Abstract
A wide variety of community organizations have the skills, resources, and motivation needed to address the challenges of jail reentry, including substance abuse treatment providers, homeless shelters, workforce development centers, neighborhood clinics, community colleges, and many others. This guidebook provides community-based organizations with an overview of jail reentry and concrete steps to develop and sustain a reentry partnership with their local jail. It also addresses difficulties that might arise, and provides examples of strong partnerships between CBOs and jails that serve as models.
Introduction
AS A COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION(CBO), you see individuals and communities
every day struggling with such issues as addiction,
homelessness, mental illness, criminal involvement,
and unemployment. Through your work, you are
also likely to come into contact with individuals who
have been held in one of the more than 3,000 local
jail facilities across the country. If you have experience
with that population, then you probably know
that partnering with your local jail is an opportunity
to make positive changes in the lives of those individuals
who walk through your respective front doors.
If you do not know the extent to which the population
you serve overlaps with the jail population,
exploring a partnership with the jail is a chance to find
out and potentially to enhance your work based on
what you learn. The number of men and women who
return from jails to communities, a process known as
jail reentry, is astounding?9 million each year. In
effect, jails and CBOs have 9 million opportunities to
collaborate to improve services and outcomes for the
individuals, families, and communities most affected
by incarceration.
Your organization can build on the indispensible
work you are already doing and play three important
roles in the jail reentry process:
- First, you can provide services to incarcerated
clients who do not currently receive services in
the jail.
- Second, your organization may work with
individuals who have returned from jail to the
community.
- The third and most valuable role involves combining
the first two points and working with
people both before and after release. Continuity
of care is integral to successful reentry.
The progress individuals make through programs in
the jail?where they exist?can be lost after release
unless these individuals are connected to services in
the community. By continuing services in the community,
individuals build on and further develop skills
acquired in programs during incarceration, reducing
the likelihood that they will return to jail. CBOs are
vital partners in jail reentry initiatives because they
can provide services both inside the jail and in the
community; they are the connection to community
services for individuals in jail.
Many challenges are associated with jail reentry.
Men and women returning from jail are often undereducated,
have few employable skills, and frequently
suffer from addiction and other physical or mental
health concerns. Unfortunately, very few receive
adequate services to address these needs during their
time in jail. A small number of disadvantaged neighborhoods
often absorb the great majority of individuals
returning from jail, stressing already overburdened
community resources. Reentry efforts respond to
these challenges by helping individuals access services
designed to help them change their behavior,
address their needs, and avoid another incarceration.
This guidebook has been developed to provide
community-based organizations with an overview of
jail reentry work and to help them develop and sustain
a partnership with their local jail. The intended
audience is CBOs, whether large or small, that are
considering such a partnership. A wide variety of
organizations have the skills, resources, and motivation
needed to address the challenges of jail reentry, including substance abuse treatment providers,
homeless shelters, workforce development centers,
neighborhood clinics, community colleges, and many
others. Through building collaborative relationships
and developing an increased sensitivity to and focus
on issues of jail reentry, CBOs can join with jails
to tackle the challenges of reentry.
The guidebook begins with a brief overview of
the criminal justice system, with a focus on jails in
the United States. It discusses how to build a partnership
with the local jail and includes concrete steps
to develop and sustain this partnership. Next, it discusses
common challenges confronted by the jail
population, as well as issues you might face working
in and with a jail. The fourth section provides examples
of strong partnerships between CBOs and jails
that serve as models. At the end of the guidebook, a
list of reentry resources and examples of useful documents,
such as memoranda of understanding, are
presented.
Throughout this guidebook are profiles of individuals
who have successfully transitioned from jail
to the community with the help of a partnership
between a CBO and a local jail. These individuals?
experiences are testimonies to the importance
and benefits of partnerships between local correctional
agencies and CBOs in addressing the needs
of people affected by incarceration.
Read the full report in PDF format.
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.
Usage, posting and reprint of materials on the UI web site:
Most publications may be downloaded free of charge from the web site in PDF format. This information may be used and copies made for research, academic, policy or other non-commercial purposes. Proper attribution is required.
Copyright of the written materials contained within the Urban Institute website is owned or controlled by the Urban Institute. Posting UI research papers on other websites is permitted subject to prior approval from the Urban Institute—contact paffairs@urban.org.
If you are unable to access or print the PDF document please contact us or call the Publications Office at (202) 261-5687.
Latest Research
Browse by Topic:
PDF
Printer-friendly summary
