The Urban Institute sought input from returning prisoners, their families, and their communities for the reportReturning Home: Understanding the Challenges of Prisoner Reentry. Individuals were surveyed prior to, during and after incarceration to discover what works to reduce recidivism, and what doesn’t.
The report discusses several components of reentry, including attitude, prison programs, substance abuse, health, employment, family, communities, recidivism and post-release supervision. Highlights of key findings follow:
Pending their release, prisoners are optimistic about their future
Prisoners who participate in job training and educational programs are less likely to return to prison after release
Despite extensive substance use histories, relatively small portions of returning prisoners participate in substance abuse treatment during incarceration
Many returning prisoners have significant educational and employment deficits: roughly half lack a high school degree or equivalent, more than half have been previously fired from a job, and many depended on illegal income prior to incarceration
Former prisoners who held an in-prison job, participated in job training while incarcerated, earned a GED during prison, and/or participated in an employment program early after release work a greater percentage of time the first year out than those who did not
Family members are the greatest anticipated source of financial resources, housing, and emotional support before prisoners are released
Significant portions of returning prisoners are clustered in a handful of neighborhoods with high levels of social and economic disadvantage
Official records show that nearly a quarter of former prisoners are reincarcerated in state correctional facilities within the first year of release
Former prisoners who worked before prison and those who find employment soon after release are less likely to be reincarcerated one year out
Being released to parole supervision helps former prisoners find employment and simultaneously reduces their likelihood of substance use after release
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