New Report: Effective Prisoner Reentry Strategies

While no one-size-fits-all approach exists, combining occupational training, mentoring, social services, and education can help ex-offenders reintegrate successfully.

NEW YORK, NY — Every year, state and federal prisons release approximately 650,000 inmates. According to the most recent national survey, an estimated two-thirds of these ex-offenders are arrested for a new crime within three years. While there is no silver bullet for recidivism (the tendency to reoffend), a new Manhattan Institute study by CUNY’s Robert Cherry and Mary Gatta identifies some promising initiatives that help integrate former prisoners into society and reduce recidivism.

Within the first year of release, more than half of ex-offenders are unable to find a job and earn enough legal income to survive, increasing their likelihood of reoffending, at great cost to both their community and the taxpayer. By examining a variety of reentry programs in New Jersey and New York City, Cherry and Gatta shed light on which programs are most effective for reducing recidivism and improving long-term employment prospects. Their key findings include:

1.     Transitional employment—usually menial work with no development of occupational skills—does not seem to improve ex-offenders’ long-term job prospects but does modestly reduce recidivism. Programs that devote time to occupational training alone show some positive effect on employment but not on reducing recidivism.

2.     Programs that focus on reintegrating ex-prisoners into their communities have shown promising reductions in recidivism among certain kinds of offenders, particularly those with substance-abuse or mental-health problems, over a sustained period of time.

3.     Reintegration initiatives that offer high school equivalency education can be effective for increasing employment and reducing recidivism—but for offenders who have had difficulty in academic/classroom settings, skill certifications may be the best choice.

Click here to read the full report.