Becoming a social work professional after incarceration

Abstract

Summary

This article is based on data collected from interviews conducted with past and present members of a higher education program that affords previously incarcerated individuals the chance to attend a four-year university. College participation postincarceration can help foster trajectories for crime avoidance and employment. Less specific attention has been paid to how such educational experiences might shape opportunities for released prisoners to become professional help-givers and also help themselves in the process. This exploratory study brings awareness to some potential benefits of college student inclusion in social networks particularly among individuals with felony records and ways that such support can contribute to the attainment of viable employment in the social work field.

Findings

This article offers valuable insight into ways in which participation in a higher education program postincarceration can provide access to individuals and group networks that operate to debunk criminal stigmas, bolster professional ex-prisoner identities, and reentry progress. Out of the 17 research participants, 13 were professional wounded healers for inmates, at-risk youth, or reentry facility residents who identified their social work as a dominant factor in their continued transitions from prison to law-abiding citizen.

Application

The policy implications of this article will be discussed and contribute to evidence showing that the creation and development of opportunities for ex-prisoners to attend four-year universities can help advance reentry efforts. This research explores how a group of college-educated, formerly incarcerated persons pursuing social service careers can use their experiences in higher education to progress toward that goal.