Breaking the Cycle of Incarceration

Shaping Policy to Promote Prevention And Intervention in the Lives of Ex-Offenders and Their Children

Overview
There are many challenges facing ex-offenders as they reenter society after incarceration. It is often that the obstacles they faced which led them to incarceration remain present upon release. It is imperative that there are supports present to reduce the risk of recidivism to a life of crime as ex-offenders reenter society. This is particularly important to Southeastern Michigan because approximately over 3,600 ex-offenders are released annually. Many ex-offenders come from a past of unemployment, substance abuse, and mental health challenges. An alarming 45 percent of parolees have at least one prior Michigan prison term. United Way for Southeastern Michigan (UWSEM) believes that public policies must support returning parolees to advance communities as a whole. Public policy is also key in preventing incarceration from initially occurring. Making a positive impact on these issues can have a major affect on strengthening Southeastern Michigan.

Background
UWSEM’s efforts began on March 31, 2006 through a public policy forum entitled “Breaking the Cycle of Incarceration”. This forum provided an opportunity for stakeholders as well as those directly impacted by the challenges facing ex-offenders to discuss strategies to aid in their transition back into society and the prevention of incarceration from a public policy perspective. There was a moderated discussion that included expert panelists and ex-offenders followed by breakout sessions that related to various intervention and prevention measures connected to the issues faced by ex-offenders and children. The breakout sessions then reconvened to share the identified policy implications with the entire group. At the close of the public policy forum participants were asked to participate in small group meetings that would be held later in the spring.

The small group meetings were held on June 8, and 12, 2006. The purpose of these meetings was to further discuss the policy issues identified during the public policy forum and possible strategies to work toward solutions. The groups were divided into two categories: prevention and intervention. Participants were asked to prioritize the most critical issues in each category. For each issue selected there had to be:

• Feasibility
• Breadth in the number of individuals impacted
• And potentially positive outcomes for the entire region

Some of the issues discussed included job training, review of child support policies, and policies addressing the training of corrections staff. The groups’ recommendations for priorities were:

• Conditional/select expungement of criminal records
• Increased support for young adults exiting foster care.

Next Steps
The results of the small group discussions will be shared with the participants of the March 2006 public policy forum in the fall of 2006. United Way will then invite stakeholders to participate in the development of implementation strategies to address the agreed upon priorities. Recommendations from the Legal Action Center along with findings reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse will also be discussed at that time. Sharing this information is an early effort to further raise public awareness around the influence of public policy on ex-offenders’ successful reintegration into the community. We invite interested individuals and organizations to become involved with this awareness and advocacy effort.

- Rachel Harris, Public Policy Associate, United Way for Southeastern Michigan