Once the right stakeholders have informed themselves about the re-entry population in their jurisdiction, and have managed to address the core challenges of funding and mission change, they will have built a strong foundation for a re-entry initiative (see Policy Statements 1 to 4). But this foundation is unlikely to assure that a person will transition seamlessly from prison to the community unless the partners take steps to bridge their respective systems and work together.

Indeed, while it may be the shared goal of organizations working together to improve prisoner re-entry, "seamlessness" may seem especially unrealistic: a secure perimeter and, in the case of prisons, usually hundreds of miles, separate the correctional facility and the community awaiting the released prisoner. Cultures distinct to organizations operating within the justice system and community-based agencies, to say nothing about how each maintains and manages information about the population they serve, exacerbate the challenges that geographic distance alone presents.

Integration of operations even within a system can be a formidable obstacle. For example, an offender whose term of incarceration has included time in prison has almost certainly been transferred among correctional institutions, and it is not uncommon for the receiving institution to fail to receive or use information maintained-or to build upon programming and services offered-at the institution where the prisoner had been housed previously.

The recommendations in this policy statement outline strategies central to bringing organizations and systems that must work together into a close partnership: teaching people in one system about the organization, operations, and culture in other organizations; maximizing the exchange of information among systems; developing benchmarks common to multiple systems; and establishing processes to govern the multi-system initiative.

Recommendations:

A.

Create and maintain forums for project oversight, information sharing, communication, and problem-solving across agencies and organizations.

B.

Expand opportunities for intersystem and interdisciplinary education and training.

C.

Link information systems so data for criminal justice, health, labor, and social services populations can be effectively shared and analyzed as appropriate.

D.

Assign staff to be responsible for boundary spanning among organizations serving people during-and following-their incarceration.

E.

Prepare contracts or memoranda of understanding defining the terms of the partnership, including how shared resources will be managed and accountability will span agencies involved in the initiative.

F.

Establish policy goals and benchmarks common to all parties and agencies involved in re-entry and devise methods for system-wide evaluation.