HR7057-119

What This Bill Does

The Returning Home Act rewrites an existing reentry housing program to use person-first language and explicitly include halfway houses. It replaces many references to offenders with individuals who are incarcerated or were incarcerated, and expands the covered release settings to prisons, jails, juvenile facilities, and halfway houses. The new section 2978 requires the Attorney General, in coordination with the Housing and Urban Development Secretary, to establish the Reentry Rental Assistance and Housing Services Grant Program. Grants may provide 24 months of rental assistance for permanent housing, stipends to family members when an individual lives in their household, and supportive services such as pre-release planning, document collection, housing counseling, service navigation, mental health therapy, domestic-violence and sexual-assault services, substance-use treatment, education, employment services, home-based and community-based services, case management, move-in support, security deposits, leasing fees, housing placement, at least 12 months of stabilization support, and landlord incentives. Grantees must use at least 60 percent of grant funding for rental assistance and no more than 15 percent for landlord incentives. Eligible applicants include eligible entities, nonprofits or service providers partnering with eligible entities, and nonprofits partnering with Continuum of Care-funded entities.

Who Benefits and How

People leaving incarceration, individuals in halfway houses, families hosting returning relatives, reentry service providers, nonprofit housing providers, Continuum of Care partners, landlords willing to rent to program participants, and communities trying to reduce homelessness and recidivism benefit from a dedicated housing assistance program. Participants benefit from up to 24 months of rent help, security-deposit and move-in support, case management, service navigation, treatment referrals, education and employment links, and housing stabilization after placement.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Attorney General, Department of Justice grant staff, HUD housing staff, eligible grantees, nonprofit service providers, Continuum of Care partners, and case managers must design applications, verify eligibility, allocate at least 60 percent of funds to rental assistance, cap landlord incentives at 15 percent, coordinate supportive services, document outcomes, and monitor compliance. Federal taxpayers fund the grant program. Landlords accepting incentives may need to comply with program requirements and participant support processes.

Key Provisions

• Expands reentry housing program language to cover individuals in prisons, jails, juvenile facilities, and halfway houses.
• Creates the Reentry Rental Assistance and Housing Services Grant Program.
• Provides 24 months of rental assistance for permanent housing after incarceration.
• Authorizes stipends for family members who house a formerly incarcerated individual.
• Funds supportive services including pre-release planning, housing counseling, treatment links, employment services, security deposits, move-in support, and stabilization.
• Requires at least 60 percent of grant funding to be used for rental assistance.
• Limits landlord financial incentives to not more than 15 percent of grant funding.