Improving Prisoners Re-Entry Through Institutional Cooperation

• In Event: Post-Incarceration Finances and Institutional Buy-In for Reentry

Abstract

Prisoners’ re-entry into the community often includes many difficulties and risks for failures. Mostly housing and employment are critical factors. In 2016 the government of the federal land of Baden-Wuerttemberg in Germany together with the Federal Employment Agency, different social work agencies, and networks for the assistance of ex-offenders signed a cooperation agreement concerning the reintegration of released prisoners.
The aim of the study was to evaluate whether the major goals of this agreement, an improvement of the communication between the cooperation partners and a facilitation of the mutual collaboration in order to avoid disintegration and future relapse of former inmates could have been attained.
The paper will present the results of the first stage of an evaluation program. About 125 experts answered an online survey and the results showed that the cooperation agreement was generally seen as helpful. An enhanced exchange and an improvement in personal contacts was particularly emphasized. Nevertheless, aspects for further improvement were mentioned. Especially experts from non-judicial institutions complained that there was little exchange. The paper will present detailed results of the evaluation project.

Author

• Joachim Obergfell-Fuchs, Academy for Prison Officers Baden-Wuerttemberg