The first two recommendations provided under this policy statement explain how to make the case for a prisoner re-entry initiative without creating an unrealistic expectation in the public that the issue can be addressed effectively through additional prison construction. The third recommendation suggests some ways to dispel any impression in the public that a prisoner re-entry initiative will increase their personal interaction with people released from prison.

When implemented together, these recommendations can serve to prepare a community to accept a re-entry initiative. The implementation of those recommendations alone, however, will not necessarily cause communities to become invested in the reintegration of people released from prison or jail into their towns and cities. That transformation, ultimately essential to the success of any re-entry initiative, depends on increasing the number of people in communities who sense some personal responsibility for the safe and successful reintegration of prisoners into the community.

For that to happen, public education must go beyond the public safety and fiscal implications of re-entry. The public needs to understand how the issue of prisoner re-entry affects their health, the economy, and the general stability of communities.

Example: Ready4Work Initiative, Public/Private Ventures

In its role as primary intermediary for the Department of Labor's Ready4Work Initiative, Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) assists Ready4Work's 14 sites across the country in developing local media and recruitment strategies, which, among other things, emphasize the program's effectiveness in helping adult releasees reconnect to their families and the community. Encouraged by a funder whose mission is to effectively meet the needs of vulnerable children and families (the Annie E. Casey Foundation) P/PV supports local efforts to engage faith- and community-based partners to provide mentoring and case management to support the growth of healthy families and restore broken relationships. In some cases, P/PV disseminates Casey Foundation material to local project staff to improve recruiting and training for faith- and community-based partners.

Emphasizing the impact that high numbers of people returning from prison may have on a community can motivate community members to get involved in efforts to improve the re-entry process. Disseminating information about faith- and community-based volunteer opportunities to work with individuals in correctional facilities and under community supervision can serve to engage concerned citizens in re-entry efforts and help them to develop a sense of responsibility and to recognize how improved re-entry can improve their community.

Example: Faith Community Partnership, Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (DC)

The Faith Community Partnership links individuals returning to DC neighborhoods from prison with mentors from faith-based institutions. Program coordinators, who focus on neighborhood clusters based on boundary lines of city wards, work with leaders from faith institutions to inform parishioners of the problem, need, and opportunities to serve as mentors. To educate the public about the mentorship program, the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency produces fliers for dissemination. Coordinators also work with leaders in faith communities to increase releasees' access to neighborhood services and resources.

Engaging people during and after their incarceration in socially productive community service activities, such as building homes or restoring parks and trails, also demonstrates how some offenders can begin to repay their debt to the community. When communities, and business leaders in particular, see people released from prison as potential assets, rather than as liabilities, they are more likely to take a stake in the re-entry of these individuals to the community.

Example: Community corrections/business partnership, City of Bend (OR)

After the region suffered from significant reductions in timber supply, businesses in Bend, Oregon looked to shift the economy towards tourism; executives from a leading resort donated $150,000 to training programs for parolees to build handicap-accessible parks and campgrounds, post signage, clear trails, and remove hazardous trees. Businesses tapped people under the oversight of community corrections as a labor force for economic improvement, and in turn enhanced the supervision process by teaching parolees valuable vocational skills.