The issue of reentry has become an important topic to criminal justice scholars and to law makers due to the sheer number of incarcerated individuals being released and the rate in which they cycle back to incarceration. Despite the attention reentry issues have received recently in the areas of policy and criminal justice and recommendations offered to ameliorate problems associated with reentry, the landscape of reentry remains largely unchanged in that many prisoners are released from prison and significant numbers of them return (Austin, 2001). Approximately 700,000 inmates were released from prisons and jails to their families and communities in 2005 (Harrison & Beck, 2006). Of those inmates, roughly 1/3rd were young adults aged 24 or younger (Mears & Travis, 2004). The outcomes for young adults (age 18-24) incarcerated at such young ages put them at overwhelming risk of a life course trajectory that includes cycles of future imprisonment and poor life outcomes such as economic hardship, poor mental and physical well being and lower life expectancy (Mears & Travis, 2004; Uggen, 2000; Western, 2002) . This study examined the meanings of formerly incarcerated young adult men and their caregivers made in regard to reentry, caregivers' ability to meet reentry needs, perceptions about reliance on family and the implications of a young adult child "returning home" within the context of release from incarcerative sentencing. This goal was achieved through conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews with formerly incarcerated men between the ages of 18 and 24 and their caregivers for a total of 18 individual interviews that reflect nine young men-caregiver dyads defined as families for this study. This qualitative study was informed using an integration of family life course perspective, symbolic interactionism and ecological theory. The theoretical amalgam provided the ability to examine the life course transitions of families impacted by incarceration, the perceptions and meanings made based upon the experience with incarceration while being imbedded within a socially stigmatized context of having a felony. The findings from this study suggest that upon reentry young adult men and their caregivers experienced ambivalence, happiness yet anxiety in moving forward after incarceration. This ambivalence was a major theme that was found not only in reunification, but in relying on family and in fostering independence. Caregivers were emotionally distressed as they juggled their feelings of wanting to help the young men with meeting the multiple demands placed on the family system with their concerns that he might return to his "old ways." Young men were particularly distressed as they negotiated transitioning from a state of independence (prior to incarceration) to dependence as a prisoner in the criminal justice system, to depending on caregivers upon reentry. The young men in this study reported achieving financial independence from their families prior to incarceration as adolescents through illegal means which gave them adult status in their families. These "off-time" transitions before and after incarceration fueled the ambivalence and ambiguity in the young men-caregiver dyads, specifically in terms of the meanings these families made when thinking about reunification, relying on family and in fostering independence. / Ph. D.

No description available.

With years of research focusing on soaring incarceration rates, the phenomena of prisoner reentry has been largely overlooked. The majority of incarcerated people will return to the community setting. In fact, millions of recently released offenders are on some form of community based supervision. Today, recidivism is a problem that plagues prisoner reentry. In order to address the challenge of prisoner reentry successfully, reentry initiatives have been established in an attempt to change the way corrections is conceptualized. The purpose of this study was to examine characteristics of probationers that are associated with and predictive of successful reentry. The data gathered for this study was existing data from the United States Probation and Pretrial Services office in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Existing data examined included a sample of probationers who were enrolled in the Federal Workforce Development Program (WFD) and a sample of probationers who were not enrolled in WFD. Chi-square and logistic regression tests were conducted to examine variables that may be associated with or predictive of successful reentry. The variables explored in this study included age, race, gender, type of offense, substance abuse, mental health, employment, education, WFD, and recidivism. Employment was the only variable found to be predictive and significant of successful reentry. Results may have been impacted by the type of sample, sample size, demographics, limited number of contextual variables, and ordinal nature of the data. Recommendations for future research and program implementation are included. / School of Education / Counselor Education and Supervision (ExCES) / PhD / Dissertation

This dissertation examines how formerly incarcerated mothers manage the moral ambiguity associated with their ex-offender identity. In studying this group I address how the event of motherhood shapes how women frame their involvement in criminal activity. Central to respondents' understanding of their ex-offender identity is the distinction they make between the social stigma of an ex-offender identity and their personal understanding of their moral self worth. ver the course of two years 69 ex-offender mothers participated in life history interviews in which they discussed how they understood their criminal identity vis-à-vis their role as mothers. Respondents’ framing of moral identity address three key themes: relationships, rationalization of criminal involvement and substantiating claims of "good" motherhood. Women provide a socio-emotional context for their criminal participation by discussing instances of relational violence during their childhoods and within intimate partner relationships. Even while drawing connections between abusive relationships during childhood and adulthood, respondents rarely blamed others for their crime. They were primarily concerned with how their experiences influenced their moral identity both as children and later as adults. Respondents explain their level of culpability by distinguishing between the crimes they intended to commit and the crimes for which they were convicted. By defining the situational context of their crime through these accounts women craft a narrative that upholds their moral self worth. In framing their role as mothers, women drew two distinct forms of strategic comparisons. First they identified women they viewed as poor mothers in order to substantiate their claims of being a “good mother”. Second, women identified mothers they viewed as morally advantaged mothers. In doing so respondents provided concrete images of the model of motherhood they hoped to one day embody. In each instance of strategic comparison women sought to craft a narrative that supported her overall view of herself "good" and moral mother. The dissertation adds to the growing literature on the reintegration process of exoffenders. The experiences of the women interviewed offer insight into how moral identity is framed and understood by those in socially disadvantaged positions. / Sociology

abstract: The effectiveness of community-based reentry programs is dependent on several factors, including financial and human capital resources, a clear organizational mission, the establishment and implementation of evidence-based practices and an effective referral network. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR) reentry program in Arlington, Virginia from the client's perspective as well as to identify challenges faced by the organization in meeting the needs of ex-offenders. The study used a mixed methods case study approach using three primary sources of data including a client satisfaction survey, semi-structured staff interviews and the review of client records. Client satisfaction surveys were used to evaluate services received by clients in the reentry program. Staff interviews were conducted to document OAR's service delivery model as well as highlight challenges faced in meeting the needs of ex-offenders. Client case records where reviewed to determine the alignment of needs identified during intake with services provided.The findings of this study show that overall, clients are highly satisfied with services received. Staff interviews indicated a need for additional staff to support program operations, training for program staff, increased funding and community-based resources as a key challenge in meeting the needs of ex-offenders in the program. A review of client case files identified a need for systematic collection and documentation of client goals and outcomes. Implications for theory and practice suggest areas for future research and strategies for implementing effective community-based reentry programs. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Public Administration 2014

The goal of this exploratory study is to examine the effects of public service motivation (PSM) in predicting decision-making of criminal justice personnel (reentry managers) in the management of former prisoners. The overarching research question seeks to answer if, and in what way, PSM score influences reentry managers' approach to their work with the formerly incarcerated, who are in transition from prison back into the community. The main assumption of this study is that those reentry managers with a higher PSM score will be more inclined to take an assistance oriented approach with former prisoners and be more likely to make rehabilitative decisions than those with lower PSM scores, who will be more inclined to assume a punitive role. This study utilized binomial logistic regression and chi-square analysis to test hypotheses. Survey data was collected over a period of three months in the summer and fall of 2014, and was based upon a national sample of 108 reentry managers whose agencies had received funding from a federal reentry grant. Follow-up interviews were also conducted with nine participants to provide deeper understanding of responses and explain some of the quantitative findings. Overall findings supported the key assumption with the overall sample possessing medium to high PSM scores and a greater frequency of making rehabilitative decisions.

Within the last decade, scholars and practitioners alike have noted a surge in the use of legal financial obligations (LFOs) in criminal justice processing. These include fines, fees, and costs that are applied to defendants’ cases from “upstream” agencies such as police departments to “downstream” agencies including jails, prisons, probation and parole agencies, and treatment centers. Legal financial obligations can be large, and the result is that outstanding balances often accumulate into unwieldy amounts of criminal justice debt. Recently, a small handful of qualitative studies have shown that these LFOs and debts can have adverse impacts on returning prisoners and their families, including increased stress, strained family relationships, worsened depression, and longer periods spent under criminal justice surveillance for those too poor to pay off outstanding balances. In addition, some of this work suggests that these financial obligations can increase the likelihood of returning to crime. This dissertation expands on the major contributions of these recent qualitative works by addressing the lack of quantitative research in this area. Toward this end, longitudinal data from the Returning Home Study (n=740) and structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques are used to test whether LFOs and debt indeed have adverse impacts on key outcomes of interest in reentry research, including family relationships, depression, justice involvement/entanglement, and recidivism. Findings reveal partial support for past research and theory. Legal financial obligations do not appear to have impacts on depression, family conflict, and several measures of recidivism on average. However, outstanding debt owed to community supervision agencies (i.e., probation/parole/mandatory community supervision) significantly increases the likelihood of remaining under supervision, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of returning to prison. Implications for decision-making bodies from state legislatures to corrections agencies are discussed. / Criminal Justice

Every year the United States corrections system costs tax payers $52 billion. The failures of the prison system are both tangible and intangible. This Thesis research builds on existing literature to seek out a solution to the high rate of recidivism post release. Can design be employed as a tool with the potential to reduce rates of recidivism in the prison population? The City of Springfield, in Western Massachusetts, acts as a test case to examine the inter-relationships of social science, neuroscience, and architecture. Initial research identified the primary obstacles individuals face after prison that contribute to keeping recidivism rates high. This is not intended to oversimplify the issues or suggest there is an easy solution, but to provide a starting point to try something new. Ultimately, this thesis deals with how architecture can provide a concrete solution to the deep set, less tangible roadblocks to successful reintegration. Residents often lack a sense of self-worth, personal responsibility and stable social ties. In addition to designing a building to provide the physical support system that released prisoners often lack, such as housing, access to transportation, and access to services, the project will explore techniques to serve a much greater purpose and provide a model for a re-imagined process of incarceration, release, healing and growth.

No description available.

Unemployment among formerly incarcerated citizens is a complex problem that continues to grow. Previous reentry studies describe the collateral effects of incarceration on employment from the perspective of formerly incarcerated individuals, yet little academic research exists regarding reentry practitioners' perceptions of constraints during the job search process. Using Goldratt's theory of constraints as the foundation, the purpose of this case study of reentry and employment in a mid-Atlantic state was to explore from the perspective of practitioners, the types of constraints individuals with criminal records face during the job search process, the most difficult phase of the job search process, and recommendations on improving employment outcomes. Data for this study were obtained from 20 reentry professionals in Maryland, who completed an online, open-ended response survey. Data were inductively coded and subjected to thematic analysis procedure. The results showed that practitioners perceived the background check to be the most difficult phase in the job search process, and that external and environmental constraints such as employer bias and social stigma prevent individuals with criminal records from securing job offers. The results also showed that reentry professionals support automatic record expungement, record shielding, employer partnerships, and employment programming that provides job leads, resume building, and mock interview assistance. The positive social change implications stemming from this study include policy recommendations to policy makers to include centralizing and expanding the location of statewide employment centers, record shielding under the Second Chance Act, and fair education access through Ban-the Box for state colleges.