NCJ Number
219200
Journal
Corrections Today Magazine Volume: 69 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2007 Pages: 88-91
Date Published
April 2007
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article reviews Federal funding of prisoner reentry programming and suggests a more sustained and thoughtful effort regarding the Government’s role in prisoner reentry initiatives.
Abstract
The main argument is that the Federal Government has approached prisoner reentry programming in a patch-work fashion while what is actually needed is a concerted and sustained effort. In making this argument, the author describes Federal legislation regarding prison reentry program funding since 2003. The author makes note of the many changes made to Federal prisoner reentry programming, such as changing the management of certain initiatives and authorizing the Prisoner Reentry Initiative rather than the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI), which has been receiving Federal funding since 2003. Most recently, the Federal government funded the “Marriage and Incarceration” Initiative that focuses on strengthening marriage and families among male inmates. The author points out that while the government seems to be trying to provide leadership on prisoner reentry, each time the funding stream is changed, new programs must be developed. Instead, it is proposed that the government follow a continuous improvement model when it comes to prisoner reentry, which would entail providing technical assistance to State and local agencies to help them identify evidence-based practices, monitor implementation, and measure outcomes.