HOUSING:
Myth: Individuals who have been convicted of a crime are “banned” from public housing.
Fact: Public Housing Authorities (PHA’s) have great discretion in determining their admissions and occupancy
policies for ex-offenders. While PHA’s can choose to ban ex-offenders from participating in public housing and Section 8
programs, it is not HUD policy to do so. In fact, in many circumstances, formerly incarcerated people should not be denied
access.
VETERANS ISSUES:
Myth: Veterans cannot request to have their VA benefits resumed until they are officially released from incarceration.
Fact: Veterans may inform the VA to have their benefits resumed within 30 days or less of their anticipated release
date based on evidence from a parole board or other official prison source showing the Veteran’s scheduled release date.
Myth: A Veteran with criminal convictions or a history of incarceration is not eligible for VA health care.
Fact: An eligible Veteran, who is not currently incarcerated, can use VA care regardless of any criminal history, including
Incarceration. Only when an otherwise eligible Veteran is currently incarcerated, or in fugitive felon status, is he or she not
able to use VA health care.
PARENTAL RIGHTS AND CHILD SUPPORT:
Myth: Child welfare agencies are required to terminate parental rights if a parent is incarcerated.
Fact: Important exceptions to the requirement to terminate parental rights provide child welfare agencies and states
with the discretion to work with incarcerated parents, their children and their caregivers to preserve and strengthen family
relationships.
Myth: Non-custodial parents who are incarcerated cannot have their child support orders reduced.
Fact: Half of all states have formalized processes for reducing child support orders during incarceration.
Three-quarters of all states have laws that permit incarcerated parents to obtain a reduced or suspended support order.
ON BENEFITS ELIGIBILITY:
Myth: Eligibility for Social Security benefits cannot be reinstated when an individual is released from incarceration.
Fact: Social Security benefits are not payable if an individual is convicted of a criminal offense and confined.
However, monthly benefits usually can be reinstated after a period of incarceration by contacting Social Security and
providing proof of release.
Myth: A parent with a felony conviction cannot receive TANF/welfare.
Fact: The 1996 Welfare ban applies only to convicted drug felons, and only eleven states have kept the ban in place i
n its entirety. Most states have modified or eliminated the ban.
Myth: Individuals convicted of a felony can never receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the
Food Stamp Program) benefits.
Fact: This ban applies only to convicted drug felons, and only thirteen states have kept the ban in place in its entirety.
Most states have modified or eliminated the ban.
Myth: An individual cannot apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp
Program) benefits without a valid State-issued identification card.
Fact: A person can get SNAP benefits even if he or she does not have a valid State ID.
Myth: An individual cannot apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp
Program) benefits without a mailing address.
Fact: A person can get SNAP benefits even if he or she does not have a mailing address.
Myth: A person with a criminal record is not eligible to receive federal student financial aid.
Fact: Individuals who are currently incarcerated in a federal, state, or local correctional institution have some limited
eligibility for federal student aid. In general, restrictions on federal student aid eligibility are removed for formerly
incarcerated individuals, including those on probation, on parole, or residing in a halfway house.
Myth: Incarceration exempts individuals from the requirement to file taxes, halts the accumulation of federal tax debts,
and prohibits the receipt of tax credits and deductions upon release.
Fact: Incarceration neither changes one’s obligation to pay taxes and tax debts nor prohibits the receipt of tax credits and
deductions upon release.
Myth: An individual with a felony conviction can never vote.
Fact: Nearly every state has a restoration process to regain voting rights. Only a few states do not allow re-enfranchisement,
and those restrictions only apply to a few specific offenses. Generally, it is not a matter of whether one can vote, but how and
when one can vote.
Myth: Medicaid agencies are required to terminate benefits if an otherwise eligible individual is incarcerated.
Fact: States are not required to terminate eligibility for individuals who are incarcerated based solely on inmate status.
States may suspend eligibility during incarceration, enabling an individual to remain enrolled in the state Medicaid program,
thereby facilitating access to Medicaid services following release.
For more information, go to www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/