NCJ Number
222735
Date Published
January 2007
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This report is designed to inform organizations and stakeholders on strategies for effectively disseminating reentry-related mapping and analysis findings and is based on the experiences of the Reentry Mapping Network (RMN) sites.
Abstract
Reliable research on the dynamics of prisoner reentry at the local level is sorely needed. The organizations affiliated with the Reentry Mapping Network (RMN), a partnership between the Urban Institute and community-based organizations in 14 jurisdictions that analyze and map local data on prisoner reentry and use the findings to improve their communities, and others like them, are working to fill this information gap in cities across the country. In order for such research efforts to have an impact, their findings must make it into the hands of local stakeholders acting on this issue. This report has aimed to illuminate some of the ways reentry research dissemination and community engagement can effectively be achieved. The successes of RMN sites in informing and engaging their communities come, in large part, from understanding the local landscape and responding to the concerns and needs of community members. This philosophy advocates respect for stakeholders as active participants in a knowledge-seeking research process. The report outlines key elements of the process and offers specific recommendations based on the experiences of the RMN sites.