The Impact of Forensic Housing and Recovery Through Peer Services (FHARPS) on Homelessness and Housing Support Access – An Outcome Evaluation

This study evaluates the impact of Forensic Housing and Recovery Through Peer Services (FHARPS) programs serving three regions in Washington State on homelessness, criminal legal, and behavioral health measures for Medicaid-enrolled participants relative to statistically matched comparators. The report presents FHARPS program participant characteristics and findings from the outcome evaluation for Medicaid-enrolled program participants with and without a competency order history two years prior to FHARPS enrollment. We found that participation in FHARPS programs increased utilization of housing supports and crisis services for FHARPS participants overall, reduced indicated homelessness and re-arrest rates for FHARPS participants with a competency order history, and increased access to outpatient mental health treatment for FHARPS participants without a competency order history. There were no measurable impacts on competency orders, inpatient mental health treatment, and substance use disorder treatment.