Prisoner Reentry: Taking Stock and Moving Forward

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Prisoner Reentry Taking Stock and Moving
Forward

• Prepared for the North Carolina Reentry Summit
• Winston-Salem, NC
• November 29, 2006

Amy L. Solomon Senior Research Associate
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Presentation Overview

• Reentry -- defining the problem
• Reasons for optimism
• Growing knowledge base
• Public opinion supports reentry
• Ex-offender attitudes are positive
• Substantial reentry activity
• What to make of all the momentum
• Putting it all together what does this mean for
  YOU?

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Prisoner Reentry Magnitude of Problem

• 650,000 leaving state and federal prisons
  annually
• 12 million leaving local jails
• High recidivism rates
• Fiscal implications 60 B on corrections
• Impacts on families and communities acute
• Individual challenges are substantial

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Reason for Optimism 1 Growing Knowledge Base

• Reentry programs should
• Take place mostly in community vs prison
• Intensive (at least 6 months)
• Focused on high-risk individuals
• Use cognitive-behavioral treatment techniques
• Match therapist and program to learning styles of
  individual
• Provide vocational training and job enhancing
  opportunities
• Provide more positive reinforcers than negative
• Petersilia 2004

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Reason for Optimism 1 Growing Knowledge Base

• Programs that adhere to characteristics
  cost-effective
• See Washington State Institute for Public Policy
  report
• What works to reduce crime?
• What are the economics of each option?
• How would alternative portfolios effect prison
  construction needs, state and local CJ costs, and
  crime rates?
• Findings
• Some programs reduce crime, some dont
• Several of the successful programs produce
  favorable returns on investment
• Public policies incorporating these options can
  yield positive outcomes for Washington

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Reason for Optimism 1 Growing Knowledge Base

• Cautions
• No one magic bullet program
• Reductions in recidivism arent as big as wed
  like, and dont last for as long as wed like
  (5-15)
• Limited by evaluations of programs not
  strategies
• Comprehensive, collaborative strategies may be
  our best hope, yet to date they are untested
• SVORI findings will help fill gap

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Reason for Optimism 2 Voting Public Supportive
of Reentry Planning
What would you prefer the state implement?

• 2006 NCCD/Zogby poll of 1000 U.S. voters
• 80 concerned or fearful about returning
  prisoners
• 87 believe prisons should attempt to
  rehabilitate inmates

Source NCCD/Zogby 2006
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Reason for Optimism 2 Voting Public Supportive
of Reentry Planning
When Should Planning Begin?

• Lack of life skills, prison experience, and
  obstacles to reentry thought major factors in the
  rearrest rates.
• Job training, drug treatment, mental health
  services, family support, mentoring, and housing
  very important services that should be offered

Source NCCD/Zogby 2006
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Reason for Optimism 3 Ex-Offenders Released
with Surprisingly Positive Attitudes

• Reentry population optimistic about future.
• Vast Majority
• Expect and receive support from families
• Will give up friends/hangouts that lead to
  trouble
• Report high spirituality
• Report excellent or good health
• Think they will not use drugs after release
• Want help finding job
• Think PO will be helpful
• Double edged sword

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Reason for Optimism 4 Reentry Momentum at
National, State, Local Levels

• Federal SVORI, PRI, TCPI, FBCI,
  Marriage/Fatherhood, 2nd Chance Act
• State Re-Entry Policy Council, NGA Reentry
  Policy Academy, Justice Reinvestment
• City Mayoral appointees/initiatives, police
  chief interest, local jail focus
• Neighborhood Weed and Seed, PSN

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What to Make of All the Momentum

• Few evaluations to date. SVORI findings a
  proxy.
• SVORI findings to date the good news
• All sites/states operational
• Coalitions in tact and delivering wide range of
  services
• Delivering almost 30 categories of services
• SVORI participants getting more services than
  non-SVORI
• SVORI participants doing better at 3 months
  across range of outcomes (96/116)
• Most sites plan to continue (94) and even expand
  (77)

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What to Make of All the Momentum

• SVORI findings to date word of caution
• While service levels are higher, far short of
  100,
• Program size small
• Outcomes positive but moderate
• Jury still out 15 month impact and cost-benefit
  findings forthcoming

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What to Make of All the Momentum

• Very exciting that coalitions at table and
  changing business-as-usual
• Level of implementation not there yet
• Hard to scale up and make a big impact in short
  time frame
• Need sustained effort to make lasting change
• More to come

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Putting It All Together What Does This Mean for
YOU?

• Theres a lot we can do -
• Without new laws or regulations
• target resources where will make largest impact
  high risk people, places, times
• Without major costs
• mentors, moment of release, IDs
• With costs but expected returns
• Voc. Ed., intensive supervision with treatment,
  cog-behav, drug treatment, etc. WSIPP report.

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Putting It All Together What Does This Mean for
YOU?

• While know a lot, still a long ways to go -
• Need to implement -- and evaluate -- innovative
  new reentry strategies
• Strategies vs programs
• Larger recidivism gains
• Comprehensive, collaborative vs. single org.
  approaches
• Multiple populations dont forget about jails!

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Putting It All Together What Does This Mean for
YOU?

• PSN framework is perfectly suited to address
  reentry
• Partnerships
• Police Probation/parole USAO/prosecutors
• Treatment and service providers Faith community
• DOC?
• Strategic planning/strategically targeting
  resources
• Training
• Outreach/public education
• Accountability/continual feedback

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References/Resources

• What Works in Prisoner Reentry? Reviewing and
  Questioning the Evidence. (Petersilia, 2004)
  http//www.uscourts.gov/fedprob/September_2004/wha
  tworks.html
• Evidence-Based Public Policy Options to Reduce
  Future Prison Construction, Criminal Justice
  Costs, and Crime Rates. (Aos et al, 2006)
  http//www.wsipp.wa.gov/pub.asp?docid06-10-1201
• NCCD/Zogby poll on attitudes towards reentry
  http//www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pubs/2006april_focus_
  zogby.pdf
• SVORI Evaluation website http//www.svori-evaluati
  on.org
• Prisoner Reentry and Community Policing (LaVigne
  et al, 2006) http//www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID41106
  1
• Urban Institute reentry findings
  http//www.urban.org/projects/reentry-portfolio/in
  dex.cfm

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URBAN INSTITUTE Justice Policy Center
For more information on prisoner reentry, please
visit the Urban Institute website at
http//www.urban.org
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