NCJ Number
222762
Date Published
November 2004
Length
90 pages
Annotation
This report presents findings from a series of focus groups to identify resources and services available to released prisoners to assist in reentry, to identify gaps in service delivery for both released prisoners and their families, to identify challenges that exist in serving this population, to identify barriers to coordinated service delivery across agencies and service providers, and to offer recommendations for better serving this population in the State of Rhode Island.
Abstract
In 2004, the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, referred to as the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI), contracted with the Urban Institute (UI) to conduct a series of focus groups with service providers, current prisoners, and former prisoners with the goal to help ACI gain a better understanding of the reentry challenges facing released prisoners, as well as the resources and opportunities that exist to better serve this population. In total, UI conducted seven focus groups to include the following topic areas and populations: employment, health and substance abuse, housing, family, basic needs, current prisoners, and released prisoners. Highlights of key insights (followed by recommendations) by topic areas include: (1) service provider participants reported that after release, a large share of prisoners struggle to meet their basic needs (i.e., food, clothing, housing, transportation); (2) both service providers and prisoner participants believed that current corrections policies make planning for postrelease employment difficult; (3) most prisoner participants reported heavy reliance on their families and friends for both financial and emotional support following release; (4) service provider participants observed that the health needs of prisoners exceed treatment capacity, both in prison and in the community; and (5) service provider participants reported that the shortage of housing in the Providence area has become an enormous problem for released prisoners. The findings in this report describe a system of prisoner reentry service provision in Rhode Island fragmented and encumbered by clashing organizational cultures that prevent positive and productive collaboration between ACI and service providers in the community. The overriding themes that emerged included: (1) lack of coordination between ACI and State and local service providers; (2) the belief that prisoners were not adequately prepared for reentry prior to their release; and (3) a general consensus that the demand for community services far exceeded supply. Appendixes A-D