View Research by Author - Sara Debus

Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/SaraDebus

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita led to a myriad of legal needs in the Gulf Coast area at a time when the region's legal infrastructure was weakened. Equal Justice Works implemented the Katrina Legal Initiative, an innovative legal aid disaster relief program to assist the affected communities. This report details the implementation of this program; describes the program goals, activities, and impacts; analyzes whether the program met the stated goals; and offers recommendations for comparable programs in the future. Lessons learned from the Katrina Legal Initiative can help to inform future disaster relief efforts on the part of the legal community.

Of the 61,000 men released from Texas prisons, roughly 13,000 call Houston their home. These men face challenges across a wide array of skill deficits and needs. In an effort to understand the factors contributing to successful reentry and inform policies to ensure a safer return for both prisoners and the communities in which they reside, the Urban Institute conducted a study of 210 men exiting Texas prisons and returning to the Houston area. This report presents findings from three waves of interviews with these men, conducted shortly before and at two points after their release.

In this brief, we explore the reality of finding employment after prison from the perspective of 740 former male prisoners in Illinois, Ohio, and Texas. Interviews were conducted as part of a comprehensive, longitudinal study entitled Returning Home: Understanding the Challenges of Prisoner Reentry. Eight months after prison, 65 percent of respondents had been employed at some point, but only 45 percent were currently employed. Those who held a job while in prison or participated in job-training programs had better employment outcomes after release. Respondents who were employed and earning higher wages after release were less likely to return to prison the first year out.

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