How to Prevent Ex-Convicts From Returning to Crime

By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions

April 20, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute

NEW BOOKS

When the Gates Open: A National Response to the Prisoner Reentry Crisis, by Joshua Good and Pamela Sherrid, reports on Public/Private Ventures’ Ready4Work program, which enlists religious organizations and other charities to help the 750,000 people released from prisons each year. Ready4Work’s goal is to reduce the number of ex-convicts who continue to commit crimes after their release. Its most promising methods, according to the report, include active recruitment of ex-prisoners through collaboration with state departments of corrections, assigning mentors and “case managers” to shepherd participants through the program, and connecting the best candidates with employment opportunities. The program is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Labor; in 2004, it received $15-million in federal money to expand its partnerships with government agencies and to commission a study on the program’s effectiveness.

Publisher: Public/Private Ventures, 2000 Market Street, Suite 600, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103; (215) 557-4400; fax (215) 557-4469; http://www.ppv.org; 32 pages; available free for download on the organization’s Web site.

About the Author

M.J. Prest

Senior Editor, Solutions

M.J. Prest is senior editor for solutions at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, where she highlights how nonprofit leaders navigate and overcome major challenges. She has covered stories on big gifts, grant making, and executive moves for the Chronicle since 2004. Her work has also appeared in the Washington Post, Slate.com, and the Huffington Post, and she wrote the young-adult novel Immersion. M.J. graduated from Williams College and after living in many different places, she settled in New England with her husband, two kids, and two rescue dogs.