Lost in Translation? The Meaning of Reentry in Community Corrections

• In Event: Prisoner Reentry: Structure and Practice

Abstract

Offender reentry has been characterized as a movement that represents a departure from get-tough policies of the past. The term offender reentry has also functioned as a catch-all concept for anything associated with an inmate’s release to the community. Because of these broad conceptual parameters, the meaning of reentry, and therefore the research settings for evaluating reentry, have been highly fragmented. One class of event that rightfully falls under the scope of reentry, but has only been sparsely examined in the empirical literature, is post-prison supervision. This study operates on the assumption that the meaning community corrections professionals ascribe to reentry provides critical insight into reentry’s evolution as a reform concept. Based on a survey of 286 community corrections professionals with the Florida Department of Corrections, this study analyzes how reentry has been interpreted in the workplace and the implications of this interpretation for change in post-prison supervision practices and offender success.

Author

• Karol Lucken, University of Central Florida