Planning for Re-Entry

newtolife · #1 10-14-2018, 08:29 AM

This year has been a struggle for me & full of fear & not knowing because I will be ss the end of this month. The entire year has been about what I will be doing while I'm incarcerated to become productive or have a new career when i re-entry. I;m not sure what will happen while I'm there but I will keep a diary but i think planning b4 you go for re-entry will help productively when you you do get released because you have a plan you have worked on while incarcerated as well as back up plans.
I think forming a program to help people incarcerated plan for re-entry is a good idea and keep people from going back in and breaking the bad habits and turning them into good habits.

mtbfan · #2 10-14-2018, 09:03 AM

Hi ~ I don't know how long you will be gone, but there are some books about re-entry you could get sent to you. One is called "Road to Re-Entry", available on Amazon. It was written by a former inmate. I got a different book from this website. The book is called "Roadmap to Re-entry". It is a big book, so probably not something you can have someone order, but maybe you can order it now or when you get out? Here is the link http://www.rootandrebound.org/roadmap-to-reentry-guide/. I believe it's free. It is good that you start thinking about the future now.

GaReform · #3 10-15-2018, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtolife

This year has been a struggle for me & full of fear & not knowing because I will be ss the end of this month. The entire year has been about what I will be doing while I'm incarcerated to become productive or have a new career when i re-entry. I;m not sure what will happen while I'm there but I will keep a diary but i think planning b4 you go for re-entry will help productively when you you do get released because you have a plan you have worked on while incarcerated as well as back up plans.
I think forming a program to help people incarcerated plan for re-entry is a good idea and keep people from going back in and breaking the bad habits and turning them into good habits.

You are so right. Supposedly, there is a class that you take while incarcerated that is supposed to help you make better choices upon release. My son said most of those classes are just to make it appear that they are doing something but really have no substance.

Be careful of diaries. You will have everything looked at so you want to keep everything as sanitized as possible so nothing goes against you. Take every class offered if you can, especially any training. You don't know what will be available after release. You might also reach out to advocacy & reentry groups now to get you set up with a mentor or support. Stay in touch with any church, community contacts & let them know your progress. They can be invaluable to help with reentry.

Good luck & stay strong.

rockchalk1 · #4 10-15-2018, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaReform

You are so right. Supposedly, there is a class that you take while incarcerated that is supposed to help you make better choices upon release. My son said most of those classes are just to make it appear that they are doing something but really have no substance.

Be careful of diaries. You will have everything looked at so you want to keep everything as sanitized as possible so nothing goes against you. Take every class offered if you can, especially any training. You don't know what will be available after release. You might also reach out to advocacy & reentry groups now to get you set up with a mentor or support. Stay in touch with any church, community contacts & let them know your progress. They can be invaluable to help with reentry.

Good luck & stay strong.

Some of those classes are a joke! My husband took a class about release and it was taught by an inmate (99% are) and I asked him how the hell the inmate knows jack about re-entry and release when the guy is in prison with a longer sentence than my husband? Makes no sense whatsoever! At least if you're going to have a class like that, make it actually relevant and taught by someone that actually has been through it!

Some classes are obviously useful, and his place has actually had a lot of good ones, but there are some that are on a list that fit some category they're supposed to take and are pointless.

There was also a class that he was supposedly supposed to take on parenting. Required if you have a child (or stepchild) under the age of 17. I have one child that fits that criteria, my son's kids are adults, my others are all older as well. For some reason the class didn't come up, but seriously..my husband has lived here for 7 years with my kids, and I can't imagine what a parenting class for a 16 year old could have possibly taught him that would have been useful when this would have been the last of 6 kids. It's not like he's the one that would be taking my son to get his driver's license since he will be getting it a couple months (hopefully) before my husband gets home.

lizlizzie2 · #5 01-16-2019, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtbfan

Hi ~ I don't know how long you will be gone, but there are some books about re-entry you could get sent to you. One is called "Road to Re-Entry", available on Amazon. It was written by a former inmate. I got a different book from this website. The book is called "Roadmap to Re-entry". It is a big book, so probably not something you can have someone order, but maybe you can order it now or when you get out? Here is the link http://www.rootandrebound.org/roadmap-to-reentry-guide/. I believe it's free. It is good that you start thinking about the future now.

The book link refers to it being a California legal guide. If you know, would this be useful in other states or is it really state specific? I am looking for something in Arizona, if anyone has any suggestions.

My son is in a re-entry class that he was assigned to by the prison. During the fall/winter, most of the time the class was canceled. So far the only re-entry help has been they confirmed his release date and asked him where he would be released to (mom) and called me to confirm he could live here. They are applying for him to get an AZ state ID. His release is 4 months away.

**fbopnomore** · #6 01-16-2019, 11:56 AM

The federal reentry programs I experienced were totally worthless for anyone who made it past the 3rd grade in school, like "how to write a check". I asked "what if I can't spell two?"

The bop hasn't figured out that computers/cell phones/internet even exist, so they weren't even mentioned. The only benefit in completing them was so the bop could add "completed" on the inmate's file. The Half way house requirements were nearly as meaningless too.

Supervised release is about only one thing, control.

lizlizzie2 · #7 02-10-2019, 12:16 PM

They put him in a Men in Recovery class which seems to be intensive. His understanding is that it is a continuation of a pilot program that started a few years ago and successfully completing it reduces some of the parole required classes and counseling. If it does, that is a good thing as any limitations to those requirements mean money savings and more time to be on a job without interruptions. We can only wait and see.