Abstract
Barriers to successful reentry have long been identified as impeding an offender’s ability to successfully reenter society upon release from incarceration. As a result, research has long examined what shared obstacles the majority of offenders often face upon reentering society. Much of the research identifies factors such as poor education, obtaining/maintaining employment, stable housing, and transportation as common barriers to successful reentry. By using in-depth interviews with ex-offenders deemed as successful that were conducted by two respective non-profit agencies, the present study explores what significant requirements, if any, successful offenders perceive to need and/or have experienced as lacking while attempting to successfully reenter society. Findings from this study highlight that many of the research-identified needs are not major barriers because they are often provided for by various non-profit agencies. Furthermore, successful ex-offenders overwhelmingly identify poor social support as a major barrier that oftentimes remains neglected in government and non-profit organizational programming.
Highlights
Offenders returning to society are a consistent concern for the general public and have troubled correctional professionals and legislators regarding how these individuals are supported once released from incarceration
With approximately 688,000 offenders released from state and federal incarceration in 2011, cities are inundated with a population of individuals with poor education, inadequate job skills, and limited housing options (Carson & Sabol, 2012; Garland, Wodahl, & Mayfield, 2011; Horney, Osgood, & Marshall, 1995; Maruschak & Parks, 2012; Petersilia, 2001, 2005; Travis, 2005; Ulmer, 2001)
Since the goal of the present study is to identify any significant needs that successful offenders have experienced in making a successful community reentry, the specific focus went beyond the components traditionally studied
Summary
Offenders returning to society are a consistent concern for the general public and have troubled correctional professionals and legislators regarding how these individuals are supported once released from incarceration. With approximately 688,000 offenders released from state and federal incarceration in 2011, cities are inundated with a population of individuals with poor education, inadequate job skills, and limited housing options (Carson & Sabol, 2012; Garland, Wodahl, & Mayfield, 2011; Horney, Osgood, & Marshall, 1995; Maruschak & Parks, 2012; Petersilia, 2001, 2005; Travis, 2005; Ulmer, 2001). Individuals without adequate job skills and/or sufficient education face severely limited employment opportunities and subsequent housing options. These harsh realities are further exacerbated by the label of convicted felon, a label that often carries even further restrictions on where an individual can live and/or work (Pager, 2003; Pager, Western, & Sugie, 2009). With an estimated 4.8 million individuals under some form of community supervision, the need for continued study of such barriers to successful reentry is crucial, especially with 67.5% of released offenders being rearrested within three years of their release (Langan & Levin, 2002; Luther, Reichert, Holloway, Roth, & Aalsma, 2011)
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