Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council

1. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council Re-entry Policy Council The Council of State Governments Latest Report published in 2005 Data here from Statistics section - 2002 “Charting the Safe and Successful Return of Prisoners to the Community”

2. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council General Huge numbers 700,000+ from prisons (2011) 7 million + released from jails (many repeats) 2/3 rel from prison rearrested within 3 years Return to few communities ill equipped to receive them -- very few services

3. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council Corrections Huge incr in costs 2002 $60 billion (more now) 1 in 32 adults J P P P 2002 Come from very few poor/min communities Little rehab/treatment in jails/prisons

4. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council Public Safety/Law Enforcement 20% no supervision – states abolishing parole Little real effort to supervise parolees at all “Dumping” Supervision might lower recividism – maybe?

5. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council Community Corrections Huge case loads for Probation & Parole Huge decreases in “successful” completion Most returned to prison for tech violations 1/3 for new crimes (contrib very little to crime rates, lot to prison)

6. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council High “abscond” rates among parolees Note: absconding is way to avoid tech viol -- going “under the radar” Almost no services of any kind for parolees in the poor communities to which they return -- only the threat of return to prison

7. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council Substance Abuse 80% history of drug/alcohol use (consistent) Alcohol is bigger part of overall drug problem and more often used at “time of offense” and esp for more serious offenses (violent, etc.) One third of released prisoners – drug offenses

8. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council Alcohol is the bigger drug problem including use at time of offense But prisoners incarc because of illegal drugs Very few prison inmates and almost no jail inmates get sub abuse treatment

9. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council Treatment leads to lower recidivism rates (Note: samp selec bias problem with this) Probably saves money overall Key factor is aftercare post release

10. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council Mental Health 8 – 16 percent identified disorder Note: est 25% if undiagnosed included Much higher than general pop - much poorer Huge overlap with “sub abuse” (70%) “self-medication”? Poor + lack of treatment

11. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council MI/sub abuse strong predictor of recidivism Also large overlap with crim histories, violence, and background of abuse Half receive some treatment -- mostly meds some counseling Very little post release help of any kind

12. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council Educ/Vocational/Employment Most prisoners low educ level – drop out of school Most employed at time of arrest (very low pay!) Note: most poor people work, but pay is too low to live on so often supplemented with illegal income or trade in stolen goods

13. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council Many in prison participate in educ/vocat Programs but programs are declining (cost) Very little educ/vocat of any kind in jails Incarc parents heavily in debt when released child support Programs and lower recidivism ssb again

14. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council Housing Parolees mostly homeless and/or shelters Huge overlap between shelters and jail/prison With no housing most abscond or return to jails or prisons, many over and over again

15. Soc 329 Reentry - Policy Council “Charting the Safe and Successful Return of Prisoners to the Community”