Leaving permanent supportive housing: a scoping review of Moving On Initiative participant outcomes

Abstract

Homeless services systems are now employing Moving On Initiatives (MOIs) to assist formerly homeless residents of permanent supportive housing programs with the transition from these highly supportive programs to affordable housing without the embedded supports. There remains a dearth of evidence on the effectiveness of these initiatives in regard to post-move housing retention and other participant outcomes, and no review of MOI evaluation outcomes has been conducted to date. To address this gap, a scoping review was used to map and summarize the existing literature on MOI participant outcomes and discuss outstanding gaps in this body of literature. Overall, the early evidence on this emerging approach is promising as this review finds high rates of post-move housing retention and other positive participant outcomes in the few sources located that describe MOI outcomes. However, large-scale studies of MOIs with longer follow-up periods are needed to assess the long-term effectiveness and outcomes of these initiatives.

Keywords:

• Permanent supportive housing
• Moving On Initiatives
• homelessness
• transition
• outcomes
• scoping review

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of our subject matter experts who were instrumental in helping us locate additional sources for this review. Preliminary findings from this review were presented at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Moving On Training Series (2021, May 12).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [ET], upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no financial interest or benefit that has arisen from the direct applications of this research.

Funding

This work was not funded by any agency or grant.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emmy Tiderington

Emmy Tiderington is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work and Associate Faculty at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Prior to this appointment, she worked as a clinical supervisor, social worker, and direct care provider in housing and case management programs for individuals with serious mental illness and other complex needs. Her research has been funded by a variety of Federal, State, local, and private funders, including the National Institute of Mental Health, State of New Jersey, Oak Foundation, and Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

Jordan Goodwin

Jordan Goodwin is a doctoral student in the School of Social Work at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She holds a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Florida, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Master of Social Work from Rutgers. Her research focuses on issues around housing instability, mental health, and substance use among individuals and families. She is also a licensed social worker and ordained chaplain with direct practice experience in psychiatric treatment facilities and low-income housing communities.

Elizabeth Noonan

Elizabeth Noonan is a clinical social work student in the School of Social Work at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Rutgers, The State School of New Jersey.