For clarification purposes, people who are reentering society after incarceration are known as “reentrants” in this article.
Once a person finishes serving a sentence and is released from prison, the repercussions of arrest are far from over. When released from prison, many people face a multitude of challenges that hinder them from returning to a normal life. Finding a job, a home, and receiving identification are just a few of the issues many will face when reentering society. This third and final part of the incarceration series looks to discuss what issues arise for reentrants and how you can get involved.
As discussed in Article 1 of this series, there is a racial disparity in arrest rates in the United States, especially for drug possession charges. But the act of being arrested itself is not the only contributing factor to this disparity. According to the ACLU the harms of a drug possession arrest, “include not only arrests, incarceration, and lifelong criminal convictions, but also the loss of jobs, housing, financial aid eligibility, child custody, and immigration status” (ACLU). There is so much a reentrant needs to attempt to regain after they are released, and sometimes all they have to start with is a bus ticket provided by the prison. They need to get a new license or other form of identification, find and keep a job, find a place to live, find a way to continue access to mental health help (if needed), all while attending parole or drug court meetings. If these requirements are not met, there is a high chance the reentrant will return to prison. According to the Harvard Political Review, this is a common occurrence. “Within three years of their release, two out of three former prisoners are rearrested and more than 50% are incarcerated again” (Harvard Political Review). Of these requirements, there are many attributing factors of each of them that make it extremely difficult for a reentrant to successfully reenter society.
Specifically, many reentrants have trouble finding and keeping a job. Employers tend to perceive that there will be legal risks involved in hiring a previously incarcerated person, as they assume they may intentionally hurt themselves or someone else while working. This assumption is perpetuated by the fact that many companies will have legal risks of hiring a formerly incarcerated person, such as “negligent hiring liability, which can make a business responsible if one employee injures another” (NPR). Even though this is a rare outcome many businesses, especially small ones, don’t want to take on the risk. There is also the assumption that there is “a drop in quality when reviewing potential hires with criminal backgrounds… many employers see this group of people as ‘candidates of last resort,’ and prioritize other potential hires”(NPR). This assumption is a major reason that many reentrants are unable to find jobs even when they are qualified for the position. This issue is shown in the example of incarcerated people in California who were hired by the state to fight the forest fires. Once released, those same people were barred from earning certification needed to become a firefighter (NPR). While this law has since been revoked, reentrants around the country are still being turned away from jobs. Some states have tried to combat this by “banning the box” or removing the box on a job application that you check when you have been convicted of a felony. Banning the box also prohibits employers from asking an applicant about their past criminal history. Alissa McBride of the Montgomery County Reentry Initiative says that this has been a huge step forward in providing reentrants a fair chance at employment.
Even when a reentrant is able to find a job, maintaining employment can be just as challenging. Transportation is a huge barrier for many reentrants. Upon release, many reentrants do not have enough money for a car, or even a driver’s license. Many reentrants also struggle to find childcare, and have to stay home instead of working their shift. McBride says even working in a position with a lot of social interaction can be too overwhelming for some who have been incarcerated and away from society for decades. Retail and restaurant positions require constant social interaction, and this can limit a job search dramatically.
In addition to finding a job, there are other aspects of reentering society that act as barriers for reentrants. For many, voting rights are taken away once a person is convicted, and in certain states they are not reinstated until a pardon has been granted by the state government (NCSL). This plays a role in the racial disparity among voting rights, as “one in 13 Black people of voting age are denied the right to vote because of laws that disenfranchise people with felony convictions” (Drug Policy Alliance). These inequities in voting rights means many reentrants are not able to vote on issues such as drug policies that hurt BIPOC communities. Restoring the right to vote to reentrants can help fix the vicious cycle of lower income communities and communities of color from being overrepresented in the incarcerated population in the United States.
Lastly, having access to proper mental health care can be what stops someone from reentering the criminal justice system. When a person is in prison, they have access to medications and mental health treatment that can help eliminate the behaviors that may have played a role in their original arrest. But when released, a reentrant loses their access to mental healthcare. Unless they are able to find and pay for a counselor, afford their medication, and have reliable transportation to their appointments, many people will digress in their treatment progress and very likely become reincarcerated for a crime related to their mental illness.
To summarize, reentrants face many obstacles upon release including finding employment and accessing the right to vote. There are some things everyday citizens can do to help this bring about positive change:
- Donate to your local grassroots bail reform organization (this keeps people out of prison because they can’t pay their bail). Refer to the National Bail Fund Network to find local groups.
- Refer to the Campaign Legal Center’s resource guide for further advocacy resources to address jail-based disenfranchisement.
References:
American Civil Liberties Union (2020). A tale of two countries: racially targeted arrests in the era of marijuana reform. American Civil Liberties Union. https://www.aclu.org/report/tale-two-countries-racially-targeted-arrests-era-marijuana-reform
Benecchi, L. (2021, August 8). Recidivism imprisons American progress. Harvard Political Review. https://harvardpolitics.com/recidivism-american-progress/
Drug Policy Alliance (n.d.). Race and the drug war. https://drugpolicy.org/issues/race-and-drug-war
National Conference of State Legislatures (2021, June 28). Felon voting rights. National Conference of State Legislatures. https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/felon-voting-rights.aspx
Stabley, J. (2021, March 31). People leaving prison have a hard time getting jobs. The pandemic has made things worse. National Public Radio. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/people-leaving-prison-have-a-hard-time-getting-jobs-the-pandemic-has-made-things-worse
