A powerful new
video underscores what many persons with felony convictions in
Washington state are never told: Once out of custody and no longer under the
supervision of the state Department of Corrections, he or she can register to
vote. The 4-minute video – with clips from persons with felony convictions who
said they went years thinking they had permanently lost the right to vote – was
released by the 2016 graduates of the Washington Leadership
Institute (WLI), a program that recruits, trains, and develops
minority and traditionally underrepresented attorneys for future leadership
positions in the legal community.
As a result of strategic reforms across the criminal justice
spectrum, combined with steadily declining crime rates since the mid-1990s,
prison populations have begun to stabilize and even decline slightly after
decades of unprecedented growth. Still, America maintains its distinction as
the world leader in its use of incarceration, including more than 1.3 million
people held in state prisons around the country. Mass incarceration has had and
continues to have a vastly negative impact on our country and particularly in
communities of color. According to The
Sentencing Project, African Americans are incarcerated at 5 times the rate
of whites and Latinos are incarcerated at 1.4 times the rate of whites.
In The New Yorker piece
by Adam Gopnik, The Caging
of America” he
states, “Mass
incarceration on a scale almost unexampled in human history is a fundamental
fact of our country today — perhaps the fundamental fact, as slavery was the
fundamental fact of 1850.”
As many as 100 million U.S. adults – or nearly
one-third of the population – have a criminal record of some sort. When
individuals are released from prisons and jails, their ability to access safe,
secure and affordable housing is critical to their successful reentry to
society. Yet many formerly incarcerated individuals, as well as individuals who
were convicted but not incarcerated, encounter significant barriers to securing
housing, including public and other federally-subsidized housing because of
their criminal history. Because African Americans and Hispanics are arrested,
convicted and incarcerated at rates disproportionate to their share of the
general population, criminal records-based barriers to housing are likely to
have a disproportionate impact on people of color. The U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development issued guidance earlier this year concerning
how the Fair Housing Act applies to the use of criminal history by providers or
operators of housing and real-estate related transactions.
Truly meaningful reforms to our homeless service delivery
system cannot be accomplished without acknowledgement of racial and ethnic
disparities in our system, and focused attention on reduction of those disparities.
King County Executive Dow Constantine’s plan to implement Best Starts for Kids was unanimously approved by the
Metropolitan King County Council, a key milestone for the child and youth
initiative considered the most comprehensive of its kind in the nation.
The approved plan will guide how the county invests nearly
$400 million over the next six years to increase the number of children who are
born healthy and reach adulthood ready to succeed. Half of the revenue
generated by the voter-approved levy will invest in strategies that focus on
birth through age 5, when 92 percent of brain growth occurs.
The Children and Youth Advisory Board – which includes researchers,
educators, community leaders, content experts and nonprofit organizations
representing the geographic and cultural diversity of King County – will help
guide the implementation and monitor progress.
“With the passing of BSK comes a huge victory for children
and youth in King County. This innovative effort is the result of unprecedented
support by King County residents and the King County Council,” said Abigail
Echo-Hawk, Co-Chair for the Children and Youth Advisory Board. “The Children
and Youth Advisory Board is dedicated to ensuring BSK has a strong focus on
equity and social justice for all.”
While other initiatives provide needed services to people in
crisis, Best Starts for Kids will promote positive development and strengthen
families and communities, in addition to preventing negative outcomes such as
homelessness, domestic violence and mental illness.
The implementation plan was informed by input King County
collected during 10 regional community conversations, such as strong support
for focusing on racial equity and programming that can simultaneously improve
outcomes across generations within a family. Programs funded by Best Starts for
Kids will roll out in phases with an emphasis on innovation and adapting proven
programs to fit local community needs. A robust evaluation framework will
provide data to course correct along the way.
Marking
the 22nd anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), HUD
issued guidance
on local “nuisance ordinances” and “crime-free housing” which often have
discriminatory impacts on protected classes in housing, particularly for
survivors of domestic violence. Nuisance ordinances require housing providers
to address “nuisance” conduct in housing under the threat of potential
penalties. Nuisance behavior is often broadly defined and may include frequent
calls for emergency services. The enforcement of these ordinances often results
in evictions, even for victims of crime and survivors of domestic violence.
The
guidance informs state and local governments, as well as providers of private
and public housing of how HUD will assess ordinances, policies and practices
alleged to have a discriminatory impact. The guidance provides an overview of:
- Examples of nuisance and crime-free
housing ordinances
- The potential discriminatory impact,
whether intentional or unintentional, on protected classes
- The assessment and enforcement of claims
of discrimination occurring as a result of these ordinances
All
Home encourages all local jurisdictions and housing providers to reassess their
policies and practices, including neighborhood agreements, to ensure they do
not inadvertently have a disparate impact on protected classes. If you have
questions, please contact your local or state offices of Civil Rights.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
published a final
rule to ensure that all individuals have equal access to many of the
Department’s core shelter programs in accordance with their gender identity.
Following what had previously been encouraged practice by HUD, providers that
operate single-sex projects using funds awarded through the Department’s Office
of Community Planning and Development (CPD) will now be required to provide all
individuals, including transgender individuals and other individuals who do not
identify with the sex they were assigned at birth, with access to programs,
benefits, services, and accommodations in accordance with their gender identity
without being subjected to intrusive questioning or being asked to provide
documentation.
HUD’s new rule will require a recipient, sub recipient, or
provider to establish, amend, or maintain program admissions, occupancy, and
operating policies and procedures (including policies and procedures to protect
individuals’ privacy and security), so that equal access is provided to
individuals based on their gender identity. This requirement includes tenant
selection and admission preferences.
HUD understands that in many communities this
will require staff training and changes to program design, and has published a
suite of technical assistance materials on the LGBT
Homelessness Page on the HUD Exchange to help providers adopt these
best practices and determine whether they have done so successfully. In the
meantime, if you need assistance, please submit a question to the Ask
A Question portal to request policy clarification or guidance. You
can also find additional information on requirements related to Equal Access to
housing that are already in place and resources for implementing those
requirements on the HUD Exchange Equal
Access to Housing Final Rule page
The
King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) is seeking
proposals for a single entity to engage, recruit and establish partnerships
with landlords and property management companies countywide to improve access
to rental housing. Approximately $465,000 annually is available for staffing
and other project costs to support this effort funded jointly by King County,
United Way King County and the City of Seattle. The selected entity will employ
expert staff to engage landlords large and small, negotiate reduced screening
criteria, provide as needed education and assistance to landlords, and maintain
a database of property partners. The initial two-year contract will begin
January 1, 2017, with contract continuation contingent upon fund availability
and performance. To review or download a copy of this RFP, visit:
https://procurement.kingcounty.gov/procurement_ovr/default.aspx.
A Request for
Applications (RFA) was released jointly by the Seattle Human Services
Department for Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS funding and Public
Health – Seattle & King County for Ryan White Part A program funds. As
our region faces an ever increasing number of persons experiencing homelessness
and housing insecurity, we realize that we should be providing complementary
rather than competing services and introducing collaboration throughout the
entire housing continuum. This is the first RFA to include both funding
sources. It is our expectation that the combined funding will support the
direct connection between homelessness prevention and housing stability and
access to and retention in medical care and viral suppression. The Pre-Submittal Conference is
scheduled for Thursday,
September 22 from 10:00 AM-Noon at the 2100 Building (2100 24th Avenue South, Seattle).
1. The City of
Seattle is offering Trauma-Informed
Youth Work and Suicide
Prevention trainings to strengthen and expand trauma-informed education
for professionals and adults who work with youth in order to help prevent and
respond to youth violence and suicide. Both trainings are available in either
3-hour or 6-hour formats and can be tailored to fit you and your organization’s
needs. The City of Seattle covers the cost of the trainer and supplies – free
for participants. Participating organizations provide training space and
encourage staff and partners to participate.
Trauma-Informed Youth Work: Designed for youth workers,
teachers, counselors, nurses and community members to learn more about how
trauma impacts youth behavior and how they can respond. This training provides
resources and tools to develop a trauma-informed approach that honors the
innate intelligence of young people's responses to trauma and oppression, and
help adults respond to youth in ways that build resilience, trust and
empowerment.
Suicide Prevention: Designed to educate individuals,
parents, youth workers and health-care providers about how trauma and suicide
intersect across race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability,
age, etc. We will address how trauma and suicide are related, discuss possible
indicators that affect youth, and provide tools and resources on how to develop
resiliency building skills with youth.
To request a training and start the
scheduling process, please click here. If
you have any questions, please contact Jen Mills at (206) 684-5296 or email Jennifer.Mills@seattle.gov.
2. Please join a community effort on October 12 for a cross-training on resources for households experiencing homelessness. Presenters from the King County Behavioral Health and Recovery Division (BHRD) and WA State Department Social and Health Services (DSHS) will provide information regarding two over-arching questions: for a mental health provider, If my client/their household is experiencing homelessness, how do they find housing?, and for a housing provider, How does my client access crisis, clinic, or inpatient mental health services? The training will include time for regionally-based community conversations that allows housing and mental health providers to learn more about the resources available in their area. Please RSVP.
Using the art of the late photographer Mary Ellen Mark and
filmmaker Martin Bell, The Seattle Public Library invites the broader Seattle community
to be part of an important conversation about our city’s youth and family
homelessness crisis, using one family’s journey and the work of these two
documentarians. You can visit the exhibit "Tiny: Streetwise Revisited," in the Level 8 Gallery at Central
Library. The exhibit is free and tickets are not required. Learn more about the exhibit and see all Streetwise
Revisited events. |