ROUGHLY
700,000 people will be released from prison this year.
WITHIN THREE YEARS
nearly half will be sent back.
Within the first year of release, about 44% of individuals return to prison.
In the United States, former prisoners face significant and ongoing economic and societal challenges that can prevent them from thriving and successfully reentering everyday life. At The Accountability Project, we seek to increase the effectiveness of the reentry process by creating a more coordinated system that takes into account the whole reentry continuum, thereby cutting down on crime within our communities, reducing rates of recidivism, and lowering the burden placed on the criminal justice system.
GETTING TO THE ROOT ISSUE
Why is a newly-released individual at risk of being sent back to prison?
The majority of incarcerated individuals come from marginalized communities and/or low socioeconomic backgrounds. People who are in jail or prison are disproportionately poor compared to the greater U.S. population—a problem exacerbated during incarceration, which creates debt while destroying job opportunities. Upon release, returning community members lack basic health care, access to mental health resources, and substance abuse treatment options, resulting in higher mortality rates than other individuals.
Translation: The overwhelming incarcerated population faced dire circumstances pre-arrest, and are reentering society with fewer resources than before.
65%
The percent of inmates with an active substance abuse disorder.
38%
The percent of the incarcerated population who are Black, despite representing just 12% of the overall population.
9x
The growth rate of women inCARCERATED (compared to 1978), due to financial obstacles such as the inability to post bail.
$19,650
The pre-incarceration average annual income for a man in state prison (for women, it’s even more dire, at $13,890).
The overlap between substance abuse and incarceration:
GETTING THE FACTS STRAIGHT
Translation: Why a successful reentry hinges on continued substance abuse treatment.
85%
The percent of drug-abusing offenders who return to substance abuse within one year of release.
70%
The percent of addicted probationers and parolees who drop out of drug treatment within 12 months of release.
90%
The percent of addicted offenders who drop out of treatment prematurely when not regularly supervised by a judge.
40x
The likelihood that a previously-incarcerated individual will die from opioid overdose compared to the general population.
ADDING THINGS UP
What’s the real cost of incarceration?
INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
$43,836
It costs over $100 a day to keep a single person in prison, or $43,836 annually for Bureau facilities ($120.10 per day) and $37,012 for residential reentry centers ($101.40 per day).
STATE LEVEL
$180M–$9.9B
State correction spending varies widely, with North Dakota spending $118M annually on the low end and California spending nearly $10B annually on the high end.
NATIONAL LEVEL
$68 billion
The U.S. now spends more than $68 billion annually on federal, state, and local corrections. (Some estimates push this figure close to $80 billion.)
WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT
Fixing the domino effect: Getting people the help they need, when they need it.
For an addicted individual, continuity of treatment is essential to recovery—from incarceration to post-release. Long-term recovery and a successful reentry into society hinge on minimizing the time between the moment the individual is released and the moment they engage in community-based substance abuse programs.
The Accountability Project and our team of experts coordinate with relevant stakeholders from the beginning of the reentry process. Our focus? To keep individuals on track and committed to their judge-ordered treatment plans. By keeping individuals accountable through the use of our ACET Checkin tool and early intervention methods, we can help keep individuals on the path to a successful reentry.
✓ Continuity of care and treatment programs
✓ Access to behavioral health services
✓ Access to medication, health care, medicaid, and/or insurance
✓ Access to peer support services through an engaged social worker
✓ Accountability through the ACET Checkin tool