Key Factors to Promote Successful Comprehensive Reentry Initiatives (2017)

COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS IS in the early stages of its renaissance. Reawakened from the late 1970s through the 1990s of “nothing works” and zero tolerance for violators, and driven by political consensus that mass incarceration is a failed criminal justice response, community corrections is on a path of rediscovery and new learning. Since then, reentry has replaced revocation as the word du jour, backed up with a host of new innovations in supervising and rehabilitating offenders to reduce recidivism (e.g., validated, actuarial risk assessment tools; cognitive treatment programs; motivational interviewing). However, even with all of these new best practices and evidence-based advances in community corrections, there is a recognition that long-term successful reintegration will only take place when there is a coordinated and collaborative effort by all stakeholders working with justice involved individuals in the community.