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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:57 pm
Time: 9:57 pm
Results for rural inmates
1 results foundAuthor: Zajac, Gary Title: An Examination of Rural Prisoner Reentry Challenges Summary: This study explored issues and challenges surrounding the reentry of state prison and county jail inmates to rural communities in Pennsylvania. Reentry refers to the process of a prisoner transitioning to the community after a period of secure confinement in a state or federal prison or county jail. The research used secondary data from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and the Pennsylvania Board of Probations and Parole and used primary data from interviews and surveys to: estimate the number and characteristics of state prison and county jail prisoners likely to be released into rural Pennsylvania communities over the next 5 years; identify and document reentry programs and services available to released state and local prisoners in rural Pennsylvania; conduct a gap analysis of reentry services available in rural Pennsylvania for successful reentry; and provide public policy considerations. According to the research results, releases of county jail inmates to rural counties are projected to hold constant over the next 5 years; however, releases of state inmates are projected to increase slightly over the same period. The most likely explanation for the slight increase in releases of state inmates is that state parole approval rates have increased somewhat over the past several years. The most notable demographic trends among released inmates are an increase in the number of older inmates being released, and a slight increase in the number of female inmates being released. Significant reentry needs for returning rural inmates include assistance with employment, housing and transportation. Transportation is crucial to the reentry process as the lack of public transit in rural areas can hamper returning inmates in finding and getting to jobs and housing, getting to treatment groups and medical and mental health appointments, and making required meetings with their parole agents. The challenges of finding work and suitable housing are magnified for "hard to place" offenders, such as those with serious mental illness and sex offenders, as the latter face significant restrictions on where they can live and work. This research also found that returning inmates also face some stigma for their status as ex-offenders. This is most notable for returning sex offenders. While there appears to be a reasonably robust network of social services and programs in rural counties for returning inmates, these services are unevenly distributed between rural counties. Most notably, there are very few reentry programs for sex offenders in rural counties, and almost no programs that specifically address the most important rehabilitative needs of ex-offenders, including programs that address ex-offenders' thinking, decision-making and problem-solving skills and their peer networks, all of which are strongly linked to recidivism reduction. Details: University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University, Justice Center for Research, 2013. 162p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2015 at: http://justicecenter.psu.edu/research/recently-completed-projects Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://justicecenter.psu.edu/research/recently-completed-projects Shelf Number: 135275 Keywords: Offender RehabilitationPrisoner Reentry (Pennsylvania)Rural AreasRural Inmates |