A range of services provided to assist and support people in (1) developing their skills to gain access to needed medical, behavioral health, housing, employment, social, educational, and other services essential to meeting basic human needs and (2) forming linkages to and training in the use of community resources. Staff dedicated to case management generally provides these services.

Usually considered a more serious offense, for which there is typically a term of imprisonment for one year or more.

1987 legislation that empowers the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to create homeless and supportive housing programs throughout the United States. The legislation uses a federal definition of homelessness that excludes people incarcerated or otherwise detained under state or federal law; therefore, individuals reentering the community from prison or jail are ineligible for any housing and services funded through the McKinney-Vento Act.

A jointly funded, federal/state health insurance program for low-income and disabled people who meet needs-based eligibility requirements. Nationally, it covers approximately 36 million individuals including children, the aged, the blind, the disabled, and people who are eligible to receive federally assisted income maintenance payments.

The foundation of the workforce development system under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). One-Stops are the entry point for any person seeking job training or employment services, and any employer seeking workforce services such as hiring or training. WIA requires that local workforce investment areas establish at least one physical One-Stop to serve employers and job seekers. Local workforce boards may establish more than one physical One-Stop and may also create virtual One-Stops at partner agencies, in community-based organizations, or in other facilities, such as prisons and churches.

Benefits provided by state or federal programs to eligible recipients. These benefits may be used by releasees to acquire treatment or housing but in some cases may be denied to individuals with criminal records. The current federal public assistance program is called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).

Any state, county, municipality, or other governmental entity or public body authorized under state legislation to engage in the development or administration of low-rent public housing or slum clearance.

A federal rental subsidy program providing assistance to either an individual or a property. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) provides both vouchers to individuals and subsidies to the landlord for the difference between the contract rent (set by HUD at Fair Market Rent) and the total tenant payment. Tenants in the Section 8 program generally pay 30 to 40 percent of their household income for rent. Under federal law, public housing authorities or federally assisted housing providers may screen or refuse vouchers to people who have been convicted of certain offenses (see “One Strike You’re Out” in the list of special topics). In most areas of the country, there are considerable waiting lists for vouchers, and public housing authorities can set local preferences for issuing vouchers. Also known as the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program.

A federal program in the Social Security Administration providing monthly benefits to disabled workers and their dependents. A person builds protection through employment covered under Social Security. Disability is defined as an inability to engage in substantial gainful activity because of any medically determinable, permanent physical or mental impairment. The individual must be disabled for at least five months to be eligible for SSDI benefits.

A federal income supplement program funded by general tax revenues rather than Social Security taxes. SSI is designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people who have little or no income by providing cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.

A federal program that provides assistance and work opportunities to needy families by granting states the federal funds and wide flexibility to develop and implement their own welfare programs. Overseen by the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, TANF was created by the Welfare Reform Law of 1996 and replaced what was then commonly known as welfare: the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) programs.

1998 federal legislation that aims to integrate national, state, and local job training programs to increase employment, job retention, and earnings of participants; reduce welfare dependency; and enhance national productivity and competitiveness. WIA replaced the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) as the nation’s guiding federal legislation on the training, retraining, and employment of youth, adults, and dislocated workers. It streamlined JTPA’s patchwork of federal job training programs into a locally driven service delivery system built around One-Stop career centers.