Family Support in the Prisoner Reentry Process

Abstract This paper examines the role of family in the prisoner reintegration process, exploring the views of soon-to-be-released prisoners regarding the family support they expect to receive as well as their assessments of how supportive family members actually were after release. It draws on a study of 413 male prisoners returning to the cities of Baltimore and Chicago who completed self-administered surveys one to two months prior to their release and one-on-one interviews between two and three months after release from prison. The study found that released prisoners relied on family members extensively for housing, financial support, and emotional support. For the most part, the pre-release expectations of family support among these respondents were exceeded after release. Furthermore, respondents placed greater value on the role of family in their reintegration process after their release from prison than they did when they were still incarcerated. This suggests that families are an important influence in the reentry process and that they provide much-needed support to returning prisoners.