Federal Reentry Initiative Shows Potential for Saving Money

More than two-thirds of ex-offenders are rearrested within three years, and the cost to society is enormous. Five federal agencies have intervened with a national reentry initiative that shows promise in preventing recidivism.

By Debra Whitcomb, NCPC Staff

Keeping 2.3 million Americans in prison or jail comes at a steep price. With annual expenditures for corrections (PDF) approaching $90 billion and projected to climb higher still, federal and state governments are looking for ways to cut costs without jeopardizing public safety.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (PDF), at least 650,000 prisoners will be released in the next year, and more than two-thirds will be rearrested within three years. More than one-third of prison admissions are parole violators, and more than half of jail inmates have violated probation. Together, these statistics make an argument for more effective transitional services for offenders returning to their communities. The United States Congress recently endorsed this view by enacting the Second Chance Act of 2007 (PDF), which authorizes federal funding for a wide range of services for prisoners returning to their communities.

In fact, the need for reentry assistance has been widely recognized for quite some time. In 2003, five federal agencies—the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, and Labor—pooled their resources to fund the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI). Through this initiative, 69 agencies across America received between $500,000 and $2 million to implement a wide variety of programs and services meant to support returning prisoners and improve their chances for successful reentry. Most commonly, these programs and services targeted employment, community integration, substance abuse, and mental health issues—conditions known to increase the risk of offending.

Did it work? Results from a national evaluation are just being released, and they confirm that, up to 15 months post-release, offenders who participated in reentry services did better than their counterparts who did not participate. Based on interviews with more than 2,500 offenders in 14 states, along with drug testing at three and 15 months post-release, evaluators found positive effects on several measures of employment outcomes and substance abuse.

Specifically, 15 months after their release from prison, adult offenders who had participated in reentry services improved over their non-SVORI counterparts in two important ways

• Finding permanent jobs with formal benefits and an hourly salary to support themselves
• Reducing substance use, whether self-reported or confirmed with testing

Combining results for more than 100 outcomes that were measured in the course of this study, including several measures of criminal behavior and recidivism, SVORI participants did modestly better, although differences narrowed over time.

Cost-benefit analyses are still under way, but this study’s findings of improvements in employment and substance use promise significant potential for cost savings.

• People who are employed are paying taxes and better able to honor debts for child support, restitution, court fees, and other charges related to their crimes. Jobs with benefits help pay for needed health, mental health, and substance abuse treatment.
• Reduced dependence on alcohol and other drugs will improve the offenders’ health and mental health, in turn reducing the need for medical services. Reduced dependence on illegal drugs will reap these benefits and more, most notably by reducing the risk for drug-related criminal offenses.

Together, improvements in employment and substance use/abuse should lead to reduced recidivism. Fewer crimes mean fewer arrests, fewer prosecutions, and fewer incarcerations—the savings will mount accordingly. From a common sense perspective, reentry services are likely to prove a wise investment for American taxpayers.