'Step down' programs: the missing link in successful inmate reentry.
Corrections Today › Vol. 67 Nbr. 2, April 2005
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'Step down' programs: the missing link in successful inmate reentry.
The sheer volume of inmates being released from federal, state and county prisons is now being recognized as a public safety issue. For example, more than 600,000 state offenders were released in 2002. (1) A significant minority of offenders reentering their communities are parole violators who have been involved in the prison-parole-prison cycle. (2) Released inmates face significant obstacles to successful reentry, including housing problems, lack of education, serious medical conditions, mental illness and no marketable employment skills, states Joan Petersilia in her Journal of Community Corrections article "Meeting the Challenge of Prisoner Reentry."
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Research indicates that evidenced-based assessment and treatment models reduce recidivism, particularly in high-risk offenders. (3) A critical component of an effective reentry model is a seamless continuum of care with information about the offender's progress being transmitted through each stage of reentry. Within the reentry continuum-of-care process, transitional or "step-down" programming in a secure setting plays a critical role. Community Education Centers (CEC), which partners with departments of corrections, parole departments and universities, has designed a reentry continuum-of-care model that incorporates st...See the full content of this document
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