Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles Director Cam Ward speaks during Reentry 2030 event at the Perry County Correctional Facility in Uniontown, Ala., on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. (Will McLelland for Alabama Reflector)
A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that researches criminal justice issues delivered preliminary findings on barriers to re-entry for formerly incarcerated people to a state committee on Tuesday.
The Council of State Governments Justice Center said housing, mental and behavioral health issues, as well as evidence-based practices will be the focus of the assessment it is conducting as part of recommendations to reduce Alabama’s recidivism rate.
The findings were presented to lawmakers, criminal justice reform advocates and various state agencies at a meeting of the Study Commission on Interagency Cooperation and Collaboration on the Rehabilitation of Formerly Incarcerated Individuals, or Reentry Alabama, which was established to help address barriers related to reentry for incarcerated individuals who will soon be released into the community.
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“One day, 95% of everyone (incarcerated) who gets out, one day, is going to be your neighbor,” said Cam Ward, director of the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles and chair of the commission. “And what do you want your neighbor to look like? And we all want the same things — successful, happy, productive citizens. I think that should be all of our goals.”
Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles turns to reentry program to reduce recidivism
First established in 2021, lawmakers reauthorized the commission this year to help implement a strategic initiative called Reentry 2030. The initiative aims to reduce Alabama’s current recidivism rate of 29% . The rate makes it 25th in the country, according to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The goal is to reduce the recidivism rate to 15%, which would put Alabama in the top five states in the nation, Ward said.
Researchers from the Council of State Governments will present their full assessment in the next few months after speaking with different groups involved with reentry.
For the preliminary findings, researchers visited three correctional facilities, three-day reporting centers operated by the ABPP and hosted listening sessions with leadership, incarcerated individuals and people involved in community supervision.
They also hosted virtual interviews and listening sessions with the ABPP, the Alabama Department of Corrections, as well as the Alabama Department of Mental Health and agencies involved in workforce development.
The assessment focused on transition from incarceration to community supervision, behavioral health and substance abuse, housing, economic mobility and investments that were made for reentry.
“None of these things make Alabama unique, but the recommendations have to be unique to Alabama,” said Nicole Jarrett, senior policy advisor for corrections and reentry with the Council of State Governments Justice Center.
Among them is evidenced-based programming and reentry and transition planning, as well as using risk, need and responsibility principles when it comes to reentry and transition planning.
Researchers also want to address the structural barriers to reentry.
“That means making sure to address limited transportation, barriers to employment and licensing, individuals unable to access filed documents and limited, stable housing,” Jarrett said.
Jarret told the committee that researchers hope to complete the assessment in the coming months. From there, the Justice Center will release the findings in a series of presentations, and convene different groups involved in reentry to solicit recommendations and provide them to the committee.
“I think it is important that we continue to tell people, when we have a meaningful parole and pardon process that doesn’t arbitrarily say no to qualified applicants, because we have resources that we are developing to lower recidivism, so when these folks get out, they can be contributing citizens again,” said Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, a member of the commission.
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