Nearly 650,000 people are released from state and federal prison yearly and arrive on the doorsteps of communities nationwide. A far greater number reenter communities from local jails, and for many offenders and /defendants, this may occur multiple times in a year. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) over 50 percent of those released from incarceration will be in some form of legal trouble within 3 years. In his 2004 State of the Union, President Bush proposed “a four-year, $300 million prisoner re-entry initiative to expand job training and placement services, to provide transitional housing, and to help newly released prisoners get mentoring, including from faith-based groups.”
What’s
New
National Reentry Resource Center Launched
On October 6, 2009, the Council of State Governments Justice Center launched the National Reentry Resource Center using funds from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Resource Center is designed to advance the safe and successful reentry of individuals from prisons and jails into their communities. Those served by the Resource Center include states, tribes, territories, local governments, service providers, nonprofit organizations, and adult/juvenile correctional institutions. Visit the National Reentry Resource Center to learn more.
PBS Film on Reentry
On April 28, 2009, PBS aired a FRONTLINE series film, The Released. The film explores what happens to mentally ill offenders once they are released from prison.
View the video trailer available at pbs.org/frontline/released.
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