Abstract
In this article we examine the impact of New Jersey's Transitional Housing Demonstration Program (THDP) on families receiving public assistance in need of some form of permanent housing. We test the demonstration's overall program logic that posits a causal linkage between organizational structure, participation in life skills activities, successful graduation from the program, and positive housing outcomes. Using a sample of 777 AFDC recipients who participated in transitional housing for some spell over a 3.5 year period and a subsample survey of 149 participants, we find some evidence that THDP does help participant's secure more permanent forms of housing. We find that demographic characteristics of the participants and features of the programs themselves are linked with more successful outcomes. Programs which require higher levels of activity participation and which limit residents' personal freedom produce graduates who are more likely to find permanent housing. Implications for best practices in construction of transitional housing programs are discussed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 45-58 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Evaluation and Program Planning |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 2004 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Business and International Management
- Social Psychology
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Strategy and Management
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Keywords
- Permanent housing
- Service delivery structure
- Transitional Housing Demonstration Program