“I Don’t let These Felonies Hold me Back!”: How Street-Identified Black Men and Women Use Resilience to Radically Reframe Reentry

This street participatory action research project trained 15 local residents to document a community sample of street-identified Black men and women’s (ages 18–35 years) experiences with reentry in two low-income Black neighborhoods. The following multi-method data were collected: (a) 520 surveys; (b) 24 individual interviews; (c) four dual interviews; and (d) three group interviews. Descriptive and univariate analysis of variance analysis revealed most participants as a function of gender and age-groups held positive attitudes toward reentry, overall; positive attitudes toward returning citizens; negative attitudes toward reentry programs; and negative attitudes toward the reentry process. Qualitative analysis suggested negative experiences with reentry were the result of a racialized structural violence complex; and strategies employed to navigate reentry included legal and illegal approaches. Also, short and long-term goals with reentry were generally achieved through enduring major bouts of unemployment, economic poverty, and low-wage work.

Got Faith? - An in-depth analysis and review of five faith-based prisoner reentry programs in Florida

In the United States, prisoner reentry programs are a necessity to re-integrate back into society and are of two types: Faith and Non-Faith. With increased emphasis placed on reforming the criminal justice system policies due to Black Lives Matter and other non-profits actively working to change the system from the outside, reentry programs are having a resurgence of interest for effective public policy. There are significant barriers for major policies at the state, local, and federal to be alleviated, nevertheless, our research wanted to consider the effectiveness of five faith-based, male-only reentry programs in central Florida. Small focus groups were utilized to better understand the concerns and issues returning inmates faced in the program as well as when returning to society. Reentry participants were found to have high confidence in the success of their participation in their faith-based program’s efforts on their personal and family growth.

Reforming solitary confinement: the development, implementation, and processes of a restrictive housing step down reentry program in Oregon

Background Over the past decade there have been numerous and impassioned calls to reform the practice of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons. This article examines the development, implementation, and processes of a restrictive housing reentry program in the Oregon Department of Corrections. It draws on data from official documents, site observations, and interviews with 12 prison officials and 38 prisoners. The Step Up Program (SUP) seeks to improve the living conditions in restrictive housing over business-as-usual, alleviate physiological and psychological harms of solitary confinement, and use rehabilitative programming to increase success upon returning to the general prison population or community. Results The impetus to change the culture and structure of restrictive housing was primarily the result of internal administrative reform. Prisoners assigned at random to housing assignments offered accounts of their daily activities suggesting that the SUP provides more time out-of-cell and greater access to other services and activities. Program participants preferred the living conditions in the SUP because they had more opportunities for social interaction and incentives for compliant behavior. However, views on the value of programming among respondents were mixed. Conclusions The launch of the SUP occurred in early 2020, which was soon followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the program was never fully implemented as intended. As Oregon returns to more normal operations, it is possible that the SUP will be able to include even more out-of-cell time, greater socialization opportunities, and increased access to programming and other beneficial activities. As we await the opportunity to conduct prospective psychological and behavioral analyses, this study provides tentative support for the use of step down reentry programs in restrictive housing units. Trial registration Open Science Framework, Preparing adults in custody for successful reentry: An experimental study of a restrictive housing exit program in Oregon. Registered 4 October 2019, https://osf.io/t6qpx/

Peer-focused prison reentry programs: Which peer characteristics matter most?

Over the past two decades, recidivism rates have remained relatively stable, leading practitioners to explore innovative reentry solutions. One reentry model, based on the concept of peer mentorship, has received renewed attention. Unfortunately, little is known about which peer characteristics make mentors most effective in a prison setting. This study uses participant observation and semi-structured interviews, embedded with survey questions, to understand which “peer” characteristics prison staff, peer mentors, and mentees perceive as the most important. Analysis of survey data also suggests that a history of incarceration is perceived as the most important characteristic for peer mentors in a reentry context. Additionally, the qualitative analysis reveals that mentors need to be perceived as credible to be effective role models for reentry. This credibility was almost exclusively linked to a lived experience of incarceration. Peer mentorship remains a viable option for improving reentry outcomes, but hiring the appropriate, credible peers is essential for effective implementation.

Informal Technology Education for Women Transitioning from Incarceration

As society increasingly relies on digital technologies in many different aspects, those who lack relevant access and skills are lagging increasingly behind. Among the underserved groups disproportionately affected by the digital divide are women who are transitioning from incarceration and seeking to reenter the workforce outside the carceral system (women-in-transition). Women-in-transition rarely have been exposed to sound technology education, as they have generally been isolated from the digital environment while in incarceration. Furthermore, while women have become the fastest-growing segment of the incarcerated population in the United States in recent decades, prison education and reentry programs are still not well adjusted for them. Most programs are mainly designed for the dominant male population. Consequently, women-in-transition face significant post-incarceration challenges in accessing and using relevant digital technologies and thus have added difficulties in entering or reentering the workforce. Against this backdrop, our multi-disciplinary research team has conducted empirical research as part of technology education offered to women-in-transition in the Midwest. In this article, we report results from our interviews with 75 women-in-transition in the Midwest that were conducted to develop a tailored technology education program for the women. More than half of the participants in our study are women of color and face precarious housing and financial situations. Then, we discuss principles that we adopted in developing our education program for the marginalized women and participants’ feedback on the program. Our team launched in-person sessions with women-in-reentry at public libraries in February 2020 and had to move the sessions online in March due to COVID-19. Our research-informed educational program is designed primarily to support the women in enhancing their knowledge and comfort with technology and nurturing computational thinking. Our study shows that low self-efficacy and mental health challenges, as well as lack of resources for technology access and use, are some of the major issues that need to be addressed in supporting technology learning among women-in-transition. This research offers scholarly and practical implications for computing education for women-in-transition and other marginalized populations.

An Analysis of Offender Based Reentry Programs Impact on Crime Rates

This case study was based upon the crime reduction efforts of an offender-based treatment coalition in St. Johns County, Florida. The study used a multi-tool qualitative data gathering method to understand if the coalition contributed to crime reductions locally. The research findings concluded that the St. Johns County Re-entry Coalition did positively contribute to crime reductions in the county.

The Impact of Covid-19 on Inmate Trust in Health Care and Willingness to Seek Treatment - A Qualitative Investigation

Background and Objective: The coronavirus has disproportionately impacted vulnerable members of society. With the U.S. as the global leader in incarceration and the difficulties prison systems face implementing many of the mitigation strategies employed by the general population, the incarcerated population is in a uniquely vulnerable position particularly within an already strained prison healthcare system. Given the nature of prisons as total institutions, negative experiences with the virus coupled with a lack of autonomy could lead to a loss of trust in the healthcare system which has the potential to impact health-seeking behaviors. In this study, we aim to examine the effect of Covid-19 on Indiana inmates’ trust in healthcare. Project Methods: Data from 380 surveys distributed across Indiana’s prison system will be collected and analyzed. These results will be used to develop an interview protocol to conduct at least 25 in-depth interviews which will then be coded using NVivo to identify any emerging themes regarding their experiences with Covid-19. Prior to this, in-depth literature reviews were done on health care in prison populations and trust in healthcare. Results: The surveys and interview protocol will be developed in the ensuing months and thus no data has yet been collected. The literature review revealed that the quality and accessibility of care in prisons is lacking, an issue exacerbated by the pandemic. Because of the disproportionate number of preexisting issues, inmates worried about the ability of prison administrators to properly protect inmates from contracting the virus. Additionally, it was found that trust likely does have an effect on health, and that many commonalities of inmates are poor predictors for trust. Potential Impact: This study aims to identify potential loss of trust in healthcare systems to inform community reentry programs in developing strategies that prioritize inmate health needs and perceptions.

Coping mechanisms adopted by women ex-offenders in Nyeri County, Kenya

Female offenders are distinctly different from male offenders, and present with their own gender-specific needs and issues both in and out of the correctional setting. Most approaches to Coping Mechanisms for female offenders are currently based on research involving males and approaches designed for males. Inquiry regarding the gender-specific needs of female inmates as they pertain to treatment, reentry programs, and Coping Mechanisms is necessary so professionals can better understand how to serve this population. This study investigated the Coping Mechanisms Adopted by Women ex-offenders in Nyeri County, Kenya. The study specifically investigated the effects of not addressing the challenges identified for women returning from prison in Nyeri County especially challenges connected to housing, employment, relationships, drug, and substance abuse as well as mental health after incarceration. This was a qualitative study adopting a phenomenological design. The site and respondents were purposively selected with snowballing being used to select the respondents to the point of saturation. This study made use of 41 women ex-convicts, 3 FGDs, and 9 key informants. Data were collected by the use of semi-structured interview schedules. Results indicated that currently, prison is negatively viewed by the community; this is primarily because of the isolation of prisoners and whatever happens behind the bars. The government should involve other sectors such as the churches, the media, schools, and Non- Governmental Organizations in educating the masses in order to ease the re-entry of ex-convicts