Equip Individuals with Personal Responsibility Tools, Inside and Outside of Prison Walls
Background Key Findings Solutions
In 2007, individuals released from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) exhibited an alarming recidivism rate of 67%.[i] The cause for this high level of re-offending lies in the failure of the system to provide individuals inside and outside of prison walls with the tools necessary to cope with the challenges of re-entry. In order to close the revolving door to our prisons, Texas must better assess incoming individuals’ needs; boost family interaction; provide exiting individuals with assistance (such as certification of treatment programs completed, or information on county-specific resources and services); and implement best practices in re-entry being employed by other states to reduce recidivism.
[i] According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in the fiscal year 2007 it released 72, 032 inmates. From those released, 41, 808 were released from prison confinement and 47, 904 had previous TDCJ incarcerations. These figures were obtained from the TDCJ, Overview of Reentry Programs report released in August 2008 and the Criminal Justice Legislative Oversight Committee Information Paper Number 1.