The Housing Status of Individuals Leaving Institutions and Out-of-Home Care

This brief summarizes findings from a series of reports examining the housing status of individuals following their exit from institutional or out-of-home care settings. More than one-quarter of all five study populations experienced homelessness at some point over a 12-month follow-up period. Individuals leaving residential chemical dependency treatment facilities and prisons represent particularly high opportunity populations. Compared to the other three groups, they were more likely to experience homelessness but as likely to exit to permanent housing when they received housing assistance. Across the five study populations, the proportion of individuals in need of housing who received HMIS-recorded assistance was highest for youth aging out of foster care (at 35 percent).