From the Director: Office of Minority Health Supports National Reentry Week

From the Director: Office of Minority Health Supports National Reentry Week

Dear Colleague: The effects of incarceration are felt far beyond prison walls.  New research estimates that more than 5 million children, or 7% of all children in the United States, have had a parent in prison at some point during their childhood.  Every year more than 600,000 individuals return to our neighborhoods after serving time in federal and state prisons and another 11.4 million cycle through local jails. Though every family’s story is different, many justice-involved families struggle with financial strain, stigma, and the challenges of getting back to normal after family members are released.

Addressing the challenges that formerly incarcerated individuals face is a difficult task.  The collateral consequences of having a criminal record can prevent individuals from obtaining employment, housing, higher education, and credit—even if the crime occurred long ago.  Furthermore, justice-involved individuals have disproportionately high rates of chronic conditions, infectious disease, mental illness, and substance use disorders.  Poor access to health coverage and health care pose significant challenges and can contribute to a worsening of the health status of justice-involved individuals.  That’s why the Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proud to support National Reentry Week, April 24-30, 2016, to raise awareness around the struggles of returning to the community after incarceration and encourage action to help these individuals who have paid their debt to society gain meaningful access to opportunities to assist with their transitions.

During this week, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices will lead reentry-related efforts in their districts and Bureau of Prisons facilities will coordinate events in the 122 facilities.  We invite you to reach out to your U.S. Attorney’s Office to identify and join in the activities happening in your state, which may include reentry roundtables, job fairs for people with criminal records, listening sessions with formerly incarcerated individuals, special events for children of incarcerated parents, or any of a number of other efforts designed to raise awareness of the importance of successful reentry.

Effective reentry programs offer the chance of a better life to those who return from our nation’s correctional facilities (see list of resources below).  I encourage you to use the occasion of National Reentry Week to highlight the value of these programs so that we can make a meaningful and lasting difference, not only for the individuals who are served but to the communities to which they return.

Sincerely,

J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health
Director, Office of Minority Health
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services                                                         

Reentry-Related Resources to Share:

• National Reentry Resource Center.  The National Reentry Resource Center provides education, training, and technical assistance to states, tribes, territories, local governments, services providers, non-profit organizations, and corrections institutions working on prisoner reentry. https://csgjusticecenter.org/nrrc

• Reentry and Employment Strategies.  This white paper was developed to help program administrators and practitioners navigate the complex issues related to coordinated planning and service delivery.  The white paper provides guidance on how to develop integrated reentry and employment strategies using a resource allocation and service matching tool. https://csgjusticecenter.org/reentry/the-reentry-and-employment-project/developing-an-integrated-reentry-and-employment-strategy/

• Federal Children of Incarcerated Parents Website.  This website on youth.gov consolidates all of the federally-funded resources designed to help justice-involved families support children and youth who currently have an incarcerated parent. http://www.youth.gov/youth-topics/children-of-incarcerated-parents