The Promise and Challenge of Local Initiatives That Support Reentry and Reintegration

Abstract

Scholars and policy-makers are increasingly recognizing the limitations of bureaucracies to deliver the services and interventions that are most needed by people who have been impacted by the justice system. We are also seeing the ways in which supervision practices can exacerbate the challenges that formerly incarcerated people face in terms of meaningful reintegration with family and community after imprisonment. Local reentry initiatives are showing potential as a mechanism to advance the individual and collective well-being of justice-involved people. This article examines the strategies and initiatives of community-directed organizations that provide for people who have been incarcerated and considers lessons for future practice. Among our key findings are that services need to include people with histories of justice involvement in leadership at all levels of their organizations and that the outcome measures for success in service provision should not be limited to recidivism.