Evaluation of the HUD-DOJ Pay for Success Permanent Supportive Housing Demonstration: Year 2 Report

Authors: Liberman, Akiva     Cunningham, Mary K.     Gillespie, Sarah     Batko, Samantha     Eldridge, Matt     DuBois, Nicole     Ricks, Alexandra     Walsh, Kelly     Urban Institute    

In 2016, the U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched the Pay for Success Permanent Supportive Housing Demonstration (the Demonstration). HUD and DOJ are conducting a formative evaluation to assess whether providing permanent supportive housing (PSH) within a pay-for-success (PFS) framework is a successful and cost-effective way of using PSH to provide housing stability, reduce social service use, and lower recidivism for a population cycling between homeless services and the criminal justice system. PFS is thought to be an innovative financing model that provides up front financing from philanthropic and private organizations, and then utilizes government funds after seeing results, i.e. “pay for success.” This Year 2 report summarizes the grantees’ progress in the second year of the grant implementation period, from January 2018 through December 2018. The report focuses on the sites’ transaction structuring phase, as well as the sites’ requirements, challenges, and accomplishments while progressing towards implementation. Five of the six remaining demonstration sites progressed to the next PFS phase. Three of the six advanced from feasibility analysis to transaction structuring. Only two of the six moved on to implementation and making success payments. There is only one site that started and remained in the transaction structuring phase.

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