Research & The Big Picture in Reentry

Prison reentry in the United States is in a stage of intense reexamination & reform.  Here are links to some of the most important relevant information as well as research & data. [National US Data, policy & practice][New York State][Mapping][Reentry Case Studies][Monroe County Data][Evidence-Based Research][Action, Advocacy & Education][Employment][Incarceration] [Top]
   ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
   + Acronyms: translation everyone needs occasionally. +
   ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
================================================================
National US data
But They All Come Back: Facing the Challenges of Prisoner Reentry, by Jeremy Travis (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute Press, 2005). Book: 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. Author outlines the realities of punishment, proposes a "new architecture" for the criminal justice around "five principles of reentry." [Also listed at Spiritual Resources.]

The Census of State and Federal Correctional Facililties, 2005, selected findings on a web publication of the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Deaths in Custody Statistical Tables: Local Jail Deaths, 2000-2006: From the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. [Top]

The High Budgetary Cost of Incarceration, by John Schmitt, Kris Warner, & Sarika Gupta (Washington, DC: Center for Economic & 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 of entire scene. Includes excellent charts & data. Covers those who serve time but are not sentenced, an important & large part of reentry population. Available (click above), online & PDF format.

National Institute of Corrections: Offender Reentry/Transition. Authoritative source of Transition from Prison to Community (TCP) Model.  The Monroe County Reentry Task Force & other NY County Reentry Task Force groups follow it. What's going on in the states is at State Profiles. [Top]

National Reentry Resource Center: "Charting the safe and successful return of prisoners to the community." Established by the U.S. Second Chance Act to provide assistance to the prisoner reentry field; audiences are state & local governments, community and faith-based organizations, & people returning home.

Reentry Net: A major clearinghouse of materials for attorneys, social service providers, & policy reform advocates on reentry & consequences of criminal proceedings. Sponsored by The Bronx Defenders, Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College, & Pro Bono Net. Also see Reentry Resource Center - New York, below.

"Reentry Partnerships: A Guide for States & Faith-Based and Community Organizations," a 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. 66-page booklet available free, download or upon request online.

The Re-Entry Policy Council: Extremely important. Council is coalition of 10 national organizations developing bipartisan principles & policies. On site, see 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 on website: more recent information ont reentry transformations in various states. [Top]

Sentencing: The Center for Sentencing Initiatives of The National Center for State Courts developed & is disseminating materials to help trial judges learn about sentencing practices that help both improve public safety & reduce recidivism. Click here to see what's happening & view (or download) the 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: A review of  evidence on reentry, by James M. Byrne, Ph.D., March 12, 2009; first page is summary.
=========================================================
Mapping
The Justice Mapping Center charts differential effects of recidivism & reentry upon urban neighborhoods. [Top]
=========================================================
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 (by the 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; Multnomah Co., Oregon.[Top]
==========================================================
New York State
Reentry Resource Center - New York: Also known as Reentry.net/NY. Serves people from arrest to reintegration, advocate resource center on consequences of criminal proceedings. Website provides access to meetings, publications, legal information, much more .  Also see Reentry.net above. Reentry.net/NY is sponsored by many organizations, including The Bronx Defenders, Center for Community Alternatives, Correctional Association of NY, Empire Justice Center, Fortune Society, Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry & 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, & Women's Prison Association. [Top]
==========================================================
Monroe County, NY. Data
NEW Data & commentary on incaracerated Monroe County residents, mental illness & substance abuse disorders among them, & more here. Also implications in terms of public awareness & civic discussion. [Top]

NEW (1) Reentry Community Assessment, first results of a SMART survey released 02/11/10. Researcher Greg Drake, of RIT's Criminal Justice Department, presented findings from 222 reentry client surveys SMART conducted in 2009. Outcomes show distribution by race, gender, age, & living situation; source of income & support; criminal & incarceration history, release conditions, services desired and/or used during incarceration & reentry, more. Results were skewed toward releasees from state prison & those accessing various services. However, they make clear that services are wanted & needed & suggest that better & more consistent service provision during & after incarceration will likely improve reentry. Survey indicates that future surveys with sharpened questions may produce even more revealing outcomes. Click here for the "SMART Reentry Sample Survey Information" slides in *.pdf format. And click here for a 3-page analysis of "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 (click on name), phone to 585-325-7746, or mail: SMART 215 Alexander St., Rochester, NY 14607. [Top]

NEW (2) Monroe County Correctional Facility: term length and release data, released Feb. 11, 2010.  Data (in *.pdf format) from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office on (a) length of terms of all individuals sentenced to County Correctional Facility in 2008 & (b) those incarcerated in 2008 who served 3+ months in jail & were released in 2008 & 2009. The latter includes total numbers, ages, gender & race, reasons for release, those sent to other prisons or jurisdictions, & additional reasons for release. Nearly 800 incarcerated in 2008 were released in 2008 & 2009 & had served 3 months or more in MCCF. This is a minimum time for treatment, service, &/or educational programs that may support successful reentry & reduce recidivism. Please see note above that all comments and questions must be directed to Mike Bleeg, contact information in the preceding paragraph. [Top]

(3) Local data:  Approximately 65% of Monroe County residents who serve time in County and NY prisons originate from an area where only 25% of the County's population live: the zip code areas of 14605, 14606, 14608, 14609, 14611, 14613, 14619, and 14621 within the City of Rochester.  This indicates the locational, neighborhood, & cultural effects of crime, incarceration, & reentry upon County's poorest neighborhoods & people who make their homes there. These data based on 2006 figures showing over 19,000 individuals leaving the MC jail in that year, of whom about 2,500 were sentenced to incarceration.  Additional information: Bob Seidel. [Top]

NEW Prisoner Reentry: Addressing the Challenges in a Chemical Deptendency Program (May 2010), MSW thesis by Jeffrey A. Footer, Nazeareth College & SUNY Brockport. One-page summary; full text (pp. 23). Study based upon research carried out in Rochester, NY.

[Top]========================================================
Evidence-Based Research
Evidence-based suppport for reentry reform is supplied in the meta-analytical sutdies and presentations of Edward J. Latessa, Ph.D., professor & head of the Division of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati. Sample writing concerning his work can be found by clicking on one and two w/Google search.
-- Note:  All work cited on this page is based upon evidence-based research. [Top]
================================================================
Action, Advocacy & Education
The Bronx Defenders. Solutions to break cycles of crime, incarceration, & recidivism. Staff attorneys, social workers, investigators, administrative support, and community organizers serve clients, families, & communities. May involve mental health concerns, civic engagement, & preparing youths to be leaders.

The Center for Community Alternatives (CCA). Innovative solutions for justice, alternatives to incarceration, fostering responsive juvenile & criminial justice systems. [Top]

The Correctional Association of New York (CANY). Non-profit policy & advocacy organization seeks fair, efficient & humane criminal justice systems, & safe & just society.

CURE-NY: Citizens United for Rehabililtation of Errants, New York Chapter:  Newsletter; information, resources. Seeks justice w/healing. Supports anti-crime measures to save resources, money. Strives to improve inmate productivity & civility. Public education. Promotes reform. [Top]

ICARE: Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry & Employment [website]: Faith-based response to New York's recidivism crisis, strives to eleminate barriers to reentry. Distributes email monthly newsletter of Prison Action Network (see below).

Family Justice: first-rate, model reentry family assistance, planning, & programming, New York City. [Top]

The Fortune Society: Prisoner reentry focus. Supports successful prisoner re-entry, promotes alternatives to incarceration. Believes in individuals' power to change. Education & advocacy.

National Reentry Resource Center, comprehensive Council of State Governmenta Justice Center Project under auspices of national Second Chances Act, sponsored in part by Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice. Purpose to assist in prisoner reentry, including education, training, & technical assistance to states, tribes, territories, local governments, service providers, nonprofit organizations, & corrections agencies. [Top]

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 societey." PO Box 6355, Albany, NY 12206. 518-253-7533. Publishes Building Bridges, monthly newsletter.
===================================================
Employment
Jobs for reentrants: Legal Employers Taking the Lead: Enhancing Employment Opportunities for the Previously Incarcerated, by the New York City Bar Association Task Force . . . (March 2008). Click here. [Top]

Incarceration
Historical Perspective: Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire, by Robert Perkinson (Metropolitan Books / Henry Holt & Co., 2010), offers view that may help explain how America's failure to reform convicts is rooted in the history of its prisons. Review, New York Times Book Review, 03/28/10, p. 16. [Top]
================================================================
© SMART 2010