Authored by William Bales, Laura E. Bedard, Susan T. Quinn, David Ensley, Glen Holley, Alan Duffee, and Stephanie Sanford. Drawing on data from Florida, this Florida State University study compares the rates of recidivism among inmates released from private and government-operated prisons. By expanding the sample size, the study makes significant advancements over previous research in terms of methodology and establishing comparability between the public and private release cohorts on factors known to influence recidivism rates.

The Urban Institute released a report that is a part of the Returning Home initiative that develops a deeper understanding of the reentry experiences of returning prisoners, their families, and their neighborhoods. The report describes the process of prisoner reentry by examining the policy context of reentry in Illinois, the characteristics of Illinois' returning inmates, the geographic distribution of returning prisoners, and the social and economic climates of the communities that are home to the highest concentrations of returning prisoners. The report consolidates existing data on incarceration and release trends and presents a new analysis of data on Illinois prisoners released in 2001. The report is based on the data from several sources - the Illinois Department of Corrections, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, and Census data compiled by the Metro Chicago Information Center.

The Urban Institute released a report that is a part of the Returning Home initiative that develops a deeper understanding of the reentry experiences of returning prisoners, their families, and their neighborhoods. The report describes the process of prisoner reentry by examining the policy context of reentry in Texas, the characteristics of Texas's returning inmates, the geographic distribution of returning prisoners, and the social and economic climates of the communities that are home to the highest concentrations of returning prisoners.

This Urban Institute report, Outside the Walls, provides descriptions of a broad array of prisoner reentry activity across the country, as well as briefing papers that discuss what is known about reentry as it pertains to employment, health, housing, family, faith, and public safety. The report is produced in collaboration with Outreach Extensions as part of the National Media Outreach Campaign, a new effort to encourage discussion and decision-making about solution-based prisoner reentry programs among local community and faith-based organizations. The report scans reentry programs that are addressing the needs and risks facing returning prisoners, their families, and communities.

This report of the Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center Reentry Roundtable explores the transition from prison to work and discusses what we know about the employment-related needs of prisoners, the current opportunities and restrictions on work in prisons, the concerns of potential employers, and the essential elements of the handful of programs that have shown promising post-release employment outcomes. The challenge remains to: maximize the opportunities for learning, experience, and skill-building that are present during incarceration; and create a seamless transition to work beyond the prison walls.

Authored by Harry J. Holzer, Georgetown Public Policy Institute, Georgetown University; Steven Raphael, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley; and Michael A. Stoll, Department of Public Policy, School of Public Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles. This report, as part of the Working Paper Series of the National Poverty Center (NPC), provides a nuanced portrait of how criminal histories affect employer hiring decisions. Employer sentiments about ex-offenders, hiring behavior of ex-offenders, and methods used to screen the criminal histories of job applicants are all considered.

Data has shown that prisoners are less likely to return to crime if they are able to secure employment after release. However, many returning ex-offenders experience barriers to employment. This study looks at the experience and employment data of 400 Illinois prisoners as they reenter society.

This brief by the Urban Institute analyzes data from ex-offenders, community residents, and reentry policymakers to summarize the community's role in the reintegration process for released prisoners. The brief concludes with proposed ideas to the challenges facing Chicago, which is experiencing high rates of prisoner reentry.

From the Urban Institute, this article provides an overview of key topics surrounding of prisoner reentry and outlines past research documenting the pathways of prisoner reintegration. Reviewing the Urban Institute's work on this topic, this portfolio includes information from program evaluations, reentry roundtables, and policy reports.

With three quarters of a million parents in prison, this affects their children by disrupting parent-child relationships, altering the networks of familial support, and placing new burdens on governmental services such as schools, foster care, adoption agencies, and youth-serving organizations. This article reviews the cost to society from parental incarceration through the criminal justice system.