Eviction less likely for Dallas County tenants who get a lawyer — but most don’t have one
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A study of Dallas County eviction cases found most tenants lose their cases, forcing them out of their homes and leaving a permanent mark on their record that makes it harder to find housing in the future.
The Child Poverty Action Lab observed nearly 1,300 eviction cases over a nearly six-month period, providing a picture of how eviction cases play out that is rarely seen because courts produce little public data.
The nonprofit found renters rarely have legal representation, though they fare significantly better when they have a lawyer. Their landlords are far more likely to have a lawyer. The study also shows evictions are adjudicated at a blistering pace, with judges taking about four minutes, on average, to rule.
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CPAL Partner Spotlight: Dallas College
What happens when a college system turns data into action?
- In this CPAL Partner Spotlight, we explore how Dallas College partnered with the Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL) to better identify and support student parents — an often-overlooked group facing barriers to completing their education.
- By integrating CPAL’s data analysis with Dallas College’s holistic Student Care Network, the college was able to identify 8,500 student parents supporting more than 25,000 children — and connect many of them with public benefits, wraparound services, and long-term opportunities for economic mobility.
- "CPAL helped us ask the right questions—and the ripple effect is now touching veterans, foster youth, dual credit students, and more."
Can a cleanup plan from Philadelphia work in South Dallas? What $300,000 has done so
CPAL and key partners are using data to remediate blight in the Mill City neighborhood.
- Many Dallas neighborhoods have extensive blight, which signals systemic disinvestment and invites harm.
- Blight has become a focal point of citywide investment in many cities across the country to accelerate programs to re-green vacant lots.
Crime in Dallas isn’t as random as you may think. Here’s how police can predict it.
CPAL has used risk-terrain modeling to help identify areas of high risk for violent crime.
- Once identified, police and community members work together to create “risk narratives.” These are hypotheses on how environmental aspects work together to create the potential for crime.
- Atlantic City, N.J., is perhaps the most celebrated case study for risk terrain modeling. In the first year, violent crime dropped 26% compared to the prior year. Robberies fell by 37%.