States are trying to unlock solutions for reentry housing
For people with criminal records, research shows stable housing reduces their likelihood of committing another crime. However, hundreds of state and federal laws create barriers for people who want to obtain affordable stable housing. Ohio and a handful of other states want to change that and are offering a kind of guarantee to landlords.
Overcoming barriers
Many of the estimated 93,000 people released from Ohio prisons and county and municipal jails annually, will have trouble finding a place to live. It’s not only because there’s a shortage of affordable housing and because landlords are leery of renting to people with a criminal record, but the difficulty of securing housing in advance while still in prison.
The Prison Policy Initiative reports the formerly incarcerated nationwide are almost 10 times more likely to be homeless than the general public. You can find these stats and others in a previous Brick by Brick article and podcast investigating Housing & Our Second-Chance Neighbors.
Recent State Initiatives
Ohio
Based on early success of the Certificate of Qualification for Employment (CQE), offering protections to employers who hire former inmates granted a CQE, lawmakers passed the Certificate of Qualification for Housing (CQH). In the summer of 2025 justice- impacted people could begin applying for the housing help. Six months after a misdemeanor or one year after a felony, people can apply for a CQH. Second Chance Project staff attorney with the Ohio Justice & Policy Center Ashley Ward says, “It’s a court order recognizing that a person impacted by the criminal legal system is rehabilitated, fit for housing opportunities and has a need to overcome housing barriers.
Director of the Second Chance Project Lindsay Baruffa is encouraged. “This is a sign that members of the General Assembly saw there was a need among their constituents to find housing upon reentry. And because they reached out to us, it shows they’re willing to collaborate with subject matter experts. I think that it is a really wonderful thing.”
For the landlord, it’s kind of a guarantee. Ohio says, “A CQH gives housing providers greater confidence to rent to a CQH holder. In a tort action against a decision-maker for negligent leading, a CQH issued to an individual provides immunity for the decision-maker.” In essence it limits the liability of the landlord in a civil case while renting to a reentering individual.
It’s unclear how many CQHs have been granted statewide. At least one is under consideration in Hamilton County.
OJPC’s Ward would like to take it a step further, helping second-chance citizens get approved for a loan to buy a house. She says, “It wouldn’t provide them any limited liability, but it would just be more evidence that they were going to be a good homeowner, they are fit, they’re all going to move forward.” She is in the process of working with banks to investigate the possibilities.
Ohio is unusual in that it has passed laws to guarantee employers and landlords won’t be held responsible in liability lawsuits. Other states have more informal help.
Vermont
Vermont has funded transitional housing programs for people re-entering the community since 2005. The state has 12 community providers, including municipalities, non-profits and community justice centers. The Department of Corrections reports those partners are “funded to provide 243 beds/apartments statewide and typically provide housing and support services to over 400 unique individuals per year.”
Credit: Vermont Department of Corrections
Colorado
In 2023, the Harvard Kennedy School’s Government Performance Lab (GPL) began working with the Colorado Department of Corrections to identify people in their system most at risk of being released without a stable place to live.
The study aimed to find out:
- Who is incarcerated that is at high risk of experiencing homelessness upon release?
- What housing resources are currently available?
- What new or reallocated housing resources could be leveraged?
As this article explains, after a year, 16 Department of Corrections facilities had adopted a new Housing Stability Assessment showing 182 out of 635 determined to be at high risk of exiting into homelessness.
Researchers worked to develop a new referral pathway to connect people to the state’s limited supportive housing units. “Through the initial pilot, 33 people have been placed in supportive housing,” and there are “plans to place people in additional units as they become available.
Here is their three-step approach they hope other jurisdictions will adopt:
New Mexico
Outlined on its website, the New Mexico Reentry Center, provides a variety of supportive housing programs, including Fresh Start Rental Assistance. This includes move-in assistance, covering deposit and first month, temporary rental assistance, eviction prevention, utility assistance and more.
The Center also partners with sober living agencies to help find a home that best meets the person’s needs.
Limitations
It’s too early to tell how effective Ohio’s Certificate of Qualification for Housing (CQH) is, however, Brick by Brick looked into the efficacy of the Certificate of Qualification for Employment (CQE), which has been around since 2012.
The most recent findings by a researcher in 2019 looked at people who had multiple convictions of varying crime types, basically drug and theft.
- Applicants with a CQE received significantly fewer callbacks than those without a record.
- When both were called back, they called the person with no record most of the time.
- African American applicants received significantly fewer callbacks than White applicants in all criminal record categories.
Other limitations for CQH include getting enough landlords on board, the ability of the justice-impacted person to pay CQH court costs and navigate the court system.
Looking ahead
The Ohio Justice & Policy Center will continue to help second-chance citizens apply for and receive Certificates of Qualification for Housing. The organization has another idea-making people with criminal histories a protected class.
Ashley Ward says, “I think it’s possible in Ohio. It would take us to continue educating people, especially lawmakers about the benefits of leasing to people with criminal records….We also need to make sure we have the ability to enforce the anti-discrimination law if we were to get this passed, because there’s going to be a cost to investigate any potential discrimination and to litigate.
What do you think of the CQH and CQE? What needs to happen to make them more effective? What other housing help could be provided to second-chance citizens?. We want to build community around context and solutions in our cities. Your feedback is very important to the effort, as we continue to dig deeper into the responses to some of our most pressing social issues, including the housing crisis. Click on the green button below to take a short survey to help reinforce and refine our work. Thank you.
Ann Thompson – Host, Producer
Over the last thirty years in Cincinnati, Ann Thompson has brought a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her reporting. She has reported and anchored for WVXU, WKRC, WCKY, WHIO-TV and Metro Networks and freelanced for NPR, CBS and ABC Radio. Her work has been recognized by the Associated Press and she has won awards from the Association of Women in Communications and the Alliance for Women in Media. She is a former News Director and Operations Manager. Ann has reported from India, Japan, South Korea, Germany and Belgium as part of fellowships. Ann thinks of the Brick by Brick project as “journalism for good.” She serves as host and producer. Ann lives in Anderson Township with her husband Scott. They have two boys. Jake graduated from the Air Force Academy in 2022 and Kurt attends West Point.
