Returning Home on Parole: Former Prisoners' Experiences in Illinois, Ohio, and Texas

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Abstract

Using data from the Urban Institute’s Returning Home study, this brief examines post release supervision experiences in Illinois, Ohio, and Texas. The authors focus on addressing three questions: What are the parole experiences of those being released from prison? How do experiences on supervision affect post release outcomes? Does supervision benefit some groups more than others? Overall, parolees reported positive relationships with their parole officers but received relatively little tangible assistance finding a job or drug treatment program. Parole supervision was associated with increased employment and reduced substance use among former prisoners, but had almost no impact on self-reported crime or rearrest.

Introduction

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), nearly 800,000 adults across the United States were on parole in 2006, a fourfold increase from 1980. Most (88 percent) were male and nearly all (94 percent) had been sentenced to a year or more of incarceration (Glaze and Bonczar 2007).

Although intended to enhance public safety, parole supervision as widely implemented often falls short of this goal. Current practice relies heavily on surveillance, which has repeatedly been shown to have little impact on recidivism (Aos, Miller, and Drake 2006). Research using BJS data found that prisoners released to parole supervision across a number of large states were rearrested at rates similar to those who were released without supervision (Solomon, Kachnowski, and Bhati 2005). The implication of these studies is that business-as-usual supervision is not likely to impact community safety or the lives of parolees—for the better or worse. Additionally, a recent report on parole by the National Research Council (2007) concluded that much is still unknown about community reintegration while on parole and that certain types of offenders may benefit more than others from supervision.

Official statistics can take us only so far toward understanding the reasons for parole’s success, or lack of success, at reducing crime. This paper explores life on parole from the perspective of 740 former male prisoners in Illinois, Ohio, and Texas.1 Interviews were conducted as part of the multistate longitudinal study Returning Home: Understanding the Challenges of Prisoner Reentry. We focus on addressing the following key questions:

• What are the parole experiences across states of those being released from prison and returning home?
• How do experiences on supervision affect postrelease reintegration outcomes?
• Does supervision benefit some groups more than others?

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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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