Successful Community Reintegration Research Articles

Integrating justice-involved voices: the role of experiential knowledge in shaping reentry support programs

ABSTRACT Upon release from incarceration, system-impacted individuals in the U.S. face multifaceted challenges, with studies highlighting high rates of re-incarceration. Understanding the reentry process from the perspective of these individuals is imperative. Interviews with system-impacted and previously incarcerated persons underscore the importance of experiential knowledge in navigating reentry challenges. Through qualitative analysis, three categories of experiential knowledge emerged: Program Goals Informed by Experiential Knowledge, Utilization of Peers (Classes) as Experiential Knowledge, and Strategies for Understanding Personal Experience as Knowledge. These categories encapsulate the diverse ways in which experiential knowledge informs and shapes reentry support programs, showcasing both individual and collective successes across various stages of reintegration. This framework provides valuable insights into enhancing reentry programs, advocating for the integration of experiential knowledge to foster positive change and successful community reintegration. The article concludes by discussing how these interconnected themes offer a comprehensive understanding of how experiential knowledge shapes the reentry journey. By prioritizing the voices and experiences of system-impacted individuals, reentry programs can become more responsive, effective, and equitable, contributing to a more humane justice system.

Applying the Risk–Need–Responsivity (RNR) Model to Transgender Women in the Criminal Justice System

Transgender women are at least twice as likely as cisgender people to be incarcerated in their lifetimes, and, in custody, they experience harassment, abuse, and denial of affirming healthcare. Despite several legal and policy changes intended to improve these conditions, there has been little discussion about the need for evidence-based rehabilitation with the population. This article examines the use of the risk–need–responsivity (RNR) model with transgender women in the criminal justice system and discusses how it can be beneficial for tailoring rehabilitation services to address the unique needs of the population, thereby improving opportunities for successful community reintegration.

Unlocking Second Chances: Scoping review of the parole system and the path to successful community reintegration in Malaysia

This paper intends to explore the parole system and how the system can assist with the successful reintegration of parolees back to the societies. Being ex-convicts, they face several challenges, such as lack of employment opportunities and discrimination, which hinder successful parole reintegration. The parole system, however, can be used to implement reintegration strategies to create change. Despite the abundance of studies on how employers perceive ex-convicts, there needs to be more research on the success of their reintegration into the workforce and society. This paper employs scoping review methods by identifying the existing literature about the parole system in Malaysia and the successful reintegration strategies. This paper concludes that the Malaysian parole system has unique features through the strategies implemented toward the effective reintegration of parolees.

Invited commentary: unveiling the grim reality-suicide mortality among formerly incarcerated individuals in North Carolina.

In the article by Fitch etal. (Am J Epidemiol 2024;193(3):489-499), the authors highlight the concerning prevalence of suicide mortality among formerly incarcerated individuals in North Carolina. Their retrospective study reveals a doubled suicide risk postrelease, with notable disparities among demographic groups. Urgent interventions are needed, including comprehensive reentry programs and systemic reforms to address structural inequalities. I suggest tailored support services to mitigate suicide risks and promote successful community reintegration, advocating for equity, justice, and human dignity in postrelease efforts.

Traumatic atlanto‐occipital dislocation with successfully bystander resuscitation after cardiopulmonary arrest: A case report

Key Clinical MessageThis case report describes successful bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation after a cardiopulmonary arrest due to a traffic accident, followed by early diagnosis and treatment of a traumatic atlanto‐occipital dislocation, resulting in successful community reintegration.

Factors impacting community living outcomes among former long-term nursing home residents using the interdependence-Human Activity Assistive Technology (i-HAAT) model

ABSTRACT Despite an increased application of social theory in assistive technology (AT) outcomes research, there continues to be a gap in integrating AT conceptual models in research design, data analysis, and results interpretation. This paper merged two preexisting AT models, the Human Activity Assistive Technology model (HAAT) and the interdependence frame for AT into a novel framework, the interdependence-HAAT model (i-HAAT). This model was used to examine the outcomes of former long-term nursing home residents using AT. The model was also used as a framework to facilitate quantitative variable identification and categorization, emphasize the interconnectivity between domain variables, and explore the infrastructural supports necessary for the successful community reintegration of deinstitutionalized AT users. Meaningful integration of theory into practice is the essential next step in generating socially responsive research that addresses AT consumer needs and moves the field forward.

Unlocking Second Chances: Scoping review of the parole system and the path to successful community reintegration in Malaysia

Unlocking Second Chances: Scoping review of the parole system and the path to successful community reintegration in Malaysia

Definitions of recovery and reintegration across the first year: A qualitative study of perspectives of persons with spinal cord injury and caregivers.

Longitudinal, qualitative cohort study. To understand how people with newly acquired spinal cord injury (PWS) and their support person (SP) define recovery and successful community reintegration (CR) across the first 12 months post-injury (mpi) and their satisfaction with the rate of recovery and reintegration experienced. Academic and Veterans hospitals in Midwest USA. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted in two cohorts of PWS and SP during the initial inpatient rehabilitation stay, at 6 mpi, and at 12 mpi. Recordings were transcribed; four authors independently undertook line-by-line coding. The team discussed codes to reach consensus and synthesize into broader themes within the International Classification of Function, Disability, and Health and Transformative frameworks. Data are reported on 23 PWS and 21 SP. PWS and SP are similar in defining recovery as gaining motor function and achieving independence. However, SP more frequently define recovery in terms of maintaining positivity and emotional recovery. At 12 mpi both groups shift to define recovery according to progress. Social roles, being active, and employment are persistent themes of how PWS and SP define successful CR. However, SP also frequently define successful CR as reestablishing identity and emotional adjustment. Veterans with SCI less frequently defined successful CR as employment. This study is the first to reveal how PWS and SP define recovery and reintegration during the first 12 mpi. Given decreasing lengths of stay, this information can be used to tailor rehabilitation strategies during the critical first year of injury to optimize recovery.

Is Spending Nights Away From Home Associated With Participation and Life Satisfaction After Spinal Cord Injury? A Longitudinal Perspective.

Community reintegration after SCI rehabilitation consists of readjustment not only to the home setting but also to the social and occupational spheres, which often require people to spend nights away from home. Because community reintegration contributes to life satisfaction after SCI, it is necessary to investigate how travel participation is related to occupational and social participation and life satisfaction. Additionally, better management of the long-term effects of SCI requires better understanding of the changes in participation and life satisfaction over time. To examine how participation and life satisfaction change over time following SCI, and to investigate whether spending nights away from home is associated with occupational and social participation and life satisfaction over time. This is a longitudinal analysis of data extracted from the publicly available database of Spinal Cord Model Systems from 1996 to 2016. A generalized linear mixed model was developed to examine the changes of outcome variables over time while controlling demographic variables. Travel and social participation declined while life satisfaction increased as people lived longer with SCI, controlling for confounders. No significant change was identified in occupational participation. Spending nights away from home was significantly and positively associated with social and occupational participation and life satisfaction over time. Although travel participation of people with SCI declined over time, its association with social participation strengthened as the number of postinjury years increased. Travel participation plays an important role in successful community reintegration. Rehabilitation services and travel services should provide training and resources on travel after SCI for improved participation and life satisfaction.

Participation in Daily Activities and Quality of Life among Individuals with Paraplegic Spinal Cord Injury in Pakistan

Individuals with paraplegic Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) face various difficulties that limit participation in daily activities and lowered Quality of Life (QOL) after hospital discharge. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the level of participation in daily activities and QOL among individuals with paraplegic SCI and to examine the relationship between these two variables. The results revealed that individuals with paraplegic SCI faced significant challenges in social participation, life activities, mobility, getting along, self-care, and cognition, leading to a reduction in overall QOL. Occupational therapists prioritize post-discharge interventions targeting to improve participation and QOL for successful rehabilitation and community reintegration.

Extent of caregiver burden among informal caregivers of persons with severe mental disorders in rural South Africa.

Informal caregivers are the backbone of recovery for people with severe mental disorders in South Africa, particularly in rural areas where access to mental health services is limited. While their unique contribution and the subsequent burden arising from occupying the role of informal caregiver are acknowledged, there is limited evidence on the extent of the subjective and objective burdens among informal caregivers of people with severe mental disorders in rural areas. This article reports on a study that aimed to establish the extent of subjective and objective burdens among informal caregivers of people with severe mental disorders in rural South Africa. A descriptive quantitative cross-sectional design was used. Data were gathered through structured interviews with 170 informal caregivers of people with severe mental disorders attending an outpatient clinic at a rural hospital in South Africa. A structured questionnaire guided the interviews and included demographics and caregiving characteristic information. Montgomery, Gonyea and Hooyman's scale was used to assess objective and subjective burdens. Data was analysed descriptively using Stata v15. The majority of the participants were female informal caregivers (83.5%) between the ages of 45 and 64 years (45.3%), and parents represented the largest proportion (45.3%) of caregivers. The global burden scores revealed that most informal caregivers reported moderate-to-severe objective burden and mild-to-moderate subjective burden. Significant associations with objective burden were established for age, gender and residence (p=0.025, p=0.034 and p=0.038, respectively), and subjective burden yielded significant associations with daily caregiving (p=0.012). Caring for people with severe mental disorders is associated with high levels of objective and subjective burdens. The present study highlights the need to integrate the assessment of burdens among informal caregivers of people with severe mental disorders in routine clinical practice. Additionally, the study urgently calls for the development of strategies to support informal caregivers to ensure successful community reintegration among people with severe mental disorders.

Exploring community reintegration among Nigerian stroke survivors.

Community reintegration is one of the ultimate goals of stroke rehabilitation. The increasing burden of stroke morbidity by other non-communicable diseases in Nigeria indicated the need for our study. The authors explored the factors contributing to successful community reintegration among Nigerian stroke survivors. We conducted an explorative qualitative study design to achieve this aim using in-depth semi-structured interviews with 12-purposively sampled stroke survivors. Three overarching themes emerged: restriction of participation experienced by stroke survivors, activity limitation as pointers to the quality-of-life experience of stroke survivors and enablers or barriers to community reintegration for stroke survivors. Among the core, sub-themes included incapability of returning to work, difficulty performing domestic activities, social isolation or separation, recreation and leisure time. Enablers of community reintegration included creating a positive mindset, encouragement and social support, while barriers included mobility and speech or language challenges. Stroke survivors have challenges in returning to work and experience varying levels of activity limitation, which affects their quality of life with identifiable enablers or barriers to community reintegration. Stroke survivors with severe functional deficits should be monitored closely and given further rehabilitative assistance to aid functional recovery, thereby facilitating community reintegration.

Anticipating prison face work: Dramaturgical risks anticipated by correctional officer recruits

AbstractThere is increasing recognition that correctional officers (COs) serve a crucial role in their work in relation to communications underpinning discretion, especially regarding interactions with prisoners. This article examines attitudes and perceptions among Canadian federal correctional officer recruits (CORs) regarding what they anticipate are the greatest challenges they will face as new COs. We examine these discussions through the framework of Goffman's dramaturgical model of face work, especially face work within the ‘total institution’ of prisons. Our findings centre on anticipated challenges of building rapport with prisoners, including the requirements to monitor one's demeanour and ‘face work’. Characterisations of prisoners as inherently manipulative factor into CO anticipations of interactional challenges. We also consider the role that ‘soft power’ has in facilitating CO‐prisoner rapport and trust, which, we argue, ultimately undergirds opportunities in prisons to facilitate prisoner social change and successful community reintegration and desistance from crime.

Family support and well-being programme (FSWP): A specialized family strengthening psychosocial services for parents of children in conflict with law.

A multidimensional family support and well-being programme (FSWP) was initiated to support the families of children in conflict with law (CICL) and strengthen their participation in the integration process. This programme aims to successfully reintegrate children into the family and build parental capacity to manage them. This study presents the overview of the multidimensional FSWP initiated in an observation home, facility for CICLs, Bengaluru, a metropolitan city of India. The team of psychiatric social workers systematically delivered the family support programme to promote families' involvement at multiple levels (individual, relationships, community, and societal) for successful reintegration of children in communities. The preliminary data about the participants was collected using strengths and difficulties questionnaire and parent interview schedule. The programme activities consisted of engaging parents and family members in the parenting management training programme, addressing their psychosocial issues, identifying resources for postrelease rehabilitation and promotive interventions with children and their parents. The FSWP activities are developed to increase positive outcomes like favorable behavioral changes in children and emotional regulation, frequent participation and support of parents in the trial and rehabilitation process, and encouraging parental involvement in for successful community reintegration and placements of children. The family characteristics are integrally related to delinquency and practioners need to integrate such factors to improve parenting behaviors and enhance positive relationships between families and children.

The Association Between Anxiety and Time to Community Release in a Sample of Incarcerated Women

Although the sociocultural factors impeding successful community re-integration for incarcerated women have been researched extensively, few studies have examined associated psychological influences. This study explored if there was a relationship between self-reported symptoms of anxiety and time to release from prison for a sample of incarcerated women. The results revealed that total self-reported symptoms of anxiety increased as time to release from prison decreased for all offenders regardless of the independent/predictor variable with the exception of age at index offense. The total scores of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) increased as the participants’ age at time of index offenses decreased.

Characteristics, institutional behaviour, and post-release outcomes of federal Veteran and non-Veteran men offenders

LAY SUMMARY Incarcerated Veterans represent 2.5% of the federal offender population and are a unique subset of the general Canadian Veteran population. This study provides the first in-depth examination of Veteran offenders in federal custody. During the study period, 374 federal offenders self-reported as Veterans. Federal Veteran offenders were older and more likely to have committed a violent offence and to have mental health concerns. Although they were more likely to report mental health concerns, Veteran offenders have more stable institutional behaviour and greater post-release success than non-Veterans. Understanding the unique characteristics and correctional experiences of federal Veteran offenders aids in identifying needs related to intervention and support to promote successful community reintegration after release. Future qualitative research should enhance knowledge of the lived experiences of Veterans involved in the federal criminal justice system in Canada.

Assessment of barriers to effective use of psychiatric advance directives: Providers' knowledge and attitudes.

Psychiatric advance directives, or directives for mental health treatment (DMHTs), are consistent with the principles of psychiatric rehabilitation, self-determination, and a recovery orientation. DMHTs have promise as a consumer-empowering part of a relapse prevention plan. In the context of state psychiatric hospitals, where successful community reintegration is crucial, they have particular relevance. However, DMHTs tend to be underutilized, despite the existence of consumer-friendly laws and consumer interest. Mental health providers (n = 225) were surveyed to assess knowledge of and attitudes toward more comprehensive implementation of DMHTs to test the hypothesis that at least an initial barrier to implementation is provider familiarity with DMHTs. Results of the survey indicate a lack of familiarity with DMHTs, which was addressed by a brief educational intervention embedded in the survey. Prior to education, providers demonstrated a sense of futility and low confidence in their ability to help families plan ahead for future episodes of psychosis. After brief education, they reported more confidence in their ability to effectively intervene and more confidence a DMHT would be a useful intervention. Furthermore, they reported attitudes more supportive of DMHT use as well as an increased likelihood to use DMHTs in their own practice. These findings suggest that an initial barrier to implementation of DMHTs may often be provider familiarity and understanding. Future directions, including broader interventions to increase familiarity, and limitations are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Non-Association Conditions among Released Women: Implications for Successful Community Reintegration

AbstractIn addition to standard parole conditions, parolees under federal community supervision may be subject to special conditions as determined by the Parole Board of Canada; such conditions are intended to manage factors associated with criminogenic risk and need. One set of special conditions places restrictions on parolees’ social relationships and associations, which can include general restrictions (e.g., non-association with individuals involved in crime) or specific restrictions (e.g., no contact with one’s victim or co-accused). Drawing on case files of women under community supervision (n = 43), we explore how non-association and no contact orders shape community release experiences. We suggest that such conditions can have wide-reaching effects on women’s social lives and reintegration (e.g., in the areas of social support, employment, and housing), thereby, at times, complicating women’s attempts to construct post-institutional lives and identities. We consider how association conditions illustrate the broader tension between parole requirements and reintegration.

Community reintegration of people with traumatic brain injury in south India: role of a comprehensive transdisciplinary rehabilitation programme

Background/aims Successful community reintegration is the ultimate goal of traumatic brain injury rehabilitation and care. The aim of this study was to explore the community reintegration of people with a traumatic brain injury living in south India who had completed a comprehensive holistic rehabilitation programme. The level of community reintegration based on the demographic variables of the patients was also investigated. Methods A total of 104 community-dwelling people with a traumatic brain injury, and a minimum of 1 year post injury, received treatment from a rehabilitation team in a therapeutic centre for 7 hours a day, 6 days a week for a maximum of 16 weeks. A usual care, transdisciplinary service delivery model was implemented, and the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique was used to quantify the main outcome measures. Results The mean and standard deviation scores for each Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique domain were physical independence (91 ± 23), social integration (87 ± 20), cognitive independence (70 ± 33), economic self-sufficiency (67 ± 40), occupation (66 ± 40) and mobility (63 ± 29). The participants who had gone back to work after their traumatic brain injury showed significantly higher scores in all the domains of the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique than those who were unemployed. Only the occupation and mobility domain scores were influenced by the severity of the traumatic brain injury. The economic self-sufficiency, occupation and mobility domain scores were higher among married patients compared to those who were unmarried. Conclusions A significant proportion of the participants were able to return to work and reintegrate into community life through this service delivery model. This comprehensive, holistic approach, which targets physical, cognitive and psychosocial needs and then provides adequate vocational rehabilitation, can result in good outcomes in people with a traumatic brain injury.

Vocational Education and Training for Young Offenders in Juvenile Approved Schools

Vocational education and training is an important component for rehabilitating young offenders in juvenile approved schools. It provides offenders with technical skills and employment opportunities that can reduce the risk of reoffending and increase successful social reintegration into society. This study explores the potential benefits of vocational education and training programs for young offenders. Qualitative interviews were carried out with 16 young offenders comprising both male and female participants from two juvenile approved schools in Malaysia. The findings identify four main benefits of vocational education for young offenders, including positive adjustment, rehabilitative effects, positive transition to society and improve self-esteem. Young offenders also identify these benefits in reducing reoffending and improving their chances of successful community reintegration. This study has implications on evaluation of vocational education programs and policy improvements in juvenile approved schools.