Homeless Shelters’ Policies on Sex Offenders: Is This Another Collateral Consequence?

Abstract

The primary focus of sex offender research has been on the efficacy and collateral consequences of sex offender registration and notification (SORN) and residence restrictions. Past scholarship has found these laws to cause numerous re-entry barriers for sex offenders. Such barriers have affected sex offenders' ability to find and maintain housing, employment, and social support. Moreover, registered sex offenders (RSOs) have become homeless due to such laws. Although previous scholarship has highlighted the collateral consequences of SORN, there is a lack of scholarship addressing homeless sex offenders. Specifically, the current study assesses policies regarding RSO access to homeless shelters in a four-state region, focusing on the effect of structural, procedural, and geographic factors, as well as a shelter's proximity to children. Drawing on the loose coupling organizational framework, the findings suggest that a small maximum occupancy, unwritten policies for RSOs, being in Kentucky or Tennessee, being located near a school, and being near a higher proportion of homes with children all decrease the odds that a homeless shelter allows RSOs. Furthermore, although unwilling to make exceptions to the policies regarding RSOs, shelters were generally willing to make exceptions to other policies governing shelter accessibility.

Public Support for Emergency Shelter Housing Interventions Concerning Stigmatized Populations

“…For instance, the increased housing instability caused by residence restrictions, combined with a lack of adequate transitional facilities, have led many sex offenders to become homeless (Levenson, 2008;Levenson, Ackerman, Socia, and Harris, 2013;Rydberg, Grommon, Huebner, and Bynum, 2014). This is exacerbated by homeless shelter policies that ban sex offenders (Rolfe, Tewksbury, and Schroeder, 2016). One solution is to place these homeless SOs in emergency boarding houses or motels (Crawford, 2014;Swaner, 2014).…”

Veterans in Prison for Sexual Offenses: Characteristics and Reentry Service Needs

“…Homeless shelters are often not an option for people with sexual offense histories. Among homeless shelters in four states, 65% run a check on the sex offender registry and 82% deny access to registered sex offenders (Rolfe, Tewksbury, & Schroeder, 2017). Almost half of the shelters that denied people with sexual offenses had no other policies against criminal offenders.…”

When a Sex Offender Comes to Visit: A National Assessment of Travel Restrictions

“…These laws also preclude registrants from receiving other vital resources, such as treatment programs, homeless shelters, various government programs (i.e., section-8 housing, food assistance, etc. ), and prosocial support systems (Levenson & Cotter, 2005a, 2005b; Mustaine & Tewksbury, 2011; Rolfe, Tewksbury, & Lahm, in press; Rolfe, Tewksbury, & Schroeder, 2016; Socia, Levenson, Ackerman, & Harris, 2015; Tewksbury & Lees, 2006; Tewksbury & Levenson, 2009).…”