Compiled from the responses of attendees at the Delaware Reentry Roundtable event. 

Barriers to Successful Reentry

Recommendations for Change

The Delaware Reentry Roundtable was held on September 29, 2006 at Widener University's Wilmington Campus.  To read more about the event go here. 
 

During our Reentry Roundtable there were a number of barriers to successful reentry discussed, but a few continuously came up as major hindrances to successful reentry in our state. These were:  

1. The lack of coordination between all agencies/organizations that provide reentry support.
2. Ex-offenders have very little information upon release about how to access services or even what services are available.
3. The public is not educated about or concerned with issues of ex-offender reentry. This may explain the widespread NIMBY attitude and belief that inmates/ex-offenders do not deserve assistance.
4. There is no reentry policy in Delaware further suggesting that neither the public nor our government is concerned with issues of reentry.
5. Upon release, ex-offenders often have no identification or a DOC issued identification that is not recognized by all state agencies.
6. Ex-offenders with mental/physical health problems do not receive proper transitional care.
7. Both arrest and conviction histories may be accessed from the internet, but the distinction between arrest and conviction is not widely understood.
8. Ex-offenders usually have little education, no work histories, and few job skills.
9. Those with substance abuse problems are either not getting treatment at all or the treatment is inadequate.
10. There is a lack of mentoring and support for ex-offenders in terms of their emotional needs.
11. There is a great need for more affordable housing especially for ex-offenders who most likely do not have the money to pay for the first month’s rent and security deposit.
12. Language barriers intensify all obstacles to successful reentry.
    

The goal of the Reentry Roundtable was to develop plans of action to combat the obstacles to reentry in Delaware, and so there were also a few recommendations that were continuously brought up throughout the day. These were:

1. The creation of a directory of services to be given to inmates as soon as they become incarcerated.  Along with a comprehensive informational packet and video, case managers should also be utilized to educate inmates about what is available to them upon release.  Interviews with service providers can also be facilitated by Delaware's state of the art video conferencing technology.
2. Educate the public about issues of reentry with positive images and statistics along with recognizing the good work of advocates.
3. Reframe the issue of ex-offender reentry to key policymakers and the Attorney General as vital to our community safety and public health, as well as a smart way to drastically improve the state's cost effectiveness and saving.
4. The DOC should issue identification that is actually recognized by all state agencies.  More concrete release dates or the creation of a last minute system in the DOC to provide those who are suddenly released and with physical/mental health problems with their necessary medications and appointments.  Also, if peer mentors are able to be utilized, this would better prepare those with physical/mental health conditions for the steps they must take to assure continued care and provide the emotional support that is lacking.
5. Allow for eventual erase of records after a certain amount of time and no new convictions.  Also, encourage employers to hire ex-offenders for low-risk jobs and promote tax credit programs for hiring ex-offenders.
6. Bring life skills, education, and vocational programs for inmates into prisons and work release centers.  (Funding can be found if policymakers and public recognize its importance to successful reentry).
7. If an inmate is assigned to a substance abuse treatment program, he or she must complete that program in its entirety.  Judges should be encouraged to sentence a person to the entire treatment program and not anything less.
8. Release dates should either be more concrete or prisons should be able to provided assistance in helping ex-offenders make their way home, which may mean providing bus fare or a free phone call.
9. BWCI (Baylor Women's Correctional Institution) needs a bus stop to facilitate visits from family members and alleviate some of the difficulty recently released women have trying to make their way home.

Some of these problems may seem easier to fix than others, just as some of the recommendations may seem easier to put into effect than others; however, all of the problems and recommendations are related in some way. If we begin to address even one of the significant barriers to reentry we have uncovered, then the other barriers will not only seem less insurmountable, they will be. Public education is the key to bringing attention to issues of reentry and winning legislative support just as communication between agencies and organizations committed to providing reentry services is also a necessity for successful reentry.