Reentry
Research and the Big Picture.
Reentry is a critical point from which to view our community. Each year, some 2,500 men and women leave incarceration and attempt to adjust to life in Monroe County. Without adjusting attitudes and behavior, and accepting assistance, up to 70% of these individuals areaccused of committing criminal acts. Many are sentenced and sent back to jail within a short time, many more in three years.This is recidivism. Recidivism unevenly affects families and neighborhoods. It has devastating effects upon loved ones, public safety, health and well-being, governmental operations, and taxpayers. Realistically, experts believe that carefully planned, collaborative and comprehensive reentry improvementwill reduce recidivism by 25% or more, and it will pay off economically and financially. Among urgent needs is safe housing linked to supportive programming and other reentry services.
Recidivism reduction is now a major policy objective of New York State. The Future of Sentencing in New York State, a 100 page preliminary report of the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform (10/15/07) exemplifies this position. It indicates changes being considered and discussed publically, yet still subject to revision at the time of its writing. [See note immediately below.] Monroe County is doing its part on this front.
Nationally, United States prison reentry is subject to intense reexamination and reform efforts. Key to these efforts is evidence that demonstrates strengths and weaknesses of each program and initiative. Essential to this enterprise if careful data collection, accountability, expert research and reasonable making and implementation of policy. The following citations identify some of the most important findings in this area.
National US data and analyses
But They All Come Back: Facing the Challenges of Prisoner Reentry
by Jeremy Travis (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute Press, 2005). Comprehensive treatment of "one of the greatest social experiments of our time,":the release of millions of incarcerated individuals and the need for reentry reform. Travis outlines the realities of punishment, proposes a "new architecture" for criminal justice around "five principles of reentry."Census of State and Federal Correctional Facililties
U.S. Bureau of Statistice, 2005). Selected findings in a web publication.Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables: Local Jail Deaths, 2000-2006 (U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics).
The High Budgetary Cost of Incarceration, by John Schmitt, Kris Warner, and Sarika Gupta (Washington, DC: Center for Economic and Policy Research, June 2010, pp. 19)
Life After Lockup: Improving Reentry from Jail to the Community, by Amy L. Solomon et al (Urban Institute, May 7, 2008). A comprehensive, readable treatment. Includes excellent charts and data. Covers those who serve time but are not sentenced, an important and large part of the reentry population.
National Institute of Corrections: Offender Reentry/Transition. Authoritative source of the “Transition from Prison to Community (TCP) Model.” The Monroe County Reentry Task Force and other NY County Reentry Task Force groups follow it. For what's going at the state level, see State Profiles.
National Reentry Resource Center:"Charting the safe and successful return of prisoners to the community." Established by Congretional legislation, the U.S. Second Chance Act, to provide assistance to the prisoner reentry field. The report is mainly for state and local governments, community and faith-based organizations and people returning home from incarceration.
Reentry Net: A major clearinghouse of materials on reentry and the consequences of criminal proceedings materials indended for attorneys, social service providers and policy reform advocates. Sponsors: The Bronx Defenders, Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College, and Pro Bono Net. Also see Reentry Resource Center - New York, which is listed below.
Reentry Partnerships: A Guide for States and Faith-Based and Community Organizations
(12/18/08) publication of the Council of State Governments Justice Center. "[P]ractical recommendations for how state government officials and community-based service providers" can better serve persons leaving incarceration. The 66-page booklet is free online.The Re-Entry Policy Council is an extremely important early proponent of reentry reform. A coalition of 10 national organizations, it develops bipartisan principles and policies. See onsite summary of Report of the Re-Entry Policy Council: Charting the Safe and Successful Return of Prisoners to the Community (NY: Jan. 2005). Also available: Information on reentry transformations in various states.
Reentry Programs Database: The Center for State Government's Justice Center created this seachable database for all states and reentry programming. Categories include employment, housing, law enforcement, substance abuse, mental health, families, juveniles and mentoring). Launched July 2010, it seeks input from throughout the US.
Sentencing: The Center for Sentencing Initiatives of The National Center for State Courts developed and disseminates materials for trial judges to learn about sentencing practices that help improve public safety and reduce recidivism. Click here for what's happening and to view (or download) learning modules.
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Criminal Justice Statistics: An authoritative, comprehensive source of U.S. data
here.What Works
(March 12, 2009), by James M. Byrne, Ph.D. Review of reentry with summary on page one.Mapping
The Justice Mapping Center: Charts differential effects of recidivism and reentry in urban neighborhoods.Reentry Case Studies
Six Counties: Reentry for Safer Communities: Effective County Practices in Jail to Community Transition Planning for Offenders with Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders (National Association of American Counties, published by the Community Services Division, County Services Department, Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, September 2008). Authoritative accounts from Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania; Auglaize Co., Ohio; Black Hawk Co., Iowa; Macomb Co., Michigan; Montgomery Co., Maryland; and Multnomah Co., Oregon.
New York State
Reentry Resource Center - New York: Also known as Reentry.net/NY, it serves folks from arrest to reintegration, advocates and is a resource on the consequences of criminal proceedings. The website also provides access to meetings, publications, legal information, etc.. Also see Reentry.net above. Reentry.net/NY sponsors are The Bronx Defenders, Center for Community Alternatives, Correctional Association of NY, Empire Justice Center, Fortune Society, Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry and Employment (ICARE), The Legal Aid Society, National H.I.R.E. Network, Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Pro Bono Net, and Women's Prison Association, among others.Monroe County, NY. Data
Incarcerated Monroe County residents, data and commentary: Mental illness and substance abuse disorders and more here; also implications for public awareness and discussion.(1) Reentry Community Assessment, first results of a SMART survey(02/11/10). Researcher Greg Drake, Department of Criminal Justice, RIT, presents findings from 222 reentry client surveys done in 2009. They show distribution by race, gender, age and living situation; source of income and support; criminal and incarceration history, release conditions, services desired and/or used during incarceration and reentry, etc.. Results are skewed toward releasees from state prison and those actually using services, however clients definitely need and want services. The report suggests that better, more consistent service provision will likely improve reentry. Click here for "SMART Reentry Sample Survey Information" PDF slides. And Click here for 3-page "Differences in Most Important [Social, Health, Educational, etc.] Services by Various Ways that Respondent Self-Described [Their] Demographics." Note: All comments and questions must be directed to Mike Bleeg by email:, 585-325-7746, or SMART, 215 Alexander St., Rochester, NY 14607.
(2) Monroe County Correctional Facility: term length and release data (02/11/10). Data. in PDF format, are from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. They specify (a) length of terms of all individuals sentenced to Monroe County Correctional Facility (MCCF) in 2008 and (b) those incarcerated in 2008 who served 3+ months in jail and were released in 2008-2009. The latter includes totals, ages, gender and race, release reasons, numbers sent to other prisons or jurisdictions and additional reasons for release. Nearly 800 persons incarcerated in 2008 were released in 2008 and 2009 having served 3 months or longer in MCCF. Evidence demonstrated that this is the minimum time necessary for treatment, service and/or educational programs to be successful in supporting successful reentry and reducing recidivism. Note: All comments and questions must be directed to Mike Bleeg by email (click on name), 585-325-7746, or SMART, 215 Alexander St., Rochester, NY 14607.
(3) Local data: Approximately 65% of Monroe County residents serving time in County and NY prisons originate from an area in which only 25% of the County's population resides. The area encompasses the zip US Postal code areas of 14605, 14606, 14608, 14609, 14611, 14613, 14619, and 14621. All are within the City of Rochester. This indicates the locational and cultural effects of crime, incarceration, and reentry upon Monroe County's poorest neighborhoods and the people who make their homes there. The data are based on Sheriff’s Office data listing over 19,000 individuals leaving the MC jail in 2006. (It must be assed that among these there may indeed be dupllications.) Of the 19,000 individuals, 2,500 were formally sentenced to incarceration. Additional information: Bob Seidel.
Prisoner Reentry: Addressing the Challenges in a Chemical Dependency Program (May 2010), MSW thesis by Jeffrey A. Footer, Nazareth College and SUNY Brockport. One-page summary; full text (pp. 23). Study based upon research carried out in Rochester, NY, and serving as a basis for initiation of a reentry program at Unity Health Systems.
Evidence-Based Research
Evidence-based suppport for reentry reform is supplied by, among others, the noted meta-analytical sutdies and presentations of Edward J. Latessa, Ph.D., professor and head of the Division of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati. Samples of Professor Latessa’s work are here at [one][two], and can be located with a Google search.Action, Advocacy and Education
The Bronx Defenders. Solutions to break cycles of crime, incarceration, and recidivism. Staff attorneys, social workers, investigators, administrative support, and community organizers serve clients, families, and communities. May involve mental health concerns, civic engagement, and preparing youths to be leaders.The Center for Community Alternatives (CCA). Innovative solutions for justice, alternatives to incarceration, fostering responsive juvenile and criminial justice systems.
The Correctional Association of New York (CANY). Non-profit policy and advocacy organization seeks fair, efficient and humane criminal justice systems, and a safe and just society.
CURE-NY: Citizens United for Rehabililtation of Errants, New York Chapter: Newsletter; information, resources. Seeks justice with healing; supports anti-crime measures to save resources; strives to improve inmate productivity and civility; promotes reform.
ICARE: Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry and Employment: Faith-based response to New York's recidivism crisis, strives to eleminate barriers to reentry. Distributes the email monthly newsletter of Prison Action Network (see below).
Family Justice: First-rate, model reentry family assistance, planning, and programming.
The Fortune Society:Prisoner reentry focus. Supports successful prisoner re-entry, promotes alternatives to incarceration. Believes in individuals' power to change. Educates the public and does advocacy.
National Reentry Resource Center, a comprehensive Council of State Governments Justice Center Project under the auspices of the national Second Chances Act. It is sponsored in part by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice. Purpose: To assist in prisoner reentry, including education, training, and technical assistance to states, tribes, territories, local governments, service providers, nonprofit organizations, and corrections agencies.
Prisoner Action Network: "Seeks to unite people who are incarcerated in NYS, people who have a loved one in a NYS prison, and people who care about the impact of incarceration upon society." PO Box 6355, Albany, NY 12206. 518-253-7533. Publishes Building Bridges, a monthly newsletter.