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The growth in the number of persons released from incarceration and returning to communities has sparked great interest in the topic of prisoner reentry, and specifically in strategies to increase the successful reintegration of formerly incarcerated persons. These strategies can benefit from an understanding of the challenges released prisoners face in navigating the reentry process. One such challenge that has been virtually neglected in the literature is that of maintaining residential stability over time.
While the issue of released prisoners obtaining housing has been addressed thoroughly,1 prior research falls short of examining the extent to which housing arrangements for this population change over time. The one exception is the startling finding that the likelihood that a Georgia parolee will be rearrested during the period of parole supervision increases by 25 percent each time the parolee changes addresses.2 This finding has important implications for both parole supervision and service provision, but merits further exploration among different geographic populations.3
The data collected from the Returning Home study of male prisoners returning to Chicago provide a unique opportunity to examine the extent of and reasons for residential mobility among released prisoners and how mobility might affect reentry outcomes. Specifically, this research brief poses the following questions:
- How often do released prisoners change residences? Why do they change addresses?
- Are there differences in reentry outcomes between former prisoners who change residences and those who remain at one address?
- Among those released prisoners who change addresses, how far do they move and to what types of neighborhoods?
The answers to these questions have important policy implications. Identifying the characteristics of more transient former prisoners may provide guidance on the special needs of this subpopulation. Moreover, identifying the precise locations of released prisoners can help inform postrelease supervision efforts as well as the spatial allocation of housing, treatment, and other social services.
Notes from this section
1. For a comprehensive review of research and programs pertaining to housing and reentry, see Roman, Caterina Gouvis and Jeremy Travis (2004). Taking Stock: Housing, Homelessness, and Prisoner Reentry. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
2. Meredith, Tammy, Speir, John, Johnson, Sharon, and Heather Hull. (2003). Enhancing Parole Decision-Making Through the Automation of Risk Assessment. Atlanta, GA: Applied Research Services, Inc.
3. As Meredith et al. (2003) note in relation to risk assessment tools, caution must be exercised when applying these types of research findings across geographic populations.
Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).
The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.
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