discussed. An assessment of preliminary outcomes focused on short-term, individual-level outcomes. The outcome evaluation found that although some participants' engagement in treatment diminished over time, the assertive community treatment (ACT) teams were successful in maintaining regular contact with the participants, averaging 14 face-to-face contacts a month. FUSE successfully provided participants with both transitional and permanent supportive housing services; all but one of the participants were housed in a permanent apartment within the first 4 months after their release, using a program voucher. Overall, participants were "extremely satisfied" with the services they received through the FUSE program. 44 references, 9 tables, and appended FUSE participation information, FUSE diagnostic criteria, and charge classification categories