title: Prisoner reentry: a public health or public safety issue for social work practice?
abstract: A significant literature identifies the policy, economic, health, and social challenges that confront released prisoners. This literature also describes the public health and public safety risks associated with prisoner reentry, provides recommendations for improving the reentry process, and describes the effectiveness of prison-based programs on recidivism rates. Public health and public safety risks are particularly significant in communities where large numbers of prisoners are released and few evidence-based services exist. The purpose of this article is to describe the public health and public safety risks that released prisoners experience when they reenter communities, and to discuss the social justice issues relevant for social work practice.
authors: School of Social Work, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, New York 10075, USA. george.patterson@hunter.cuny.edu
authors: George T
authors: GT
authors: Patterson
mesh_terms: D062309:Community Integration / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends; D003657:Decision Making; D033161:Government Regulation; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D017146:Models, Organizational; D011329:Prisoners / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D016730:Program Development / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D011634:Public Health; D012308:Risk Management / Q000592:standards; D012449:Safety; D012932:Social Facilitation; D012944:Social Support; D012947:Social Work / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce