The Successful Ingredients to Community Reintegration Among Justice-Involved Adult Men and Women in New York City: A Qualitative Study

Nearly 9 million Americans pass through U.S correctional facilities annually, and over 2 million are incarcerated on any given day. Racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. Incarceration can be polarizing, and significant health, social and economic disparities have been documented in formerly incarcerated individuals. It is crucial that reentry programs address disparities that inhibit justice-involved men and women from becoming productive, integrated members of society. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine the ingredients to successful reintegration among adult men and women who have been incarcerated in the state of New York.

Methods: Using narrative inquiry, we conducted fifteen qualitative semi-structured interviews of men and women with criminal justice backgrounds and three focus groups to examine how formerly incarcerated individuals successfully reintegrated into their community. 

Results: The themes of the study included: social and emotional support from family and peers; education opportunities provided during incarceration; and knowledge of reentry services prior to release. We found that the biggest determinant to successful reintegration was whether the individual returning from prison or jail had sufficient social and emotional support. Alongside support, education and proper knowledge of the reentry process were influential in determining whether reintegration into the community might be possible.

Conclusion: Community reintegration is a complicated process, reentry can often be very discouraging to formerly incarcerated individuals. Plenty of patience, time and support are essential ingredients to help justice-involved men and women become active and productive members of society.