From Prison to Home - The Dimensions and Consequences of Prisoner Reentry

FROM PRISON TO HOMEJeremy TravisAmy L. SolomonMichelle Waulresearch for safer communitiesThe Dimensions andConsequences ofPrisoner ReentryURBAN INSTITUTEJustice Policy Center We are pleased to present this mono-graph on prisoner reentry. We hope itcan inform a broad set of discussionsabout one of the most pressing issuesof our time—the challenge of reinte-grating record numbers of individualswho leave prison and return home.This challenge is felt differently bydifferent sectors of our society. Mostfundamentally, it is experienced bynearly 1,600 men and women wholeave prison each day. In a monographsuch as this one, we cannot capturetheir stories, yet their experiences givemeaning and richness to the data wepresent in the pages that follow.The challenge of reentry is alsofelt acutely by the families, friends,and communities of the returningprisoners. For some, the return ofone who has been in prison is amoment eagerly anticipated. Forothers, it is feared. In all instances,coming home triggers a complex andmixed set of emotions and realitiesfor those in closest relation to theformer prisoner. The moment ofreentry can raise new fears for thevictims of the original offense, or itcan be a time for reconciliation. Andthen there are the stubborn facts ofdaily living—the search for housing,employment, treatment, health care,and something as simple as a driver’slicense. These challenges, large andsmall, are now experienced in muchlarger numbers than ever before.The increasing volume of return-ing prisoners, the multiple challengesthey face, and their high recidivismrates have serious consequences forpublic safety, as well as state bud-gets. These impacts expose the highstakes of reentry, and the opportuni-ties to improve both safety andreintegration outcomes over thecoming years.Our ultimate hope is that thisreport will inform the new policydiscussions that we sense are under-way. From the U.S. Congress, whichhas allocated nearly $100 million thisyear to reentry strategies and isconsidering bipartisan legislation toaddress prisoner reintegration, to thecommunity groups that are buildingnetworks of support and supervisionfor those coming out, the interest in“reentry” is simply stunning. As wewere putting this report together,governors’ staff, sentencing commis-sions, health care providers, correc-tions agencies, kinship care networks,research institutions, treatmentadvocates, law enforcement organiza-tions, victims’ rights groups, childdevelopment specialists, prisoners’rights associations, and educators allfound their way to our doorstep. Thecommon introduction was, “We hearyou might know something aboutreentry.” We learned that they, too,were interested in reentry becausethey were exploring ways to conducttheir core business differently. Andthey thought understanding thereentry perspective could help im-prove outcomes for their communitiesor constituencies. We would bepleased beyond measure if thisreport could help them, and others,succeed.Jeremy TravisAmy L. SolomonMichelle WaulDear Colleague: FROM PRISON TO HOME:The Dimensions andConsequences ofPrisoner ReentryJeremy TravisAmy L. SolomonMichelle WaulJune 2001 copyright © 2001The Urban Institute2100 M Street, NWWashington, DC 20037www.urban.org(202) 833-7200The views expressed arethose of the authors andshould not be attributed to theUrban Institute, its trustees,or its funders.Designed by David WilliamsAbout the AuthorsJeremy Travis is a senior fellow at the UrbanInstitute, developing research and policyagendas on crime in the community context,new concepts of the agencies of justice,sentencing and prisoner reentry, and interna-tional crime. Mr. Travis is co-chair of theReentry Roundtable, a group of prominentacademics, practitioners, service providers,and community leaders working to advancepolicies and innovations on prisoner reentrythat reflect solid research. Before he joinedthe Urban Institute, Mr. Travis was the direc-tor of the National Institute of Justice, theresearch arm of the U.S. Department ofJustice. Mr. Travis has been an active figurein the development of a policy and researchagenda on the issue of prisoner reentry. Heis the author of the article “But They AllCome Back: Rethinking Prisoner Reentry,”and shaped the federal initiative on reentrycourts and reentry partnerships. Mr. Travisearned his JD, cum laude, from the NewYork University School of Law; an MPA fromthe New York University Wagner GraduateSchool of Public Service; and a BA in Ameri-can Studies, cum laude, with honors fromYale College.Amy L. Solomon is a policy associate at theUrban Institute, where she works to link theresearch activities of the Justice Policy Cen-ter to policy and practice arenas in the field.Her primary areas of concentration are pris-oner reentry and problem-solving ap-proaches to public safety. She currentlyserves as project manager for the ReentryRoundtable and co-manages a project for theU.S. Department of Health and Human Ser-vices that focuses on