The Reintegration of Ex-offenders in Society: The Collaboration of Community and Faith-Based Organizations Focusing on Transitioning from Prison to Work to Society

Doctoral Dissertation Project Summary by Kenneth Alexander | K.Alexander@hji.edu

Abstract

        It is the lack of agencies working together to provide citizens returning to society after incarceration with the support they need to become productive working-class citizens and avoid recidivism that has plagued our families and communities in America for decades.  Data from the Department of Labor and other organizations show that reentry initiatives require our attention to reduce recidivism and support those ex-offenders seeking to receive training and jobs to reintegrate into our society with a chance for redemption. 

Statement of Purpose

        This project focused on the over 600,000 ex-offenders being released from State and Federal prisons per year throughout America.  According to the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) and the Federal Bureau of Justice (FBJ) have noted that the USA recidivism rate since 2005 have an average of 50% recidivism rate within 3-5 years after being released, many of the recidivism rates can be higher or lower based on a few factors.  Nonetheless, these numbers indicate a severe crisis in our cities, neighborhoods, and families.  Studies show that the cost of helping ex-offenders to become reintegrated into society outweighs the cost of incarceration.  Particularly when crime and serious crime continue to increase, and overcrowding and the financial burden to taxpayers continue to grow.     

Duplicatable Service

         Workforce Inc., dba RecycleForce, is a job training and job placement social enterprise established in 2006 that focuses on the hardest-to-serve ex-offenders released from federal and state prisons, returning to Indianapolis neighborhoods and families without the income, housing, and job skills needed to prevent them from returning to prison.  I have made this service a ministry opportunity for myself, aligning it with biblical principles for non-profits, faith-based organizations, and community groups.  My focus is on promoting collaboration on social responsibility through restorative justice, reducing recidivism, and addressing the intersection of environmental and social equity for all of God’s people.

Methodology

  My work and my dissertation became an addition to my ministry by committing to addressing environmental issues through RecycleForce that has contributed to keeping over 1.5 million pounds of potentially hazardous materials out of our communities, landfills and our neighborhoods by the end of 2024, with a goal of 12 million pounds per year while hiring over thousands of ex-offenders as a social enterprise and business have worked with non-profits and faith-based organizations for over twenty-five years, with a recidivism rate of 6-11% per year after serving over one thousand men and women per year. 

        This was a key ministry for me, serving as both the Chief Operations Officer and Director of Training in a social enterprise, leveraging my experience as a pastor in a non-denominational church.  This service has directly impacted the lives of hundreds of ex-offenders who return to citizenship each year in the state of Indiana and the city of Indianapolis.  RecycleForce’s social mission has become a model that should be duplicated in many Cities throughout America.  This Employment Social Enterprise (ESE) is designed to provide skills training and Industry-Recognized Credentials, along with faith-based services, to a diverse population while reducing recidivism, lowering the carbon footprint, restoring families, and offering long-term employment opportunities that contribute to the local economy, a win on many fronts.  

Theological and Scriptural Framework

        Through reviewing how RecycleForce collaborates with other organizations, data collected shows that such collaborative efforts have tremendously decreased recidivism rates in its program area.  It is recommended that this be developed as a model for other ministries, as well as state, city, and community-based organizations, to successfully reintegrate ex-offenders back into society after they have served their time, and for those men and women desiring to be productive citizens within our communities and be restored to their family and most of all being restored to the family of God. 

        During the first three years of ex-offenders being released from prison, the majority of them would return by committing a new crime, violating probation or parole, or committing a Technical Rule Violation (TRV).  Not to mention, being labeled as a felon after serving time for their conviction made it very difficult for them to be gainfully employed when 80% of mainstream employers had policies preventing them from hiring those who had committed a felony.  The United States of America makes up 2% of the world population, and America incarcerates 25% of its American citizens.  Something is seriously not working in America when comparing the criminal justice systems to those of many other countries. 

       This theological framework is taken from the study of scriptures, such as Matthew in the Bible: “I was a stranger, and you did not take me in; naked, and you did not clothe me, sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me” (Matthew 25:43 NASB).

        Matthew 28:18-20: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded.  Moreover, surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 

        Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” 

Recommendations

        It is highly commendable for America to have federal, state, and local community correction agencies, as well as religious and numerous not-for-profit organizations, recognize that something must be done to make reintegration and returning to citizenship feasible and reduce recidivism.  Workforce Inc., dba Recycleforce has taken on this challenge in an attempt to provide a holistic approach to meet every possible hurdle that the ex-offenders may face to make reintegration back into society a reality by creating a collaboration of services through a model called a Employment Social Enterprise as an awareness for modern day technologies coupled with the mental health therapy that may be needed when creating a model for those returning to citizenship.  We must all be mindful of the lack of social, spiritual, and employable skills needed, as well as the financial needs of ex-offenders, while addressing the environmental challenges of our society to make reintegration more than an experiment but a reality for all of God’s people who are being disenfranchised.