Children, Families, and Communities
Affected by Reentry

The Issue

Most individuals released from prison return to major metropolitan areas across the country, often to a few neighborhoods within central cities. These high concentrations of returning prisoners generate substantial costs for the respective communities, including the costs associated with crime and public safety, greater public health risks, significant levels of family distress, and high rates of unemployment and homelessness.

Men and women who are incarcerated have a range of personal networks in the community, including family members who may rely on them for financial and other support and family members who can be a powerful support to them during incarceration and after release. Released individuals frequently look to their families to help with a range of immediate needs, including employment, housing, substance abuse treatment, financial well-being, and physical and mental health, among others. In many cases, however, family members are not in a position to provide support when individuals return home. Even in those cases in which families are able to help the returning individual, meeting the needs of this person is a tremendous challenge.

Challenges

• Absence of useful information about a prisoner's family ties; constantly changing dynamics of family relationships; and risk of re-establishing relationships fractured by domestic violence, substance abuse, or other traumatic events
• Lack of attention to family's needs for support during a family member's incarceration and following release
• Inflexible child support policies and accumulated child support debts
• Limited parenting skills
• Distance between correctional facilities and home communities and difficulty of expanding visitation policies given institutional safety constraints
• Inadequate mobilization of peer support and faith-based groups

Related Justice Center Projects

Children and Families

The Council of State Governments Justice Center is developing three resources for policymakers and practitioners interested in supporting families of people in prisons or jails and facilitating successful prisoner reentry.

Click here to learn more about this project.

Reentry Partnerships

The Council of State Governments Justice Center is developing several products to help state government officials and community and faith-based organization leaders improve collaboration.

Click here to learn more about this project.