Introduction
Thousands of people are released into society each year with criminal histories. Better employment results provide them with the best opportunity for successful reentry. Reentry is the way to end imprisonment and return to society. Reentry is not a measure of success or failure to not be confused with reintegration or resurgence. Reentry is instead a trip, and there are no two analog reentries. In 2015, 641,100 individuals were released from state and federal prisons, according to the US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (Zeng, 2018). The reentry process is unique and largely reliant on various circumstances, including reentry, imprisonment, and after-release resources.
Life of Re-entrants
A re-entrant person might discover a reasonably fluid transition or a task surrounded by apparently insurmountable hurdles in their return to the free world, depending on certain conditions. Most re-entrants need help to negotiate these barriers. The state traditionally offered reentry aid via correctional programs in prison or by parole authorities responsible for monitoring reentry. Nonprofit and religious groups have become an increasing component in creative recovery programs in recent years.
Reentry projects usually take deficit-based and force-based forms. Deficit-based model reentry utilizes actuarial evaluations to determine criminogenic hazards and requirements of a reentering individual. Deficit-based models are then in principle targeted by quantified, tailor-made solutions to these risks and demands. Several reintegration programs have moved away from the conventional reentry paradigm that concentrates on deficiencies, and a strengths approach with these concerns acknowledged.
Instead of concentrating on the dangers and requirements of a newcomer, strength-based approaches stress the characteristics of persons who rejoin and rely on the experiences of former criminals who have successfully rejoined and understood the hazards of the process better. The solid approach for reentry, supported by recent, if limited empirical and experiential data, suggests that the concerns and ideas of people directly affected by the criminal justice process are making the transition from prison to freedom more fluid.
UNICOR
UNICOR is the commercial name for the Federal Prison Industries (FPI), a government-owned business founded by Congress on 23rd June 1934 (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2021). UNICOR aims to safeguard society and minimize crime by teaching prisoners to get back to work. It is entirely self-supporting; it does not receive proper Congress money and operates for taxpayers free of charge. UNICOR is a remedial program, first and foremost; FPI does not encourage business but rather the preparation of the release of prisoners. UNICOR helps criminals acquire marketable employment qualifications to become legal members of society one day. The creation of products and the delivery of services are just by-products.
The Post-Release Employment Project (PREP) contrasted prisoners working in prison industries with similar prisoners outside the FPI program. The PREP was a comparison between the PREP. PREP has revealed that FPI prisoners are far less likely to recur than non-participating prisoners. Inmates who attended were 24% less likely to be returned to crime until 12 years after release and 14% more likely to get paid after release from jail (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2021). In comparison with their non-minority counterparts, small groupings were most beneficial. Detainees who took part in FPI were also less susceptible to misbehavior while in jail.
Working at UNICOR provides a chance for many prisoners to learn a trade on the market and obtain necessary job experience, which significantly increases their reintegration into society after being safely released from jail. The program teaches prisoners the significance of labor, respect, and responsibility for and works with others. Currently, approximately 7% of the inmates employed by UNICOR are veterans; this employment is critical, as more than 200,000 veterans are incarcerated in the nation’s prisons and jails (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2021). This program shows a reasonably good result in reducing crime. The program covers the broadest possible range of characteristics that clearly express the current situation. UNICOR is a program that focuses on all aspects of the socialization of ex-prisoners, which makes it valuable.
Safer Foundation
The Safer Foundation is one of the leading nonprofit service providers for persons with criminal histories (Safer Foundation, 2021). They aim to provide the persons with criminal records with equal chances to work and improve their socio-economic well-being, family, and community. Safer Foundation thinks that everyone deserves a second opportunity, particularly those with arrest and conviction records. They offer a secure spot for the brave to explore and promote their latent talents. Its comprehensive strategy covers work and placement, education, behavioral treatment, housing, community involvement, and work in policies and advocacy. Every step is taken to get an ID, an updated CV, an equivalent high school certificate, transitional employment, permanent work, or even recognized qualifications for the sector. The Safer Foundation aims to help employees with the records of arrest and conviction to work for law-abiding members of the community via a comprehensive range of services and, in addition to that, to prevent a recurrence. It aims to establish equitable jobs for those with criminal histories and therefore alter communities and generations.
Safer Foundation offers education programs to its customers, many of which have not finished high school. Safer educational services of the Foundation assist customers while seeking jobs to become marketable. Safer Foundation’s unique educational institutions enhance reading and fundamental understanding capabilities to enable clients to get their high-school degree in equivalence (HSED). Safer Foundation’s weekly job preparedness session is a crucial component of the program. Most of the customers of Safer Foundation do not have the skills to compete in the employment market. These abilities include interviews, job tags, and the capacity to deal appropriately with their histories. This training methodology enables clients to connect and look for and acquire jobs in cooperation with each other and their instructors.
The Safer Foundation’s Financial Opportunity Center (FOC) helps clients achieve financial stability and increase their assets. Clients should be given personalized access to a financial coach and income support specialist. Clients can also attend a seminar on financial literacy. This program is focused on education and provides various opportunities for realizing the socialization of ex-prisoners in the United States with a soft focus on education. The Safer Foundation does not show concrete steps in development and focuses on employment; it is necessary to cover education to improve its services.
Mount Tamalpais College
The College at San Quentin State Prison was run as a Patten University extension for more than 20 years (Mt. Tam College, 2021). The goal of Mount Tamalpais College is to provide free of charge for San Quentin State Prisons, an intellectually challenging, inclusive Associate of the Arts curriculum and a preparatory College program, and to increase access of imprisoned persons to high-quality higher learning. Their leadership has contributed to extending access to higher education today, with an unprecedented level of social, political, and philanthropic interest – not only at San Quentin but in and across the California prison system. The Accreditation Commission for the Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) has given Mount Tamalpais College its Candidacy in the Approval of Accreditation, making it the first autonomous, liberal arts college to serve imprisoned students in particular.
College claims that all individuals should have the chance to gain an affordable higher education and fulfill their individual development. The access to social, political, economic, and cultural capital forms from which many are historically marginally excluded is essential to excellent academic training. College believes everyone has the right to highly qualified, experienced professors and employees, intense, customized support, and quality educational resources. As a college for higher education, their main aim is to foster independence, critical thinking, curiosity, and listening capabilities. They favor freedom of speech and civic speech. It is essential to promote a robust civil society to communicate across intellectual, cultural, and ideological differences. They respect each individual’s personality, background, and views and think that every human being has fundamental value. It strives to build a lively and varied community built on mutual respect and confidence. Mount Tamalpais College specifically deals only with the educational process, which is the main disadvantage of this program; it should focus on employment as well to improve its services.
Conclusion
Reentry is the way to end imprisonment and return to society. Reentry is not a measure of success or failure to not be confused with reintegration or resurgence. A re-entrant person might discover a reasonably fluid transition or a task surrounded by apparently insurmountable hurdles in their return to the free world, depending on certain conditions. Most re-entrants need help to negotiate these barriers. The state traditionally offered reentry aid via correctional programs in prison or by parole authorities responsible for monitoring reentry. The above programs show their attitude towards the socialization of ex-prisoners. Mount Tamalpais College deals only with the educational process, which is the main disadvantage of this program. The Safer Foundation does not show concrete steps in development and focuses on employment. UNICOR is a program that covers all aspects of the socialization of ex-prisoners, which makes it the best.
References
Federal Bureau of Prisons. (2021). BOP: UNICOR. Bop.Gov.
Mt. Tam College. (2021). Mount Tamalpais college awarded one of 2021 California nonprofits of the year. Mttamcollege.Org. Web.
Safer Foundation. (2021).Safer Foundation. Saferfoundation.Org.
Zeng, Z. (2018). Jail Inmates in 2016. Bureau of Justice Statistics, BJS Statistician.