Sec. Castro: HUD Has Role in Criminal Justice Reform-and More, In Exclusive Interview

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HUD at 50: History in the Making. Thursday, September 17

Join HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research on September 17 for an interactive presentation by Dr. Jill Khadduri on the founding and evolution of HUD over the last 50 years. Dr. Khadduri will provide insights on the key programs, policies and personalities that have shaped HUD into the "Department of Opportunity." Register

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Shelterforce Exclusive Interview

Julián Castro

Secretary, Department of Housing & Urban Development

On fair housing strategies:

"In Austin, Texas, they not too long ago passed an ordinance prohibiting source of income discrimination. Of course, the Texas legislature just prohibited the ordinance that they passed. However, that's the kind of ordinance that I like to see because it demonstrates a commitment to helping ensure that Housing Choice Voucher families can get into higher opportunity areas. We would like to help work up, in collaboration with these communities, a model set of those kinds of ordinances." More

On housing choice:

"Whenever we do a RAD project or Choice [Neighborhoods], or make a significant investment in housing, the goal ought to be to give folks a chance to live there who were living there before the renovation." More

On screening out people with felony convictions:

"I believe that HUD has a role to play in the larger conversation about criminal justice reform and ensuring that folks have effective and fair second chances in life. Just as Congress is having this same conversation in a broader sense about criminal justice reform, we need to have that in the housing context. Did we go overboard in the 1990s with some of the policies?" More

On the affordability crisis:

"We need to focus on creating as much stock of affordable housing as possible. That's why, for instance, we've joined with Treasury in suggesting in the past that we look at enhancing the Low Income Housing Tax Credit by up to 50 percent by allowing states to substitute unused tax credit capacity from other types of tax credits and use that instead for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit so that we can create more affordable housing opportunities out there. That's one thing. Another thing..." More

Plus... Can HUD lengthen affordability periods? Will HUD support permanently affordable housing through regulation and stewardship funding? How can HUD keep people in their homes in hot markets? Will HUD change the voucher program to promote more mobility?

Read the full interview here!

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