Reentry and Rehabilitation | Organizations and Programs | Statistics and Studies | Books

Reentry and Rehabilitation

After Prison: Roadblocks to Reentry
This two-year study from the Legal Action Center details the legal obstacles that people with criminal records face when they attempt to reenter society and become productive, law-abiding citizens.

PBS: Online NewsHour: California Parole
Reporter Spencer Michels examines changes to the California parole system in this transcript from PBS’s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

Coming Home: The Challenge of Prisoner Reentry
View video clips and read transcripts from Caucus New Jersey with Steve Adubato, a public affairs program which discusses the difficulties of reentry and how to make a successful transition from prison back into the community.

Urban Institute: From Prison to Work: The Employment Dimensions of Prisoner Reentry
Read this study about the dangers and pitfalls of prisoner reentry and what needs to change to reduce the rate of recidivism in the United States.

LA Weekly: “A Life of Letters”
Read an interview with Joe Loya, the author, performer and former bank robber that inspired filmmaker Goro Toshima to make A HARD STRAIGHT.

PBS: Now with Bill Moyers: Prisons in America
Get more information about the U.S. prison system, including facts and figures, trends and reports on recidivism.

PBS: Now with Bill Moyers: Life After Prison
Learn about a unique program that has helped thousands of women by working to heal their addictions and by giving them the tools they need to reclaim their lives.

NPR: All Things Considered: Returning Convicts to Society
Listen to commentator Robert Franklin talk about ways to improve services for newly released prisoners.

Organizations and Programs

Centerforce
A HARD STRAIGHT filmmaker Goro Toshima met film subject Aaron Shepard through Aaron’s caseworker at Centerforce, a California-based organization that seeks to strengthen individuals and families affected by incarceration through education and support, including services for ex-offenders.

Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants
Read about this national grassroots organization, which is dedicated to reducing crime through reform of the criminal justice system and providing rehabilitative opportunities for ex-offenders.

Delancey Street Foundation
Get more information about one of America’s most successful programs, which has helped thousands of ex-offenders reenter society and rebuild their lives.

JEHT Foundation
Learn more about this foundation and its support of human rights, social justice and community building issues, including effective reentry planning and programs at the federal, state and local levels.

National H.I.R.E. Network
The Network aims to increase the number and quality of job opportunities available to people with criminal records by changing public policies, employment practices and public opinion.

Reentry National Media Outreach Campaign
Read about this media-based campaign designed to help community and faith-based organizations facilitate discussion about solution-oriented reentry programs. Site includes “Outside the Walls: A National Snapshot of Community-based Prisoner Reentry Programs,” an overview of documentary films about reentry and an extensive list of programs helping ex-offenders find healthcare, jobs, education and housing. (Available as a PDF download.)

Urban Institute: Prisoner Reentry
Get information about the projects, research and discussions on prisoner reentry of this nonpartisan group, which is working to inform the national dialogue on crime, justice and community safety.

Vera Institute of Justice
This non-profit organization sponsors a program called Project Greenlight, which helps prepare prisoners for release and reduces the rate of recidivism.

Statistics and Studies

National Governors Association
Get more information about the NGA’s seven-state Prisoner Reentry Policy Academy and their work to promote better reentry practices in the criminal justice system.

President George W. Bush’s 2004 State of the Union Address Prisoner Reentry Fact Sheet
Find out more about President Bush’s proposal to help reentry programs through faith-based initiatives.

U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics
Get facts and statistics about crime and punishment in the United States.

U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Corrections
Read about reentry policies and programs from the National Institute of Corrections, including its Transition from Prison to Community initiative.

U.S. Department of Justice Reentry Studies and Publications
Choose from a wide variety of publications about the prison system, reentry, and the effects of crime on communities.

U.S. Department of Labor’s Ready4Work Program
Learn more about how the Ready4Work Program can help parolees find jobs through community and faith-based initiatives.

Books

Doing Time on the Outside: Incarceration and Family Life in Urban America
By Donald Braman
(UMP, 2004)
This groundbreaking ethnography of modern urban America tells the little-told story of the effects of imprisonment on the families of prisoners.

How to Do Good After Prison: A Handbook for the “Committed Man”
By Michael B. Jackson
(Joint FX Press, 2001)
Written by a former prisoner, this handbook features FAQs on parole and parole conditions and information on “how to do good.”

Life on the Outside: The Prison Odyssey of Elaine Bartlett
By Jennifer Gonnerman
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004)
The story of Elaine Bartlett, a first-time offender sentenced to 16 years for drug trafficking, and the fate of her four children, illustrates the impact of the Rockefeller drug laws on one family.

Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild
By Shadd Maruna
(American Psychological Association, 2001)
This study compares the stories of ex-convicts who are actively involved in criminal behavior with those who are not, making a case for improved rehabilitation opportunities.

The Man Who Outgrew His Prison Cell: Confessions of a Bank Robber
By Joe Loya
(Rayo, 2004)
In this memoir, Joe Loya—the inspiration behind the making of A HARD STRAIGHT—provides an account of his childhood, incarceration and eventual release from prison.

Prisoners Once Removed: The Impact of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families, and Communities
By Jeremy Travis and Michelle Waul
(Urban Institute Press, 2004)
Researching the impact of incarceration on American family life, this book explores the psychological impact of imprisonment on prisoners and the difficulty of reentering free society to the challenges faced by communities who must integrate the prisoners once they return.

When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry
By Joan Petersilia
(Oxford University Press, 2003)
Petersilia “offers solutions to prepare inmates for release, reduce recidivism and restore them to full citizenship, while never losing sight of the demands of public safety.”