The policy, adopted Wednesday, now reads that any person who has been sentenced to jail and then released on probation or parole will be eligible for public housing once the probation or parole has ended.

The previous wording gave the impression that anyone who has been in jail could not be eligible for public housing.

While "there are certain crimes that never go away," such as drug manufacturing on authority property and crimes of violence, lesser charges do not preclude admission to public housing, said authority Executive Director L. DeWitt Boosel.

Boosel added that admittance to someone convicted of drug crimes often is tied to the completion of a rehabilitation program.