Making the Most of Second Chances
Second Chance Conference: A Time to Act
OBJECTIVES
An opportunity for attendees to learn from experts about the Re-entry Process.
To educate and inform attendees about the process of re-entry (When should the process start...at time of arrest, bail, sentencing or after incarceration?)
To establish a national network for re-entry services/policy (Timeline 3-5 yrs)
To form partnerships/collaborations that will help to inform about the re-entry process.
A forum for organization networking from across Canada to discuss challenges and share experiences.
What is Re-entry:
The term "re-entry" is used by many advocates, service providers, policy-makers, and formerly incarcerated people to define what happens to people coming home from prison. More broadly, it describes a process of re-integration, rehabilitation, and restoration of rights that should begin when an individual is arrested.
"Collateral consequences," is a popular label for the legal, social, and economic barriers to a person's re-entry into his or her community. Although many people released from prison or jail leave with the hope of a fresh start, these barriers to reintegration can feel like the continuation of a prison sentence. In fact, these collateral consequences may take place at both ends of the criminal process system; at the beginning when an individual is arrested, charged, and perhaps considering a plea bargain; and at the end when an individual is released from prison. Even a mere arrest, or minor charges with no jail time, may result in collateral consequences.
Re-entry refers to the transition of offenders from prisons or jails back into the community. According to the studies a large number of people are released from provincial and federal prisons annually. Research has shown that two-thirds of these offenders will be re-arrested and many will be re-incarcerated within three years of their release.
The number of offenders and the likelihood of their reincarceration have made reentry a priority for policy makers and criminal justice researchers and practitioners. Breaking the cycle of reoffending and re-incarceration has many important implications for public safety and policy.
Some recent re-entry strategies employ comprehensive strategies focus on assessing offenders and tailoring re-entry plans to individual offenders to enable them to become productive and law-abiding.
Increasingly, re-entry begins at the sentencing phase and continues post-release, with a particular focus on the continuity of care from prison to the community. It often involves a variety of agencies and groups that coordinate efforts to ensure that offenders receive needed services and appropriate levels of supervision