Better data leads to better decisions. Better decisions lead to better outcomes.
At CPAL, data is central to everything we do. We bridge information gaps by delivering actionable data to families, partner organizations, and local government.
Our work in action
A sampling of published media + data
Dallas College students who are evicted more likely to drop out, not return
CPAL’s study with Dallas College reveals how an eviction can have harmful and long-lasting impacts on young adults.
- Dallas College students who haven’t experienced an eviction earn a credential at about 7.5 times the rate of students who do have an eviction filing against them.
- Dallas College students who faced an eviction had a persistence rate 60% lower than the first-time students cohort; the eviction cohort also had a 50% lower retention rate compared to the first-time students cohort.
Eviction at Dallas College
Analysis from CPAL and Dallas College explores how eviction affects Dallas College students and opportunities for support.
- Housing providers filed 4,114 evictions against 3,352 Dallas College students from 2017 to spring 2022. For students with an eviction filing while enrolled at Dallas College, just 4% went on to earn a credential.
- Black students, students with children, female students, and American Indian/Alaskan Native students are overrepresented in the subset of students with an eviction filing.
Legal representation increases Dallas tenants’ chances of avoiding eviction
CPAL data underscores the importance of legal representation in eviction cases which keeps tenants housed.
- CPAL data reveals how courts rule in landlords’ favor 84% of time when tenants don’t show up; when tenants appear with legal representation, landlords win only 10% of cases.
- Through August, 28,845 evictions have been filed this year in Dallas County, an average of 119 per day, a 223% increase over the same period in 2021 and a 203% increase over the same period in 2020.
Housing in Dallas: A Framework for Action
This framework for action details the ways in which CPAL organizes its housing efforts across four dimensions.
- In 2017, 22,500 occupied housing units in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) were classified as severely inadequate.
- Between 2008 and 2018, the DFW MSA lost 237,600 low-rent units (units renting for under $800), representing a decline of 42%.
What Can Dallas Do To Motivate Landlords to Accept Housing Vouchers?
CPAL’s new report reveals just how difficult it is for low-income renters to find a rental unit even with government support.
- Only 7% of the surveyed apartment complexes in four counties—Denton, Dallas, Tarrant, and Collin—reported taking Housing Choice Vouchers.
- Within the City of Dallas, voucher holders are overwhelmingly housed in the southern half of the city and are concentrated in a handful of census tracts.
Improve Housing Choice Voucher Acceptance
CPAL’s Housing Voucher Acceptance Guide explains Dallas’ voucher ecosystem dynamics and ways to improve HCV acceptance.
- In a 2020 survey of apartment complexes across Dallas, Denton, Tarrant, and Collin Counties conducted by the Inclusive Communities Project, only 7% of respondents reported accepting vouchers.
- Those that benefit most from vouchers are primarily women and BIPOC renters who live below the federal poverty threshold. 15% of the DHA Housing Choice Voucher recipients (~2,400 families) are households with dependent children.