Chapter B: Addressing Core Challenges
Once policymakers and practitioners have taken the initial steps that are described in "Getting Started," Chapter A of this section of the Report, they will be in a position to determine the broad outlines and goals of a re-entry initiative. This chapter provides insight into five core challenges that must be met in establishing the initiative and putting it into operation, and it recommends strategies for overcoming these issues.
The policy statements that follow suggest ways to redefine the missions of partner organizations to incorporate re-entry efforts; to maximize the value of existing funding possibilities; to integrate diverse systems; to measure the performance of an initiative; and to inform and reassure the public about the impact of the initiative and generally about the men and women returning to their communities from prison or jail. Each of these functions is critical to the success of a re-entry initiative, and policymakers must focus attention on them throughout the life of the project. Only once these core challenges have been adequately addressed can the recommendations in Part II, which follows the re-entry continuum from admission to the institution to return to the community, be fully implemented.
Policy Statements
3: Incorporating Re-Entry into Organizations' Missions and Work Plans
4: Funding a Re-Entry Initiative
5: Promoting System Integration and Coordination
- Faye Taxman, "Supervision-Exploring the Dimensions of Effectiveness," Federal Probation 66, no. 2 (2002): 14-27. back