Criminal History Records Checks For Federally Assisted Housing Applications: State Fiscal Year 2023 Supplemental Report

Background

In the United States, between 70 and 100 million individuals possess a criminal history record.^[1] Those with criminal history records often face challenges obtaining suitable and affordable housing. Challenges include poor or absent credit, employment history and skill deficits, and stigma associated with criminal justice involvement. Since people of color are overrepresented in the criminal justice system, they often experience higher rates of rejection when seeking public and private housing.^[2]

Over 10 million Americans, and more than 440,000 Illinoisans, receive federal rental assistance.^[3] Under the Fair Housing Act, the consideration of criminal histories when making public housing decisions can be illegal. Housing providers can violate the Act by using discriminatory language in housing listings, by conducting unjust and inaccurate screening through online record checks, and by evicting individuals or their families without just cause.^[4] Housing is not only a basic need but a key component of successful reentry after incarceration. Therefore, denying housing to people with criminal histories can contribute to higher rates of recidivism and disproportionately impact communities of color.^[5]

The Housing Authorities Act (310 ILCS 10/8.10a) (the Act) was signed into law and became effective on March 23, 2021. Per the Act, all Illinois public housing authorities are to collect and report annually to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) the following information:

1. The number of applications submitted for admission to federally assisted housing.
2. The number of applications submitted for admission to federally assisted housing of individuals with a criminal history record, if the authority is conducting criminal history records checks of applicants or other household members.
3. The number of applications for admission to federally assisted housing that were denied on the basis of a criminal history record, if the authority is conducting criminal history records checks of applicants or other household members.
4. The number of criminal records assessment hearings requested by applicants for housing who were denied federally assisted housing on the basis of a criminal history records check.
5. The number of denials for federally assisted housing that were overturned after a criminal records assessment hearing.

All reported information must be disaggregated by the race, ethnicity, and sex of housing applicants (310 ILCS 10/8.10a) (Appendix A).

In fulfillment of this Act, ICJIA has provided two prior reports to the General Assembly. We shared a progress report in February 2023.^[6] and an annual report in March 2023.^[7] We did not have the information from the housing authorities requested by the Act at the time of those reports. Therefore, this report for State Fiscal Year 2023 provides information shared by the housing authorities to ICJIA in fulfillment of the Act.

Data Collection Process

Input on Data Collection

Prior to gathering information from authorities, ICJIA engaged with staff in select public housing authorities to address logistical and methodological questions for accurate data collection, measurement, and interpretation. ICJIA analysts sought input to a data collection instrument from a randomly selected representative sample of housing authorities in the state. We selected agencies using a stratified sampling technique to try to get different perspectives. First, we categorized housing authorities by geographic location across the state (Northern, Central, and Southern) and then by city-level or county-level. The categories are the “strata” or groups. We then randomly selected nine authorities from the groups and contacted staff in them to review and discuss our draft of the data collection tool. Ultimately, we were able to set meetings with staff members of four housing authorities— two central Illinois housing authorities at the municipal level and two southern Illinois housing authorities at the county level. We were unable to schedule meetings with northern housing authorities.

We met with staff by phone call, WebEx (virtual) conferencing, and/or written correspondence. In addition, we spoke directly with a central municipal level authority. Our meetings with staff from housing authorities provided information to improve and finalize the data collection tool. Based, in part, on our conversations we decided to add an item to the data collection tool to garner feedback on the processes of data collection and reporting. We used Qualtrics software to create an online data collection tool (Appendix B).

Administration of Data Collection Tool

To collect data from the whole population of 107 housing authorities in IL, we obtained contact information for the Illinois public housing authorities from a publicly available directory in February 2023.^[8] The directory included names, addresses, contact emails, and phone numbers of all housing authorities in Illinois. Four of the emails were not valid so we contacted the housing authorities by phone to obtain proper contact information. We sent the first email with the data collection tool in April 2023, followed by two subsequent reminder emails. During the data collection, ICJIA fielded numerous phone calls and emails to address issues and questions. We closed data collection after one month in May 2023 and 74 housing authorities responded.

Data Analysis

We analyzed the data using Microsoft Excel. Ultimately, one submission was removed. It did not indicate the housing authority name and used a personal rather than official email. The staff member did not respond to our multiple attempts to contact them by email prior to removal. After reviewing and analyzing the data, we reached out to contacts at certain housing authorities to discuss any incomplete information or any potential errors (e.g., relatively very high or low reported numbers). As a result, staff in numerous public housing authorities resubmitted their information and addressed inaccuracies within their data.

Data Limitations

The data have limitations. First, not all Illinois public housing authorities submitted data. Second, many housing authorities provided incomplete gender data. Third, we cannot verify the accuracy of the data reported. Fourth, the housing authorities reported to ICJIA that the language of the Act was unclear regarding certain aspects of their housing process, including waitlist admittance and inter-county transfers of voucher holders. Lastly, housing authorities vary in number of housing units; volume of applications; resources and staff; and data management systems. Therefore, it is likely there were inconsistencies in data reported by the housing authorities.

Results

Respondents

Out of 107 housing authorities contacted, individuals from 74 responded, resulting in a participation rate of 69.2% of the housing authorities. Of those who provided data, 56 were county housing authorities (75.7% of the 69.2%), 16 were city housing authorities (21.6%), and 2 were in villages (2.7%). Thirty-three of the 74 who submitted data were in the central region of the state (44.6%), 23 were in the southern region (31.1%), and 18 were in the northern region (24.3%). Twenty-five housing authorities of the 74 that reported data served areas with populations of less than 20,000 residents (33.8%), and 22 had populations between 20,000 and 40,000 (29.7%). Twelve housing authorities served areas with populations between 40,000 and 100,000 (16.2%) and 15 served areas with populations over 100,000 (20.3%). Forty-six of the 74 (62.2%) reporting housing authorities were urban and 28 (37.8%) were in rural areas. Table 1 provides details on the housing authorities that provided data.

Table 1

Housing Authorities Providing Data

Note. Population from the U.S. Census Bureau’s estimate for 2022. Urban and rural designations for city housing authorities were made based on the designation of the county the city is in. *Indicates county-level housing authorities with city-level housing authorities within their jurisdiction. Those county housing authorities include the population of the cities located in the county.

Thirty-three housing authorities, or 30.8% of all Illinois housing authorities, did not provide data to ICJIA. Table 2 provides details on the housing authorities that did not provide data.

Table 2

Housing Authorities Not Providing Data

Note. Population from the U.S. Census Bureau’s estimate for 2022. Urban and rural designations for city housing authorities were made based on the designation of the county the city is in. *Indicates county-level housing authorities with city-level housing authorities within their jurisdiction. Those county housing authorities include the population of the cities located in the county.

Responses

The Illinois housing authorities that reported to ICJIA had 40,654 applications submitted in 2022 for admission to federally assisted housing (Figure 1). A small proportion of applicants had a criminal record. Within this group (7.2% of applicants), almost half were denied on the basis of that record. A very small number of applicants requested a hearing after being denied housing due to criminal records. Of those who did, nearly half had the denials overturned.

Figure 1

The Flow of Applications for Federal Housing with Criminal Records and Subsequent Hearings

Note. Data from 74 housing authorities reporting to ICJIA.

A larger number of women submitted applications for admission to federally assisted housing than other genders (Table 3). However, 70.6% of application denials based on criminal records had no gender indicated, making it difficult to draw conclusions about denials by gender.

Table 3

Housing Authority Applications by Gender, 2022

Note. Data from 74 housing authorities reporting to ICJIA.

Black persons submitted more applications than any other race—just over half of all applications (Table 4). A larger proportion of Black applicants (68.0%) were denied based on criminal history records than were White applicants (37.5%).

Table 4

Housing Authority Applications by Race, 2022

Note. Data from 74 housing authorities reporting to ICJIA.

Almost all applicants (98.2%) were non-Hispanic (Table 5). A larger proportion of Hispanic applicants were denied housing based on criminal history record (88.8%) than non-Hispanic applicants (45.0%).

Table 5

Housing Authority Applications by Ethnicity, 2022

Note. Data from 74 housing authorities reporting to ICJIA.

Summary of Feedback from Housing Authorities

The data collection tool asked for feedback on housing authorities’ experiences with the Federally Assisted Housing Records Check data collection process, regarding data reporting and data availability. Below we provide the comments shared. Some comments repeat what others have shared.

Respondents from several housing authorities noted that the data collection process was cumbersome, burdensome, or duplicative of federal reporting requirements. Comments included:

• Cumbersome to keep and maintain these records.
• It is cumbersome to keep all this information.
• This is time consuming even for a small Housing Authority with limited staffing.
• Administratively burdensome data to collect and maintain.
• The survey was too time consuming for a small agency like ours; but it did give me good insight on what information I should be tracking moving forward. I do foresee agencies having some difficultly reporting the specific data depending upon what data their software collection restricts them too.
• We do not receive any “state funding” for our operations, yet we are now dealing with increased reporting to the State. All of this information is currently reported to the Federal Govt through various “on-line” portals, but I assume it does not line-up exactly with what the Legislature is seeking.
• We will have to change / modify internal recordkeeping to comply with the data collection and reporting process.
• I would have to look up each and every applicant for 2022, then look then all up on the background check program.
• We are unable to see if someone has a criminal record until they have been denied housing.
• Some of the requested data is not included in the reports. In addition, the system does not have parameters to run a date or gender-specific report that will show the requested information.
• We are not allowed to ask and not all information was completed by our applicants
• Some of the requested information is not included in the report. In addition, the system does not allow parameters to run a report that will indicate the number of hearings and reinstatements by date, gender, and race.

Clarification Requested

Some housing authorities asked for the following clarification and specificity to guide future reporting.

• Due to the fact that Housing Authorities typically “accepts” applications once every few years, this questionnaire was confusing regarding the verbiage “applications accepted” during the specified time frame. Although we did not physically “accept” any applications in 2022, we did process applications from the 2020 waitlist.
• It would be helpful to know if we need to include all criminal history (such as bad checks, traffic tickets) when considering applicants that were admitted. Those are not things that would be a basis for denial for us and we weren’t sure if they even should be included in the count of ‘criminal history.’
• Section 8/vouchers may not fit these questions well. I reported for calendar year 2022 for all applications received that year. The Section 8/HCV waiting list was closed the entire year so no new applicants were added. However, we pulled applicants from this list to issue vouchers during the year. I provided information on the applicants that were pulled and issued vouchers for the reporting period only. I did not provide data on the entire Section 8 waiting list. It is sometimes common for persons denied due to criminal background checks to request a hearing and then never show up for the scheduled hearing - thus breaking off contact with the housing authority. That dynamic is more-or-less “hidden” in your questions as the denial is enforced due to not showing up for the hearing but may have been overturned had the individual shown up. That dynamic does not represent very many people for my housing authority annually, however. Finally, with the new law imposing a 6-month look back for convictions on criminal background checks, there simply will not be hardly any future denials for us as 6 months is an incredibly short time period to consider. Other [Public Housing Authorities] may be different here but we don’t see many background checks with convictions within the last 6 months. Finally, it may help if you define what a “criminal history” is for a background check. Is it a history that generates a denial? That is the way I answered the question. Is it anything at all that may show up on a check - most of which is ignored by those of us doing the checks?
• Housing Authorities have lengthy waiting lists for their housing programs. Applicants applying in a fiscal year may not be pulled for criminal history background checks within the year they initially applied for housing assistance. Multiple waiting lists include duplicate applicants. ICJIA also is requesting the combined data for all applications received across public housing and section 8 programs. How does ICJIA account for the reporting of multiple criminal background checks for one application (i.e., two members of the household were over the age of 18 that were required to complete the background process)? Will ICJIA provide HA’s with a data tracking tool that will be easier to compile this data for 2023 and beyond?
• Our waitlist has been closed since 2009. There needs to be a distinguishment between people who are on waitlists or are transferring from other counties. Or basically are we talking about a person who already has a voucher or who is trying to obtain housing in a new county. Anyone can ‘port’ in to another jurisdiction.
• How we define “criminal history record” here is unknown/vague to me. Almost everyone had some form of arrest or ticket in their criminal background checks. We ignored everything but recent violent/drug convictions within the last 6 months. I listed 4 for the number having a criminal history record as these 4 had recent drug/violent convictions. I didn’t list all of the others even though most had some form of arrest/ticket on their background checks. More direction is needed in the future as to how you wish “criminal history record” to be defined please.

Data Able and Unable to Be Reported

A few housing authorities had comments on what was or could be reported. Comments included:

• Categories for denial would be useful for statistics, i.e., serious drug charges, sex offenders. Part of our criminal history denial was based on sex offender applicants.
• I only did for Public Housing. Since HCV didn’t have new applications in 2022. Plus staff turnover in HCV no one tracking denials.
• The demographic collection for applicants with a criminal history record are tracked but at this time could not pull out the demographics. This will be fixed for the next reporting cycle.
• Demographics of applicants with criminal history is not collected
• The SHA screens for income eligibility at time of application. The SHA does not run Criminal History background checks for all applicants in the year in which they applied. The data collected by the SHA on Criminal History background checks is for all applicants sent in a fiscal year not necessarily the year in which they originally applied.
• Several applicants choose to not complete demographics. We do not ask race or gender at application. The gender numbers given are by birth certificate information.
• Please note the Housing Choice Voucher Program staff does not keep a centralized file of applicants who appeal denial decisions. To the best recollection of the Program Director / Leasing Manager, no voucher applicants appealed a denial decision based upon criminal record during calendar year 2022. The HCVP staff will start keeping a centralized appeal file to ensure the accuracy of the information submitted annually. The public housing staff maintains a centralized appeal file. The information provided in this section is based upon public housing records.
• It would be helpful to know if we need to include ALL criminal history (such as bad checks, traffic tickets) when considering applicants that were admitted. Those are not things that would be a basis for denial for us and we weren’t sure if they even should be included in the count of “criminal history.”

This was the first time housing authorities gathered and submitted the required information to ICJIA per the Act. To the extent possible, the issues raised in comments by housing authority respondents should be addressed, including clarification of data required. We anticipate participation and understanding on the part of the housing authorities in terms of data collection and reporting in subsequent years.