REENTRY & DIVERSION
Diversion is a process by which criminal cases, meeting specific criteria, can be screened out of the standard justice system process and the defendant redirected to programs with targeted services for treatment or resolution. Good examples for eligibility might be treatment of substance use disorders, mental illness, or first-offense youth. Reentry is also a process experienced by people returning from prison and attempting to re-assimilate into their communities as contributing citizens.
Whether diversion or reentry, the process represents a very long journey home with many barriers including struggles with family reunification, chronic under or unemployment, homelessness, addiction, and the basic needs that determine overall health and well-being. For those without support and family, the risk is even greater. Recidivism, the act of re-offending and returning to prison, in North Carolina averages 40% in the first 3 years and costs the state approximately $27,000 to re-incarcerate. A maintain a prisoner behind bars costs the state and another $30,000 per year per prisoner. Helping people come home successfully is not just the right thing to do, it is the best thing to do for the safety and prosperity of our community as a whole.
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Nationally: As a country, we need a reality check. The US Justice System controls over 7 million people more than half of these are on probation. How did this happen? Because it is a $182 billion industry that incentivizes self-preservation through the generation of revenue.
Private companies that supply goods to the prison commissary or telephone service collect over $2.9 billion.
The government pays $3.9 billion to operate private prisons.
The government payroll for corrections employees is over 100 times higher than the private prison industry’s profit.
Bail bond companies collect $1.4 billion in non-refundable fees from defendants and their families. Note, 74% of people held in jails are not convicted and are driven by local bail practices according to Prison Policy Initiative.
For more information, please visit The Prison Policy Initiative
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2020
At the State Level – North Carolina
Prison, Probation, and Parole in NC (March 13, 2021)
Offenders in Prison - 28,678
Offenders on Probationers - 66,618
Post Release/Parole - 11,681
Total - 107,433
Males in Prison - 26,722
Females in Prison - 1,956
Second Chance Alliance Data and Statistics
1.6 million North Carolinians have criminal records.
Approximately 40,000 individuals are currently in North Carolina's 70 prisons.
Currently, 1 in 106 Caucasian males is incarcerated, while 1 in 36 Latino males and 1 in 15 African American males are incarcerated.
It costs the NC Department of Public Safety $27,000 annually to incarcerate someone.
95% of incarcerated individuals will eventually leave prison and return home.
92% of employers conduct criminal background checks; an applicant with a criminal record is 50% less likely to receive a call back.
More than 900 state and federal laws deny North Carolinians a wide range of privileges and rights based on a criminal record.
The Connection
Wake County historically receives about 7% of the State’s annual release of people returning from prison to their communities. This does not include federal facilities or people released from County jails. Connectivity to resources and supportive networks upon return has improved dramatically over the past five years largely because of our local champions (Community Success Initiative, Second Chance Alliance, NC Justice Center, and Forward Justice) who have convened masses, gone before the state legislature to change policy, and sat with governors to remove the barriers and stigma that keep people behind bars long after their debt has been paid to society.
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How Can You Help? Connect with Wake Local Reentry Council (Wake LRC) and its community of service providers that support individuals and their families who are returning home. Today, NCDPS oversees the installation of Local Reentry Councils (LRCs) that convene community resources around barriers and provide a central hub for financial assistance, programming, and connectivity to supportive services for our returning neighbors. Want to be part of changing lives and outcomes? Here are some ways to get involved:
Education:
Embrace initiatives that reduce shame and promote healing of “Returning Citizens”
Support efforts to educate the public about reentry, its challenges, and its impacts
Invite the Wake LRC to participate in planned events
Sponsor educational or training scholarships
Employment:
Help open employment opportunities
Assist with resume development and interview coaching
Maintain a clothing closet for work-appropriate attire
Collect or fund On-the-Job supplies: tool belts, steel-toed work boots, hard hats, tools, etc.
Transportation:
Assist in meeting transportation needs for interviews, work, worship, daycare, or other needed services
Organize volunteers willing to help with automotive repairs, DMV or registration fees
Donate gas cards or bus passes
Donate to Wheels4Hope
Organize volunteers to provide on-call transportation
Mental Health/Substance Abuse:
Volunteer as a qualified professional to assist individuals with behavioral health needs
Consider becoming a Certified Peer Support Specialist
Volunteer with, or donate to, agencies that provide affordable treatment for individuals returning from incarceration such as Alliance Medical Ministry
Housing:
Encourage landlords in your networks to consider individuals with housing barriers (incarceration, evictions, credit issues)
Organize a giving circle to support a family, or returning citizen, with affordable housing
Veterans:
Rally veteran members to build a support network
Call for volunteers to mentor returning veterans.
Faith and Civic based Organizations can:
Support members impacted by crime, incarceration, and reentry
Provide discipleship and/or mentoring for reentries and their families
Grow ministries/initiatives that begin relationships and walk with families during crisis
Build a network of support within your membership/congregation
Identify supportive resources within the congregation, membership, and/or the community: childcare, groceries, treatment centers, other organizations, etc.
Sponsor training opportunities such as Ready to Rent, parenting, relationship building, job search, financial literacy, etc.
Provide storage space for families
Donate items to help families with a fresh start
Donate gift cards for household needs at local stores
Provide professional services through supporting organizations
Adopt a family and support specific needs such as assisting with special occasions (holidays, graduations, school related needs)
Share resources with other faith-based or civic organizations that have the heart to help, but not the financial resources. This allows returning citizens the freedom of choice in worship or support providers (example: loan or make available transportation, classes, other resources)
Volunteer with organizations that work with youth diversion through the Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils