Policy Statement 23, Research Highlight 5
Families can play an important role in facilitating successful reintegration.
Despite the challenges of families fragmented by incarceration, research demonstrates these families often have a resilience that can serve as a source of strength and support. [1] Results of a recent study of a family-support re-entry program that serves released parolees with substance abuse problems and their families indicates that engaging released individuals and family members in re-entry planning is effective at improving re-entry outcomes. The study found that substance abuse and re-arrest rates were reduced for program participants, and family well-being was enhanced as well. Further, interview results indicated that reduced substance abuse was not the result of increased drug treatment (as expected), but rather a combination of informal pressure, motivation, and encouragement of family members and program staff. [2] This research highlights the connection between the stability of family networks and a returning prisoner's outcomes.
- The experience of La Bodega de la Familia, the direct service arm of Family Justice, Inc. located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, has shown that families coping with a range of challenges often draw upon collective and individual strengths as resources during re-entry that can reinforce resiliency. back
- Eileen Sullivan et al., Families as a Resource in Recovery from Drug Abuse: An Evaluation of La Bodega de la Familia (New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2002). back