Targeting for Reentry: Matching Needs and Services to Maximize Public Safety

Abstract

Sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs and the U.S. Department of Justice, this paper is part of a series of evaluations by the Reentry Partnership Initiative (RPI). Addressing ways to match offenders’ needs and services while maximizing public safety, this report discusses the problem of offenders returning to their communities after periods of incarceration and then back to prison shortly thereafter. After discussing how the numbers of prisoners under State and Federal jurisdiction has significantly increased over the past eight decades, this report discusses prison release policy. Presenting an overview of current strategies to prepare prisoners for reentry, the authors describe the institutional phase, the structured reentry phase, and the community reintegration phase used by model RPI programs. After focusing on problems of prisoner reentry, this paper presents a table detailing a multi-site review of RPI efforts targeting specific offenders and offender reentry. Discussing sex offenders, repeat offenders, substance abusers/drug offenders, and mentally ill offenders, the authors discuss the various needs and services of each category of offender. Focusing on risk factors associated with each category of offender, this paper describes matching offenders and services provided by reentry programs in order to increase public safety. Targeting, assessing, and classifying offenders so that their needs are met with appropriate public services and control is a central goal of the RPI.