The Reintegration Farm: An Alternative Approach to Traditional Imprisonment and Preparation for Release

• In Event: Reentry and Reintegration in Global and Gendered Contexts

Abstract

Reintegration after a period of confinement is a notoriously challenging process. Countries across the world report high rates of rearrest, reconviction, and reincarceration among individuals who are released from prison (Yukhnenko et al., 2023). Nonprofit organizations have led the way in developing innovative approaches to reintegration, though they often face challenges in their relationships with prisons (Mills et al., 2011). The current study explores an example of an established partnership between a non-governmental organization (NGO) and the prison administration in France. Data were collected on a ‘reintegration farm’, where selected incarcerated individuals spend the final year of their sentence working and living communally on a farm primarily managed by volunteers. Through this analysis, we identify key lessons integral to the longevity of innovative reintegration programs of this nature. We discuss the importance of farming and nature, funding, staff, security, and partnerships with the local community in order to ensure the successful implementation of the intervention, and discuss the exportability of the French reintegration farm model to the U.S. context.

Authors

• May Pascaud, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

• Lila Kazemian, John Jay College of Criminal Justice