The Cook County Board on Thursday passed limits on the practice of asking potential tenants about their criminal histories, despite pleas to hold off until landlords and property owners had a chance to air their concerns.

The county’s preliminary results look promising: more than 78% of Vital clients were booked into jail less often once enrolled in the program for at least six months. On average, Vital participants went to jail about a third less often per year compared to the three years before their enrollment.

An Idaho lawsuit concerning how cities across the West enforce laws about sleeping in public—potentially changing how they treat their homeless populations—is now established as precedent. Barring a decision by the Supreme Court to address the case of Martin v.

The dormitory-style transitional housing program, run by Portland-headquartered nonprofit Bridges to Change, is designed to repair some of the harm the criminal justice system historically has inflicted on communities of color.

Many former offenders are denied housing — not because of the lack of funds or the failure to meet objective criteria, but because of their criminal history.

The city says it plans to move ahead with a costly, stopgap renovation of a New Orleans jail building to house dozens of inmates with mental health issues — but it also wants to keep its options open.

Kansas officials see a solution to chronic homelessness and the burden placed on state institutions, jails and law enforcement in the work of a psychiatrist who believes mentally ill people can help themselves without any strings attached.

Some places lift children out of poverty. Others trap them there. Now cities are trying to do something about the difference.