Michigan Will Expand Prison Re-Entry Initiative

From detroitnews.com: Michigan will expand this fall The Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative which helps inmates explore housing options and job training opportunities months before their release. The program serves inmates for up to two years after their release, with parole agents and social agencies holding them accountable for reaching benchmarks aimed at giving them stability.

Though participation numbers are too small to draw statistically significant conclusions, early reports show that out of the 1,330 program participants released, 85 have returned to prison since April 2006. That's a 14.9 percent recidivism rate, which is about three times lower than the 48 percent of parolees who return to prison without the program.

"Eventually this is not going to be an initiative, it's going to be the way we do business," said Dennis Schrantz, deputy director of the Policy and Strategic Planning Administration at the Michigan Department of Corrections. Rest of Article. . . [Mark Godsey]