Purpose of this report:
The four main goals of this report are to:
- Share findings from a targeted focus group with housing and employment specialists in Utah who have subject matter expertise in working with justice-involved clients;
- Connect the recommendations of these subject matter experts to existing data and research from the Commission on Criminal & Juvenile Justice (CCJJ) or other state agencies;
- Look at national literature in order to provide empirical support for the recommendations that the housing and employment specialists suggest when discussing how to improve community supervision for justice-involved clients. National literature will be interwoven throughout this report; and
- Provide recommendations for future research and policy in connection to the needs of justice-involved clients and agencies within Utah’s criminal justice system.
Common Barriers for Justice-Involved Clients
The housing and employment experts shared a number of barriers that their clients experience when trying to find and maintain housing and employment. There are three overarching categories of barriers: (a) lack of uniform acceptance/review processes when clients are looking for employment and housing; (b) lack of supports/opportunities for clients who have successfully completed restitution, recovery programs, or other milestones that demonstrate their new-found competency to live productive and safe lives in the community; and (c) lack of dedicated policy that places restrictions on discrimination for justice-involved clients or dedicated policy that supports clients who have demonstrated success in significantly reducing their criminogenic risk.
- Lack of uniform acceptance/review processes
- Lack of supports and/or opportunities for clients who have successfully restituted
- Lack of dedicated policy that places restrictions on discrimination for justice-involved clients
Recommendations for Programs, Policy & Research
- Use the risk-need-responsivity (RNR) model to build case management supports.
- Expanding policy & legislation to providing housing and employment supports to low-risk offenders.
- Use evidence-based practices to provide housing and employment supports.
Read the full report:
Improvements to Community Supervision Housing