• Dr. Culhane studies homelessness and housing policy. His research has been instrumental in a national shift in how society addresses homelessness, including expansions of supported housing for people who are chronically homeless, and housing stabilization programs for families and individuals at-risk of homelessness. • Dr. Culhane co-directs the Cartographic Modeling Laboratory (CML), which applies spatial data and spatial analysis tools to the study of how the social and built environments influence health and behavior. • Dr. Culhane also collaborates with state and local governments on the development and use of integrated administrative database systems to model service use patterns, and to design more effective policy and program options.
2008-2009 Publications
Institutional discharges and subsequent shelter use among unaccompanied adults in New York City (with Stephen Metraux and Thomas Byrne), Journal of Community Psychology (2010)
This study empirically examines the link between homelessness and discharges from other institutions. An administrative...
Investigating the link between gun possession and gun assault (with Charles C. Branas, Therese S. Richmond, Thomas R. Ten Have, and Douglas J. Wiebe), American Journal of Public Health (2009)
Objectives. We investigated the possible relationship between being shot in an assault and possession of...
Health and Social Characteristics of Homeless Adults in Manhattan Who Were Chronically or Not Chronically Unsheltered (with Aaron J. Levitt, Joe DeGenova, Patrick O'Quinn, and Jay Bainbridge), Psychiatric Services (2009)
Objective: This study compared health and social characteristics of two groups of homeless adults in...
The 2008 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress (with Jill Khadduri, Alvaro Cortes, and Larry Buron), US Department of Housing and Urban Development (2009)
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is pleased to present the 2008...
Using Adult Linkages Project Data for Determining Patterns and Costs of Services Use by General Relief Recipients in Los Angeles County (with Stephen Metraux) (2009)
This study examines services use and related costs for two cohorts of General Relief (GR)...
Frequently Requested
The 2008 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress (with Jill Khadduri, Alvaro Cortes, and Larry Buron), US Department of Housing and Urban Development (2009)
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is pleased to present the 2008...
Rearranging the Deck Chairs or Reallocating the Lifeboats?: Homelessness Assistance and Its Alternatives (with Stephen Metraux), Journal of the American Planning Association (2008)
Problem: At present, homelessness in the
United States is primarily addressed by
providing...
Testing a Typology of Family Homelessness Based on Patterns of Public Shelter Utilization in Four U.S. Jurisdictions: Implications for Policy and Program Planning (with Stephen Metraux, Jung Min Park, Maryanne Schretzman, and Jesse Valente), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2007)
This study tests a typology of family homelessness based on patterns of public shelter utilization...
Recent Incarceration History among a Sheltered Homeless Population (with Stephen Metraux), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2006)
This study examined incarceration histories and shelter use patterns of 7,022 persons staying in public...
Predicting Staying In or Leaving Permanent Supportive Housing That Serves Homeless People with Serious Mental Illness (with Yin-Ling Irene Wong, Trevor R. Hadley, Steve R. Poulin, Morris R. Davis, Brian A. Cirksey, and James L. Brown), US Dept of Housing and Urban Development (2006)
Homelessness among Families
Testing a Typology of Family Homelessness Based on Patterns of Public Shelter Utilization in Four U.S. Jurisdictions: Implications for Policy and Program Planning (with Stephen Metraux, Jung Min Park, Maryanne Schretzman, and Jesse Valente), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2007)
This study tests a typology of family homelessness based on patterns of public shelter utilization...
Homelessness and Child Welfare Services in New York City: Exploring Trends and Opportunites for Improving Outcomes for Children and Youth (with Jung Min Park), Departmental Papers (2007)
Family Homelessness: Background Research Findings and Policy Options (with Mary Beth Shinn and Debra R. Rog), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2005)
Child Welfare Involvement among Children in Homeless Families (with Jung Min Park, Stephen Metraux, and Gabriel Broadbar), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2004)
An analysis of 8,251 homeless children in New York City found that 18% of them...
Prevalence of Episodic Homelessness among Childbearhing Women in Philadelphia (with David A. Webb, Jennifer F. Culhane, Stephen Metraux, and Jessica M. Robins), American Journal of Public Health (2003)
Homelessness among People with Behavioral Health-related Disabilities
Institutional discharges and subsequent shelter use among unaccompanied adults in New York City (with Stephen Metraux and Thomas Byrne), Journal of Community Psychology (2010)
This study empirically examines the link between homelessness and discharges from other institutions. An administrative...
Using Adult Linkages Project Data for Determining Patterns and Costs of Services Use by General Relief Recipients in Los Angeles County (with Stephen Metraux) (2009)
This study examines services use and related costs for two cohorts of General Relief (GR)...
Predicting Staying In or Leaving Permanent Supportive Housing That Serves Homeless People with Serious Mental Illness (with Yin-Ling Irene Wong, Trevor R. Hadley, Steve R. Poulin, Morris R. Davis, Brian A. Cirksey, and James L. Brown), US Dept of Housing and Urban Development (2006)
Homelessness and HIV Risk Behaviors among Injection Drug Users (with Stephen Metraux and David S. Metzger), Journal of Urban Health (2004)
This article uses data from an 8-year study of injection drug users to examine whether...
The New York-New York Housing Initiative and Use of Public Shelters by Persons with Severe Mental Illness (with Stephen Metraux and Steven C. Marcus), Psychiatric Services (2003)
Objective: The study examined changes in the use of shelters in New York City by...
Homelessness and HIV/AIDS
An Assessment of the Housing Needs of Persons with HIV/AIDS: New York City Eligible Metropolitan Statistica Area, Final Report (with Virginia Shubert, Hillary Botein, Suzanne Wagner, and Steve Poulin) (2004)
Homelessness and HIV Risk Behaviors among Injection Drug Users (with Stephen Metraux and David S. Metzger), Journal of Urban Health (2004)
This article uses data from an 8-year study of injection drug users to examine whether...
The Co-Occurrence of AIDS and Homelessness: Results from the Integration of Administrative Data for AIDS Surveillance and Public Shelter Utilization in Philadelphia (with Erica E. Gollub, Randall R. Kuhn, and Mark Shpaner), Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (2001)
STUDY OBJECTIVE: Administrative databases from the City of Philadelphia that track public shelter utilisation (n=44...
Homelessness and the Criminal Justice System
Institutional discharges and subsequent shelter use among unaccompanied adults in New York City (with Stephen Metraux and Thomas Byrne), Journal of Community Psychology (2010)
This study empirically examines the link between homelessness and discharges from other institutions. An administrative...
Using Adult Linkages Project Data for Determining Patterns and Costs of Services Use by General Relief Recipients in Los Angeles County (with Stephen Metraux) (2009)
This study examines services use and related costs for two cohorts of General Relief (GR)...
Recent Incarceration History among a Sheltered Homeless Population (with Stephen Metraux), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2006)
This study examined incarceration histories and shelter use patterns of 7,022 persons staying in public...
Homeless Shelter Use and Reincarceration Following Prison Release (with Stephen Metraux), Criminology and Public Policy (2004)
This paper exmaines the incidence of and interrelationships between shelter use and reincarceration among a...
Public Service Reductions Associated with Placement of Homeless Persons with Severe Mental Illness in Supportive Housing (with Stephen Metraux and Trevor Hadley), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2002)
This article assesses the impact of public investment in supportive housing for homeless persons with...
Homelessness Management Information Systems and the Policy Uses of Administrative Data
The 2006 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress (with Jill Khadduri, Larry Buron, Alvaro Cortes, Mary Joel Holin, and Stephen Poulin) (2008)
This is the second Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to the United States Congress. The data...
The [First] Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress (with Jill Khadduri, Mary Joel Holin, Larry Buron, Alvaro Cortes, and Stephen Poulin), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2007)
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is pleased to present this national...
Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS); Data and Technical Standards Final Notice (with United States Government), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2004)
On July 22, 2003 (68 FR 43430), HUD published a draft Notice that described the...
Where to from Here? A Policy Research Agenda Based on the Analysis of Administrative Data (with Stephen Metraux), Departmental Papers (SPP) (1997)
This article outlines a policy research agenda based on the analysis of administrative data. Computerized...
Homelessness Policy Analysis and Commentary
Rearranging the Deck Chairs or Reallocating the Lifeboats?: Homelessness Assistance and Its Alternatives (with Stephen Metraux), Journal of the American Planning Association (2008)
Problem: At present, homelessness in the
United States is primarily addressed by
providing...
Family Homelessness: Background Research Findings and Policy Options (with Mary Beth Shinn and Debra R. Rog), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2005)
Role of Social Disadvantage in Crime, Joblessness, and Homelessness among Persons with Serious Mental Illness (with Jeffrey Draine, Mark S. Salzer, and Trevor R. Hadley), Psychiatric Services (2002)
Research on mental illness in relation to social problems such as crime, unemployment, and homelessness...
Homelessness and Public Shelter Provision in New York City (with Stephen Metraux and Susan M. Wachter), Housing and Community Development in New York City: Facing the Future (1999)
New York City, faced since the 1970s with growing numbers of homeless individuals and families,...
Homelessness Population Estimation, Demographic Composition and Trends
Health and Social Characteristics of Homeless Adults in Manhattan Who Were Chronically or Not Chronically Unsheltered (with Aaron J. Levitt, Joe DeGenova, Patrick O'Quinn, and Jay Bainbridge), Psychiatric Services (2009)
Objective: This study compared health and social characteristics of two groups of homeless adults in...
The 2008 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress (with Jill Khadduri, Alvaro Cortes, and Larry Buron), US Department of Housing and Urban Development (2009)
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is pleased to present the 2008...
The 2007 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress (with Jill Khadduri, Alvaro Cortes, Larry Buron, and Steve Poulin), Third Annua Report to the Congress (2008)
The 2007 AHAR is the first AHAR based on an entire year of data about...
The 2006 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress (with Jill Khadduri, Larry Buron, Alvaro Cortes, Mary Joel Holin, and Stephen Poulin) (2008)
This is the second Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to the United States Congress. The data...
The [First] Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress (with Jill Khadduri, Mary Joel Holin, Larry Buron, Alvaro Cortes, and Stephen Poulin), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2007)
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is pleased to present this national...
Homelessness Prevention and Housing Stabilization
Rearranging the Deck Chairs or Reallocating the Lifeboats?: Homelessness Assistance and Its Alternatives (with Stephen Metraux), Journal of the American Planning Association (2008)
Problem: At present, homelessness in the
United States is primarily addressed by
providing...
Help in Time: An Evaluation of Philadelphia's Community-Based Homelessness Prevention Program (with Yin-Ling I. Wong, Meg Koppel, Stephen Metraux, David E. Eldridge, Amy Hillier, and Helen R. Lee) (1999)
This report provides an evaluation of Philadelphia's neighborhood-based homelessness prevention initiative. Results indicate that nearly...
Where Homeless Families Come From: Toward a Prevention-Oriented Approach in Washington, DC (with Chang-Moo Lee) (1997)
Where the Homeless Come from: A Study of the Prior Address Distribution of Families Admitted to Public Shelters in New York City and Philadelphia (with Chang-Moo Lee and Susan M. Wachter), Departmental Papers (SPP) (1996)
This study investigates hypotheses regarding the association of census tract variables with the risk for...
Shelters Lead Nowhere, The New York Times (1993)
The city should take state and Federal financing that goes to the shelters and use...
Homelessness Program Accountability and Costs
Using Adult Linkages Project Data for Determining Patterns and Costs of Services Use by General Relief Recipients in Los Angeles County (with Stephen Metraux) (2009)
This study examines services use and related costs for two cohorts of General Relief (GR)...
Accountability, Cost-Effectiveness, and Program Performance: Progress Since 1998 (with Kennen S. Gross, Wayne D. Parker, Barbara Poppe, and Ezra Sykes), National Symposium on Homelessness Research (2008)
The authors summarize the progress made in the past decade toward making homeless assistance programs...
The Cost of Homelessness: A Perspective from the United States, European Journal of Homelessness (2008)
This paper discusses how researchers and others have analyzed the services histories of persons who...
Public Service Reductions Associated with Placement of Homeless Persons with Severe Mental Illness in Supportive Housing (with Stephen Metraux and Trevor Hadley), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2002)
This article assesses the impact of public investment in supportive housing for homeless persons with...
Making Homelessness Programs Accountable to Consumers, Funders and the Public (with David Eldridge, Robert Rosenheck, and Carol Wilkins), National Symposiums on Homelessness Research (1997)
This paper discusses how different types of performance measurement can be used to improve the...
Homelessness, Child Welfare and Out-of-home Placement
Homelessness and Child Welfare Services in New York City: Exploring Trends and Opportunites for Improving Outcomes for Children and Youth (with Jung Min Park), Departmental Papers (2007)
Childhood Out-of-home Placement and Dynamics of Public Shelter Utilization among Young Homeless Adults (with Jung Min Park and Stephen Metraux), Children and Youth Services Review (2005)
This study determined the prevalence of childhood experiences with child welfare supervision and placement among...
Child Welfare Involvement among Children in Homeless Families (with Jung Min Park, Stephen Metraux, and Gabriel Broadbar), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2004)
An analysis of 8,251 homeless children in New York City found that 18% of them...
Public Shelter Admission among Young Adults with Child Welfare Histories by Type of Service and Type of Exit (with Jung Min Park, Stephen Metraux, and Gabriel Broadbar), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2004)
This study examines the prevalence and associated factors of New York City public shelter use...
Prevalence of Child Welfare Services Involvement among Homeless and Low-Income Mothers: A Five-year Birth Cohort Study (with Jennifer F. Culhane, David Webb, Susan Grimm, and Stephen Metraux), Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare (2003)
This paper investigates the five-year prevalence of child welfare services involvement and foster care placement...
Housing Affordability and Assisted Housing Policy
Closing the Gap: Housing (un)Affordability in Philadelphia (with Amy E. Hillier), Departmental Papers (City and Regional Planning) (2003)
The Differential Impacts of Federally Assisted Housing Programs on Nearby Property Values: A Philadelphia Case Study (with Chang-Moo Lee and Susan M. Wachter), Departmental Papers (SPP) (1999)
Prior research has found negative impacts of public housing on neighborhood quality. Few studies have...
Housing Vacancy and Abandonment
Predicting Housing Abandonment with the Philadelphia Neighborhood Information System (with Amy E. Hillier, Tony E. Smith, and C. Dana Tomlin), Departmental Papers (City and Regional Planning) (2003)
Several large US cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia, have developed information...
Comment on James R. Cohen’s “Abandoned Housing: Exploring Lessons from Baltimore” (with Amy E. Hillier), Departmental Papers (City and Regional Planning) (2001)
For most cities, the possibility of transforming unused property into community and city assets is...
An Economic Analysis of Housing Abandonment (with Benjamin P. Scafidi, Michael H. Schill, and Susan M. Wachter), Journal of Housing Economics (1998)
Landlord abandonment of rental housing has affected many American cities since the 1960’s. Because of...
Integrated Administrative Databases and Community Indicator Systems
Using Adult Linkages Project Data for Determining Patterns and Costs of Services Use by General Relief Recipients in Los Angeles County (with Stephen Metraux) (2009)
This study examines services use and related costs for two cohorts of General Relief (GR)...
Philadelphia Schoolbase (2007)
A web-based tool for creating tables, maps, charts and statistical profiles for Philadelphia's schools and...
The Development of Community Information Systems to Support Neighborhood Change (with Bradley Breuer), Handbook of Community Movements and Local Organizations (2007)
Integrating and Distributing Administrative Data to Support Community Change (with Amy E. Hillier), Departmental Papers (City and Regional Planning) (2005)
An increasing number of groups are demanding access to information about the physical, economic, and...
Community Research Partners DataSource (Columbus, OH) (2003)
A web-based tool for creating maps, tables, charts and statistical profiles of neighobrhood indicators in...
Neighborhood Factors in Health, Development and Behavior
Investigating the link between gun possession and gun assault (with Charles C. Branas, Therese S. Richmond, Thomas R. Ten Have, and Douglas J. Wiebe), American Journal of Public Health (2009)
Objectives. We investigated the possible relationship between being shot in an assault and possession of...
Alcohol Consumption, Alcohol Outlets, and the Risk of Being Assaulted with a Gun (with Charles C. Branas, Therese S. Richmond, Michael R. Elliott, and Douglas J. Wiebe), Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (2009)
Background: We conducted a population-based case-control study to better delineate the relationship between individual alcohol...
Novel Linkage of Individual and Geographic Data to Study Firearm Violence (with Charles Branas, T Richmond, and Doug Weibe), Homicide Studies (2008)
Firearm violence is the end result of a causative web of individual-level and geographic risk...
Employing Community Data to Investigate Social and Structural Dimensions of Urban Neighborhoods: An Early Childhood Education Example (with Christine P. McWayne, Paul A. McDermott, and John Fantuzzo), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2007)
The present study sought to define neighborhood context by examining relationships among data from city-level...
A Perimeter-based Clustering Index for Measuring Spatial Segregation: A Cognitive GIS Approach (with Chang Moo Lee), Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design (1998)
Many efforts have been made to develop segregation indices that incorporate spatial interaction based on...
Patterns of Homelessness
Testing a Typology of Family Homelessness Based on Patterns of Public Shelter Utilization in Four U.S. Jurisdictions: Implications for Policy and Program Planning (with Stephen Metraux, Jung Min Park, Maryanne Schretzman, and Jesse Valente), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2007)
This study tests a typology of family homelessness based on patterns of public shelter utilization...
Homeless Shelter Use and Reincarceration Following Prison Release (with Stephen Metraux), Criminology and Public Policy (2004)
This paper exmaines the incidence of and interrelationships between shelter use and reincarceration among a...
Family Dynamics, Housing, and Homelessness Among Women in New York City Shelters (with Stephen Metraux), Journal of Family Issues (1999)
This study looks at two sets of women who stayed in New York City home...
Homelessness and Public Shelter Provision in New York City (with Stephen Metraux and Susan M. Wachter), Housing and Community Development in New York City: Facing the Future (1999)
New York City, faced since the 1970s with growing numbers of homeless individuals and families,...
Applying Cluster Analysis to Test a Typology of Homelessness by Pattern of Shelter Utilization: Results from the Analysis of Administrative Data (with Randall Kuhn), Departmental Papers (SPP) (1998)
This study tests a typology of homelessness using administrative data on public shelter use in...
Structural Determinants of Homelessness
Institutional discharges and subsequent shelter use among unaccompanied adults in New York City (with Stephen Metraux and Thomas Byrne), Journal of Community Psychology (2010)
This study empirically examines the link between homelessness and discharges from other institutions. An administrative...
The Impact of Welfare Reform on Public Shelter Utilization in Philadelphia: A Time-Series Analysis (with Stephen R. Poulin, Lorlene M. Hoyt, and Stephen Metraux), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2003)
The use of public shelters in Philadelphia was examined both before and after the implementation...
Where Homeless Families Come From: Toward a Prevention-Oriented Approach in Washington, DC (with Chang-Moo Lee) (1997)
Where the Homeless Come from: A Study of the Prior Address Distribution of Families Admitted to Public Shelters in New York City and Philadelphia (with Chang-Moo Lee and Susan M. Wachter), Departmental Papers (SPP) (1996)
This study investigates hypotheses regarding the association of census tract variables with the risk for...
The Organization and Utilization of the Shelter System in Philadelphia: Estimating Length of Stay and Turnover, Journal of Health and Social Policy (1993)
This paper describes the structure of the shelter system in the City of Philadelphia and...
Supportive Housing Interventions for Formerly Homeless Persons
Predicting Staying In or Leaving Permanent Supportive Housing That Serves Homeless People with Serious Mental Illness (with Yin-Ling Irene Wong, Trevor R. Hadley, Steve R. Poulin, Morris R. Davis, Brian A. Cirksey, and James L. Brown), US Dept of Housing and Urban Development (2006)
The New York-New York Housing Initiative and Use of Public Shelters by Persons with Severe Mental Illness (with Stephen Metraux and Steven C. Marcus), Psychiatric Services (2003)
Objective: The study examined changes in the use of shelters in New York City by...
Public Service Reductions Associated with Placement of Homeless Persons with Severe Mental Illness in Supportive Housing (with Stephen Metraux and Trevor Hadley), Departmental Papers (SPP) (2002)
This article assesses the impact of public investment in supportive housing for homeless persons with...
Ending Homelessness Among Women with Severe Mental Illness: A Model Program from Philadelphia, Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal (1992)
The literature on homelessness among persons with severe mental illness suggests that successful programs for...
The Organization and Financing of Behavioral Health Services
For-Profit Versus Non-Profit Freestanding Psychiatric Inpatient Facilities: An Update (with Paul G. Stiles and Trevor R. Hadley), Administration and Policy in Mental Health (1997)
Although several studies have examined the trend toward the decreasing differentiation of non-profit from for-profit...
Before and After Deinstitutionalization: Comparing State Hospitalization Utilization, Staffing and Costs in 1949 and 1988 (with Paul G. Stiles and Trevor R. Hadley), Administration and Policy in Mental Health (1996)
The literature on deinstitutionalization (DI) and state hospitals is consistent in several areas: patient censuses...
Old and New: A Comparison of State Psychiatric Hospitals (with Paul G. Stiles and Trevor R. Hadley), Psychiatric Services (1996)
This study examined whether state hospitals in operation before deinstitutionalization still cary vestigates of older...
The Current Practice of Child and Adolescent Partial Hospitalization: Results of a National Survey (with Laurel J. Kiser and Trevor R. Hadley), Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (1995)
Objective: In 1992, the American Association for Partial Hospitalization initiated a national survey of partial...
What is a CMHC? A Comparative Analysis by Varying Definitional Criteria (with Trevor R. Hadley, Noel Mazade, and Ronald W. Manderscheid), Administration and Policy in Mental Health (1994)
Using definitions of a community mental health center (CMHC) derived from the original federal legislation,...