About the Report The Report, Part II: Review of the Re-Entry Process:

chapters and policy statements:
About the Report of the Re-Entry Council

Policy Statement 18, Research Highlight 4

There is significant variation across states in postrelease supervision practices.

States vary tremendously with regard to whether their prisoners are conditionally released or released without community supervision. For example, the vast majority of prisoners released in Oregon (virtually 100 percent), Rhode Island (96 percent), and California (94 percent) are placed under some form of supervision. On the other hand, Florida (59 percent) and Massachusetts (58 percent) release more than half of state prisoners unconditionally. [1]  

TPCI Model: Release Decision and Conditions

Under TPCI, the releasing authority will consider an offender's risk of re-offending, determined through the use of valid risk prediction tools, when making discretionary release decisions. The releasing authority should assign each person a tentative release date soon after he or she is admitted to prison. The tentative release date serves as a benchmark around which to develop the prisoner's transition accountability plan and to define the authorities' expectations for his or her behavior and accomplishments while confined.

In addition, under TPCI the releasing authority should specify conditions of supervision that are related to the person's individualized risk factors upon his or her release. States are encouraged to review standard and special conditions of supervision to determine whether they pose a substantial barrier to successful integration. Information obtained from objective risk and needs assessment tools can be used to set conditions related to a person's criminogenic needs.

  1. Joan Petersilia, When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003). back
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