Risk Factors Impeding Successful Reentry

Risk Factors Impeding Successful Reentry

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 2 million Americans are incarcerated in jails and prisons annually (Li, 2018). More than 600000 are released from incarceration every year to their communities. The process of reentry is important to correctional facilities but continues to be a challenge. The research suggests shows the rate of recidivism continues to rise among the people in the reentry process with around two-thirds of them getting rearrested within 3 years of release and another three-fourths being rearrested within 5 years of release (Li, 2018). Various reasons are attributed to high rates of recidivism impeding successful reentry of previously incarcerated individuals to their communities. Among the risk factors are housing, education, access to employment, mental health issues, lack of documents, and lack of support from family and peers. This paper looks into three dynamic risk factors, employment, skill development, and housing, to successful reentry and explains their significance.

Employment

The first risk factor is employment. Lack of employment is one of the top factors that adversely impact successful reentry. The importance of employment to individuals in the reentry phase includes reduced rates of recidivism, economic stability, and the creation of identity. Despite the importance of employment for the formerly incarcerated people, securing a job is one big challenge. According to a 2008 report, unemployment rates for individuals in the reentry phase were at 27% compared to 5.8% national unemployment (Zhang et al., 2019). Many employers are unwilling to take formerly incarcerated people and only a few of them call them for an interview despite the positive impact of employment on the reentry process. Additionally, the type of employment (wage and longevity) determines the success of the reentry process with short-term jobs having less impact on recidivism compared to the long-term job (longer than six months).

Various community-based programs have been set to facilitate training and job placement for incoming community members. One of these programs is Exodus Transitional Community in East Harlem. Exodus Transitional Community takes a holistic approach to offering educational employment-oriented training. Its programs include one-on-one mentorship, GED classes, and soft skills training. The program admits more than 5000 individuals annually and it has managed to reduce the recidivism rate to 4%.

Housing

Housing is the second risk factor for recidivism. Having a place to stay is invaluable to successful reentry. A stable home is the first important step for reentering individuals to start a job search, create a social network, and seek treatment when it is required (Zhang et al., 2019). Lack of housing sends these people to the streets elevating their chances of rearrests. The study shows that housing provides a feeling of independence and stability and assists in commitment to change with hope for the future. Therefore, stable housing is the foundation for reentering individuals after release from incarceration facility.

Grace House residential program is an example of a program that assists in solving homelessness issues among reentering individuals. It is located in the Near West Side of Chicago offering housing support (including a computer lab and library) for formerly incarcerated women. Individuals who pass through Grace House have only a 5% rate of recidivism compared to a 35% statewide rate of recidivism.

Skill Development

The third risk factor for recidivism is skill development. Skill development comes in terms of education and interpersonal skills. Education is one factor that has the potential of reducing recidivism rates. It opens the doors to all other opportunities that facilitate reentry including employment. However, incarcerated individuals are disadvantaged in terms of education with a large number of them having fewer qualifications (Zhang et al., 2019). Tied with education are the interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills can be acquired before and during reentry. They include time management, parenting, goal setting, and anger management. Development of these skills shields individuals from relationships with criminal peers and criminal lifestyles.

One program dedicated to offering education to formerly incarcerated people is Parole2Project located in Mississippi. It focuses on giving a start to new life for the released non-violent offenders by getting them employed. Parole2Project achieves its mission through academic service. Its programs include employment training, GED preparation and testing referrals, college enrollment assistance and referrals, and vocational training. 

References

Li, M. (2018). From prisons to communities: Confronting re-entry challenges and social inequality. The SES Indicator (American Psychological Association, 11(1).

Zhang, R., Srinivasan, S., Kambath, A., Nnadi, V., Price-Tucker, A., Zhou, A., ... & Escalante, T. (2019). Successful reentry: A community-level analysis.