PREPARE INMATES FOR LIFE AFTER PRISON

A new national study highlights the necessity of having post-release
programs in place to help released inmates assimilate into society.

STATE PRISONS have a revolving door: More than half the ex-offenders
tracked in a national study, which included Virginia, returned to lockup
within three years of their release.

The report, released last week by the U.S. Department of Justice, tracked
272,111 former inmates after their 1994 release from prisons in 15 states -
Virginia, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland,
Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon and
Texas. Of the total, 67.5 percent were rearrested for a new offense. About
47 percent of prisoners were convicted of a new crime. Almost 52 percent
returned to prison or jail to serve time, either for a new crime or for
violating parole.

The numbers illustrate the importance of states having in place
post-release programs to prepare ex-offenders to return to society and
become productive citizens. What happens to these men and women, but mostly
men, after they leave state prison yards should be a matter of compelling
public concern to all Americans. Without skills and a support network,
felons are likelier to resume their criminal careers, jeopardizing the
public safety.

Unfortunately, not only did Virginians suffer crime at the hands of its own
ex-offenders, but 2,152 new crimes were committed in the commonwealth by
released prisoners from other states, according to the study, the largest
ever conducted on prison recidivism.

Last year, Virginia's Department of Corrections conducted a study on
inmates released in 1997. Of 10,502 inmates, 27 percent were back in prison
in 2000. The numbers, though far from ideal, are more encouraging than
those in the national study and suggest strong success in pre- and
post-release programs in the state.

Such programs, including Virginia CARES and drug courts, were nearly
casualties in the state's effort to trim the $3.5 billion budget shortfall.
But Gov. Mark Warner saw their long-term value and scrounged up the money
to sustain them.

Additionally, state corrections officials have begun a pilot project to
transfer inmates from prisons to local jails as they near the end of their
sentences. In the jails, ideally close to families, inmates can receive
services, including work release, to help them re-enter the community
productively.

The national study shows that states should put more effort into keeping
people out of jail. If the nation continues to ignore ex-offenders, the
results will affect everyone.