Service Providers’ and Re-entrants’ Perspectives of Community Re-entry and Community Reintegration Programs After Incarceration

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to elucidate the occupational challenges of re-entrants. Convenience and snowball recruitment strategies were used to solicit participants for this exploratory, interpretive phenomenological approach study. Five re-entry service providers and four re-entrants completed extensive interviews. Three levels of open, axial coding were completed with the transcripts. Two primary contexts were acknowledged between service providers and re-entrants: Barriers and Successful Reintegration. Themes were identified: Appreciating Re-entrants’ Narratives, Person Centered Approach, Networking and Relationships, and Process & Transformation. Service providers perceived re-entrants as focusing on stability in the re-entrants’ lives. Re-entrants reflected on their occupational engagement to include obtaining employment, maintaining mental health stability, and adapting to the demands of society. The results suggest a need to better understand the unique and individual needs of re-entrants and the complexity of occupational engagement and co-occupations within community re-entry.

Plain Language Summary

Beliefs About How Someone Returns to the Community After Being Released From Prison and the Challenges of Daily Life: Thoughts From Individuals Who Were Released Back to the Community (Re-entrants) and Those Who Provide Needed Services to Those Individuals

Previous research indicates the multiple challenges that re-entrants face when returning to the community. However, it is not clear from the research how those challenges are understood in everyday life activities. The purpose of the study was to highlight the perspectives of re-entrants and re-entry service providers on the challenges of returning to the community after incarceration. Individuals were recruited through various community agencies that provide services to re-entrants. Four re-entrants completed extensive interviews, communicating their experiences of living and working in the community. Five re-entry service providers shared their experiences when providing assistance to re-entrants. The re-entrants and the service providers shared what they believed to be barriers to living and working in the community and what it meant to be successful in their return to daily life. Themes throughout the interviews included the importance of appreciating the re-entrants’ stories, past and present, and the need to see the unique needs of each re-entrant, known as a client-centered approach. All participants spoke about the value of relationships and the significance of connecting with people and organizations throughout the process of re-entry. The service providers and re-entrants believed what was needed to find stability in their lives included obtaining employment, maintaining mental health stability, and adjusting to the demands of society; however, the results also suggest a more complex relationship with the service providers in engaging with these occupations. The re-entrants spoke of how their lives change through these relationships. The results suggest a need for service providers to understand the unique and individual needs of re-entrants and the complexity of engaging in daily life. The ongoing activities needed for successful re-entry, where both the re-entrant and another individual participate, referenced as co-occupations, require additional time and energy.