The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), with collaboration from the Research and Data Analysis Division (RDA), has published a report that scrutinizes the housing outcomes of individuals who recently exited institutional or out-of-home care settings in State Fiscal Years (SFY) 2010 and 2011. Data for this report comes from study populations within five different systems. They consist of Chemical Dependency Residential Facilities, State Department of Corrections Facilities, Foster Care, State Mental Hospitals, and Juvenile Rehabilitation Facilities.
Key findings of this report show that the rate of homelessness among individuals leaving these programs is extremely high. Specifically, people exiting residential chemical dependency treatment facilities and prisons represent especially high opportunity populations to encounter homelessness. Another striking result demonstrates that the proportion of individuals who required housing assistance and subsequently received it was highest for youth aging out of foster care. This study demonstrates the importance of integrating data from a variety of systems in order to reveal pivotal outcomes about the individuals these systems serve.