From Cell to Street: What Works?

Prisons run like a small city. Every minute of every day is accounted for. Individuals are sharing a space the size of a bathroom for perhaps one, three, maybe even 10 years with someone whom they have never met. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, an incarcerated person’s world has shrunk. Most often, they are isolated in their cellblock units, eating their meals delivered from the kitchen. Work, classes, counseling, recreation, and visits are cancelled or curtailed. Sometimes, if lucky, these activities are moved online or offered at reduced capacity. Life is even more challenging for incarcerated individuals than it was previously.

Minnesota’s Prison System

A few facts and figures about Minnesota’s Prison System: • There are 10 correctional facilities in 11 locations housing 7,200 incarcerated persons. • 105,000 individuals are on probation living outside of a correctional facility. • Under determinant sentencing, twothirds of an individual’s sentence is spent incarcerated and 95% are released back to the community. • On average, 78% of individuals have previous violent crime convictions and four prior felony convictions.

These offenses include individuals who have been convicted of crimes related to person (53%), drug (18%), property (10%), weapons (7%), and

DWI (5%). While “rehabilitation” is an oft-stated goal of incarceration, many formerly incarcerated persons may struggle upon release for a variety of factors, including how long they were incarcerated, what type of support system they have—including family, friends and social systems—and stigma. Given that research shows that 34% of sentenced individuals will be convicted of a new felony-level crime and 26% of individuals will be reincarcerated for a new felony conviction, their families, friends, and the broader community are impacted when individuals are not well supported upon release.

Reentry to Society

Over the past several decades, the number of incarcerated individuals has grown significantly which has, in turn, led to a rise in the number of formerly incarcerated individuals reentering their communities. Historically, government officials have sponsored several major initiatives leading to the implementation of community-level prison reentry projects. Reentry of incarcerated persons is broadly applied to any program that attempts to reduce recidivism for sentenced individuals released from incarceration, but positive results of these programs are often elusive because of design problems, short duration, lack of administrative oversight, poor implementation, or absence of community aftercare. In 2009, the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) implemented the Transition from Prison to Community (TPC) initiative. TPC helps sentenced individuals transition from prison to communities, thereby increasing public safety, reducing recidivism and new victimization, and making better use of scarce resources in correctional facilities and communities. The goals of TPC are for released individuals to remain arrest-free over the long term and to become self-sufficient members of their communities. The DOC offers a range of transitional programming to sentenced individuals during confinement and after release. These resources and services are organized through the DOC Reentry Services Unit, in collaboration with facility services, field services, various state and county agencies, faith-based groups, community organizations and private citizens. The combined effort meets the complex needs of individuals as they transition from prison to community. Resources have been developed through identifying best practice models in preparing offenders to return to their communities. Each DOC facility maintains a transition center that hosts many different resources including community resources, job search assistance, housing information, higher education searches, and veterans’ resources. A comprehensive curriculum of pre-release classes and activities are also offered. The curriculum covers housing, employment, personal identification

documents, health, transportation, family issues, living under supervision, and personal financial management.

Reentry Isn’t Easy

Without access to social supports, community resources and stable housing, and employment upon release, a formerly incarcerated person’s chance of re-offending increases. A significant challenge is finding meaningful employment. Employers are reluctant to hire people with criminal records. Limited education, the stigma of incarceration, and a lack of employment history contribute to limited employment opportunities. When employment opportunities and resources are not available, individuals who are reentering their communities are more likely to reoffend. Another difficulty is finding safe, affordable housing. Too often, incarcerated persons do not have the financial resources needed to secure an apartment and strict housing policies make it even harder for formerly incarcerated individuals to be considered as viable candidates for housing. Moreover, a history of drug or felony convictions make individuals ineligible for public housing. These factors make the first month after release a vulnerable period during which the risk of experiencing homelessness, the risk of being rearrested, and the risk of recidivism is high.

Mentoring

Research consistently demonstrates the importance of a positive social support system for incarcerated individuals reentering society. Mentors provide the positive social connection, support, and experience necessary for stabilization. The reason for incorporating mentoring into the individual’s life is very simple: adding the support of a caring adult helps ease a returning citizen’s reentry back to society. By extending a hand of friendship, mentors help incarcerated individuals feel cared about, help them tap into their networks, and link them to critical services that increase stabilization and positive engagement. Mentors provide a developmental relationship whereby a more experienced person helps a less experienced person develop an enhanced sense of self-worth and specific knowledge and skills to increase their chance of successful reentry. Mentoring is a process for the informal transmission of knowledge, social capital, and the psychosocial support perceived by the individual as relevant to work, career, and personal development. Mentors provide ongoing support during the reentry process to enhance success. Effective reentry practices recognize the important relationship that must be established between behavioral, physical, and relational health. However, mentoring alone is not enough. Finding and retaining a job, and safe, affordable housing is key. Reentry programs need to address the full range of formerly incarcerated individual’s needs—from housing to health care to employment — and they must be individualized based on each person’s unique situation. Dependable, supportive relationships are as critical to the wellbeing of formerly incarcerated individuals reentering society. For more information, please feel free to contact me at mark.groves@state.mn.us.

Mark Groves is the past president of the Minnesota Corrections Association (MCA). He worked at the Minnesota Department of Corrections as the Facilities Reentry Coordinator providing oversight to all reentry program elements in Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) facilities.

References: • Recidivism and Community Context_Integrating the Environmental Backcloth_tcm1089466939.pdf (mn.gov). • 2019 Minnesota Statewide Probation and

Supervised Release Outcomes 2015 Cohort_ tcm1089-412421.pdf (mn.gov). • https://mn.gov/doc/assets/Transition%20 from%20Prison%20to%20Communi ty-Aug2017_tcm1089-309018.pdf. • https://nicic.gov/transition-from-prison-to-community. • Publications / Department of Corrections (mn. gov). • Petersilla, Joan (2009) When Prisoners Come

Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry, Oxford

University Press, ISBN-10: 0195386124. • Maruna, S. (2001) Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild their Lives, Washington: American Psychological Association.

ISBN-13: 978-1557987310. • Crow, Matthew & Smykla, John (2014) Offender Reentry: Rethinking Criminology and

Criminal Justice, Jones & Bartlett Learning.

ISBN 13: 9781449686024.

Post-Incarceration Mentoring Programs

Amicus Services of Volunteers of America MN/WI

Offering volunteer prison and post-release visiting, reentry support groups, a free drop-in reentry support center and more. Contact us to volunteer or for more information. 612-877-4250 www.voamnwi.org/reentrymentoring

FreedomWorks Reentry and Aftercare

FreedomWorks exists primarily to help former incarcerated individuals who are returning to society from incarceration reconcile to God, family, and community. www.myfreedomworks.com

Montage Reentry Solutions

Montage Reentry Solutions (MRS) is a social enterprise consultancy that provides information, advice, and resources focused on reentry. We partner with non-profits and government agencies to help integrate former incarcerated individuals and individuals with substance use disorders back into society. www.montagereentrysolutions.com

Welcome Homes MN

Welcome Homes provides permanent supportive sober housing for men and women coming out of incarceration or treatment. Each of our homes enlist community volunteers to use as a circle of support model to manage, support, and mentor the residents returning to the community. www.WelcomeHomesMN.org

Women Planting Seeds

Committed to changing lives and providing second chances. To assist women in developing and maintaining positive life experiences. www.womenplantingseeds.org

Disclaimer of Endorsement: The resource information and content is supplied by third parties. Information contained herein does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by Twin Cities Medical Society, its directors, or employees.