Ex-Convicts Reentering Society: Challenges & Solutions - Essay Sample

Introduction

Prisoner reentry is a procedure that facilitates the return of ex-convicts into the community. The transition from incarceration to life outside can be difficult, which has led to high recidivism cases. Recidivism is a situation where an individual repeats past indiscretions despite facing negative consequences in the past. In criminal terms is similar to an ex-convict being convicted again for committing a similar offense. There are many issues relating to prisoner reentry. These issues can partly be blamed on an ineffective justice system and the public. Some of the issues relating to prisoner reentry include lack of gainful employment, lack of access to food stamps, inability to vote, harsh arrangements in public housing facilities, and difficult parole agreements.

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Gainful Employment

Lack of gainful employment is one of the biggest issues to prisoner reentry. Ex-convicts coming out of jail do not have any income sources and, therefore, no means to provide for themselves. The logical step would be to look for employment to earn an honest living as a citizen. Such employment opportunities are significantly rare because, for most employers, any person with a criminal record is illegible for employment. It has even been made worse in some states where legislation has been passed through for ex-convicts not employed in certain jobs. There is a lack of access to food stamps and health services. These prisoners have no means of getting a meal, and a food stamp would be the best way to help such people. But the legislation was passed where ex-convicts could not get access to food stamps, and they also had no right to participate in the election process through voting. Such negative measures are an issue for prisoner reentry. In some public housing facilities, tenants are forced to sign agreements that ban ex-convicts' visits to such facilities. These people have families, and in most cases, they cannot get to them because of harsh arrangements like this. As a result, they become homeless and lack a place to go, which may make some resort to other means like trespassing of property, among other things.

Good Behavioral Conduct

Parole is the release of a prisoner before the end of their sentence on the promise of good behavioral conduct. For some of these parole arrangements, one has to pay to obtain their services. Such arrangements could have demanding terms that may be unfavorable on the side of the ex-convict. For example, an ex-convict may not be able to afford the services because of low income or no income. Still, they are expected to pay for the parole arrangement. In other cases, there are misunderstandings between the prisoner and the parole officer in terms of schedules; for example, if a parole meeting is scheduled for a specific time. Still, the prisoner cannot manage because of circumstances beyond their control, like having to work till late, among other things.

The biggest issue related to prisoner reentry is the mentality of people who have never been incarcerated. There is too much prejudice, and this has affected different individuals negatively. Prisoners are now judged based on their past and not their current behavior. It is as if once a person is convicted for a felony once they get released, they are set up to fail. No one wants to be associated with an ex-convict, and the negative mindset towards a prisoner with the belief that they will commit a crime sooner or later does not help the situation at all.

Reentry Programs

Certain programs are deemed to be effective and make the process of prisoner reentry more effective and efficient. Such programs include rehabilitation services, provision of food, other essential services, entrepreneurial programs in prison facilities, and advice on presenting themselves as they apply for job opportunities. Statistics showed that about 67% of prisoners released are reconvicted by the end of 3 years, and this figure increases to 77% by the end of 5 years. Hence these programs are deemed to help reduce such cases of recidivism. Rehabilitation services play a crucial role because they need help with mental issues, among other issues that they may face, and a jail sentence is not the key to all that. Individuals with substance abuse problems can get professional guidance and assistance to help them turn their lives around. Such services provided to prisoners help them become ready and much better to cope with life outside prison walls (Mitchell et al. 76). As a result, this will reduce the cases of recidivism.

Entrepreneurial programs within prisons equip inmates with valuable skills to help them make a living once they are released. Such programs play a crucial role in most prisoner reentry programs because the world outside prison walls is harsh. It is highly probable that if an inmate does not have any useful skills to help themselves earn a living, no one else will look their way. Therefore, the essence of such programs is to equip prisoners still in incarceration with some skills to perform different tasks, including plumbing, carpentry, mechanical work, and other skills. The idea is to make sure that once the prisoner is released, they now have a trade tool to earn a living. There are even some competitions in different fields like in entrepreneurial fields where inmates can come up with ideas that they can use to do businesses in an outside jail setup. The program becomes effective because it increases the chance of the prisoner gaining employment because of the skills they possess.

Lack of Basic Amenities and Needs

Life outside prison gates may seem all promising, but the reality is that it is far from true in most cases. Therefore, prisoners just released starting life outside the jail can be an almost impossible task because of the lack of basic amenities and needs. Programs that support released inmates with basic needs like food and shelter until they can fend for themselves are crucial to avoid increased recidivism cases. Such programs help the released prisoners get on their feet as they seek employment opportunities to make an honest living for themselves. All this goes to making the prisoner reentry program effective and useful.

Since getting gainful employment for people with criminal records can be impossible at times, it goes without saying that most people with such records feel like they are doomed. It may not be the case because in some states there are organizations that train one on how to respond to interview questions and they guide an individual on what to say and what not to say for example instead of saying I went to jail one could say the contract ended among other things. Such programs aim to make people with criminal records as competitive as possible in the job market without reducing their chances of employment and making them appealing to their prospective employers as much as possible. This makes the prisoner reentry process effective and efficient.

Reentry Challenges

Reentry still faces many challenges, especially today, and in some cases, it has been carried on over the years till the present. The biggest challenge is negativity and a negative mindset, which gives rise to other challenges like lack of gainful employment and stable housing, mental health issues, and lack of access to higher education. These challenges are explained below.

Negativity is the root of all problems plaguing the reentry program. For people who have never been incarcerated, they have a predetermined opinion of criminals, and the sad truth is that the opinion is more often negative (Zettler 24). They do not think of such individuals with positivity, for example, with the idea that they may have changed after spending time in jail. This has led to different negative measures like the development of negative legislation that lockout anyone who has been incarcerated.

Lack of access to higher education is a challenge because once these inmates get out of jail in most cases, there are changes that may require them to go back to school to learn more and become competitive in the job market. However, a law was passed where all incarcerated people were denied access to financial aid (Pell grants) to help them further their education. With all this, in the way an incarcerated person may feel like all the odds are placed against him, and he cannot succeed no matter what they try because there is no support from people and the law.

Gainful employment is already an issue because most companies will not hire any person with a criminal record. As a result, a prisoner who has been released has limited options in terms of job opportunities, making it difficult for them to provide for their families and themselves because the needs and wants are there. Still, there is no means to satisfy these needs. They, therefore, lack money to even have a stable place to live in.

With funding of a billion US dollars, there are many ways it could be spent to fix reentry problems. I would construct a campus that would be the first destination for the released inmates. The idea is to provide a boarding facility for the inmates and partner with businesses and universities to provide educational programs, entrepreneurial workshops and an environment where the inmates will feel comfortable and safe to pursue the different available programs to ensure they equip themselves with the necessary skills to survive in the outside world. The outcome of this facility is to add value to the ex-convicts' lives so that they can have an equal chance as any regular person to progress in their life. There would be an arrangement with the government agencies where a deal could be struck that any inmates from that facility will not be discriminated against once they get out of the facility and into the real world.

Conclusion

The programs I would create include partnership programs with companies to assimilate into employment the inmates who complete various educational or professional courses. This partnership program aims to provide the inmates with academic credentials from accredited institutions and an opportunity to directly be recruited by companies, thereby gaining employment and having a second chance at life. The hope is that with these programs, the public and individuals will be able to avoid judging inmates negatively, and they will give them a chance to change their ways because if the government does not come up with such programs, then who will? Every inmate deserves a chance to be successful, and it is up to each individual and the government to give inmates a chance at life after jail.

Works Cited

Mitchell, Meghan M., et al. "The effect of prison visitation on reentry success: A meta-analysis." Journal of Criminal Justice 47 (2016): 74-83.

Zettler, Haley. "The Gendered Challenges of Prisoner Reentry." Prisoner Reentry in the 21st Century: Critical Perspectives of Returning Home (2019).