Addendum: Delaware Family Reentry Pilot Program
Newark Housing Authority (NHA) is part of a consortium of five Delaware Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) administering a statewide Family Reentry Pilot Program (FRP). The goal of the program is to provide individuals recently released from incarceration, or individuals who have been in the community for less than 3 years (either following a period of incarceration, or following the commission of an offense which did not result in incarceration) with the opportunity to reunite with their families living in PHA-assisted housing for a temporary period of up to two (2) years. During the program, participants must comply with the terms of any applicable community supervision, and will be offered various support services such as help securing employment, continuing their education, and/or obtaining benefits. After participants successfully complete the FRP, they can request to be added to their family’s lease permanently.
A. REFERRALS
Applicants may be identified and referred to the FRP either by representatives from the Delaware Department of Correction (DOC) or by representatives from a DOC-approved service provider. The applicant must complete a Program Eligibility Form to submit to NHA. Once the FRP applicant has been referred to NHA, a NHA representative will consult with the primary leaseholder and all household members residing in the NHA-assisted unit. The purpose of this meeting will be for the NHA representative to assess the family’s readiness to accommodate the applicant for two years of FRP participation. The family will complete the FRP Family Intake Form as part of this process. NHA will also review the past three (3) years of the applicant’s conviction history in the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System (DELJIS) to determine which category of the FRP participation would be appropriate for the applicant.
B. ADMISSION
After the Family Intake process is completed successfully, the applicant will meet with a NHA representative to discuss and complete the FRP Participant Agreement. The Participant Agreement details the expectations of the FRP participant during his/her time as a temporary guest of the household, and reviewing it will comprise the applicant’s orientation to the FRP. The family residing in the NHA-assisted unit will also meet with a representative from NHA to review and complete the FRP Family Participation Agreement, and the FRP Temporary Permission Request Form to allow the participant to live in the NHA-assisted unit. All adult household members residing in the unit must participate in this process.
C. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY
While the FRP participant will be considered a guest of the household during his/her participation in FRP, all FRP participants will be held to the same standards of conduct as any other resident of NHA-assisted housing. In addition, FRP participants: must comply with any community supervision requirements as determined by DOC; must not commit any felony or misdemeanor which could result in a period of incarceration; and must comply will all other terms and expectations stated in the FRP Participant Agreement.
D. PROGRAM COMPLETION
If the FRP participant has been determined to have successfully met FRP expectations by the time his/her participation in the program ends, he/she may be formally added to the household’s lease with NHA. Successful completion of FRP is indicated when: the FRP participant has not committed any new offense which resulted in a period of incarceration; and the family has remained intact (reunification has been sustained). The primary leaseholder will contact a NHA representative to request that the FRP participant be officially added to the household’s lease.
E. OCCUPANCY STANDARDS
NHA must adhere to Occupancy Standards as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). When an FRP applicant is approved to become an extended guest, there will not be any change in the household’s unit or voucher size. Once an FRP participant successfully completes the program, (after one or two years), and is officially added to the household, if a larger unit/voucher size is required than the one currently occupied by the household, the household would be placed on a unit transfer list, in chronological order with other transfer requests.