Reentry Collaboration

688 Words3 Pages

The fundamental basis of the reentry collaboration is that each constituent of the criminal justice system (e.g., law enforcement, the courts, institutional and community corrections) plays a role not only in immediate offender processing and control (e.g., arrest, conviction, incarceration, release), but also in longstanding offender change (e.g., employment, family, mental health, substance abuse, criminality). Since 1999, the Office of Justice Programs has been instrumental in the development of a series of system-wide reentry initiatives, including the Reentry Partnership Initiatives (RPI) (NCJRS, 2002). Many offenders are maxing out and being returned to the community without the supervision through probation or parole; ergo, law enforcement …show more content…

These can be challenging for the offender for they are returning to familiarity of the life before prison, which could contribute to recidivism if not handled proactively. Relationships with family or friends can be irretrievably forgotten, damaged, or destructive for either the family or the offender. Those released from prison tend to be persons with low human capital and high incidences of substance abuse and addiction. They are persons with limited formal employment histories. The bottom line is, to achieve independence, the offender must shed old roles and images and develop new ones as productive members of the …show more content…

When embracing new partners, law enforcement and community based corrections agencies will with certainty confront hesitancy and discretion, especially amidst community partners. Resolution will need to be made to exhibit the probability of the collaboration with those who are being asked to commit time to the undertaking. Acquiring the intelligence and knowledge available to assist all who are involved in the collaborative partnership creates an understanding of the objective thus enhancing the success of the collaboration. Christians involved in criminal justice are Gods’ social workers whose responsibility it is to address issues, spiritual and physical; thus, formulating solutions and collaborating with others to match them to the best avenue of assistance without compromising public safety and the dignity of those who are being aided (James 1:27, 2:14-17; ; Isaiah 1:17; Zechariah