An Integrated Data System Lens Into Evictions and Their Effects

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study uses linked administrative records to examine the disruptive effects of eviction on adults and children in low-income households. By linking eviction filings for the City of Cleveland, Ohio, with administrative records, we depict residential mobility, homeless shelter use, and children’s school attendance for households, spanning a period of 2 years before and after the filings. Using difference-in-differences models, we find that eviction orders further erode housing stability, with differential impacts for tenants of private and public housing. Children of evicted households have lower rates of lead testing relative to children of nonevicted households, despite the extremely high levels of poisoning both groups exhibit. These findings point to the need to focus on eviction prevention, in conjunction with an overall strategy to address the weaknesses in our social safety net and housing programs. Throughout the analyses we discuss the potential and challenges of using linked administrative data to understand the consequences of evictions with the goal of informing social and housing policy.