This month, L.A. County's Probation Department will start paying the rent for hundreds of homeless probationers. "Breaking Barriers" may be the first criminal justice program of its kind in the nation.
Under a program administered by the county's Department of Health Services, 300 homeless ex-felons under the supervision of a probation officer will get a case manager, employment services, any substance abuse and mental health services they need, and a permanent home in a rental property. The program will cost probation $4.2 million of its own funds, which will be paired with a $2 million donation from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
"You might bear some significant costs up front, but the assumption is it's more of an investment, because the individuals will then not continue to cycle through the criminal justice system," said Assistant Probation Chief Margarita Perez.
[For more of this story, written by Rina Palta, go to http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/...ss-ex-felon-problem/]
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