Since 1993
the change we believe in
Successful Reentry coordinates with global partners who offer leading-edge and effective content, curriculum, and training to better prepare people reentering the community after incarceration. Our group offers decades of experience in the criminal justice field focusing on the very difficult and complicated reentry process.
Through its many partnerships, Successful Reentry stays abreast of leading research and resources designed to help the criminal justice system reduce recidivism for the hundreds of thousands of men and women returning to our communities after incarceration. While great progress has been made in evidence-based practice and better understanding how to more effectively assist the incarcerated population based on risk and needs, more needs to be done, especially around engagement.
Led by Linda Connelly, a veteran from the criminal justice field, Successful Reentry has built an effective new approach to tackle the decades-old problem of recidivism across the United States. Linda has dedicated her life to the criminal justice field for the last 40+ years. She knows what works and what doesn't to help change criminal behavior, and she has relationships with experts throughout the country and the world. Linda wants to share these resources with the criminal justice field, and that is what Successful Reentry is all about.
Level-up: Evidence-based basic decision making course
We all make poor decisions at times. For people in the criminal justice system, especially those who are part of the vicious recidivism cycle, those bad choice(s) can come at a steep price, not only for them, but for their families as well. Some readily admit their poor choices, and are ready to change. Many others are not. Whether in jail or prison, or in the community on supervision, many men and women are placed in treatment programs designed to change the way they think. Yet, some are not ready to do the hard, internal work for lasting change. We believe a basic decision making program as a pre-treatment course can better prepare men and women for the deeper work. Additionally, computers and computer games are a part of everyday life. Tying computers games to a decision-making course makes it all the more intriguing and interesting for participants, thereby improving outcomes.
Jeffrey Pfeifer, a renowned forensic researcher in Australia, has developed a Basic Decision Making course called Level-Up©: 12 session evidence-based course for anyone who has made poor decisions. This educational initiative combining technology, gaming and group work, provides participants with an engaging and practical platform for encouraging change. Participants will be more prepared and ready to delve into the underlying issues that led to a life of crime.
The overarching goal of the program is to assist participants to gain an increased understanding of the following model: A Better Life requires Good Decisions; good decisions require Thinking and although Thinking Is Hard it can be made easier by understanding how it works and through practice.
Beyond the Wall
The documentary, Beyond the Wall, reveals a stark reality on what happens when men and women leave prison and jail. It goes against conventional wisdom, yet is the powerful truth.
Beyond the Wall follows five formerly incarcerated men over four years as they struggle to reconstruct their lives in the community. Through personal stories of reentry, relapse, recovery and redemption, the film puts a human face on the social, economic and emotional barriers encountered by returning citizens. In bearing witness to their struggles, we are offered insights about possible solutions to ensure that prison reentry can be more successful.
In an effort to better assist the reentry process and those who struggle so mightily upon release, a curriculum has been developed to accompany the film, download it here. Find out more at www.beyondthewallfilm.com.