title: The case for human agency, well-being, and community reintegration for people aging in prison: a statewide case analysis.
abstract: This study profiled 2,913 adults aged 50 and older sentenced to a statewide correctional system and their parole eligibility status with implications for community reintegration, resettlement, and recovery needs. The research team developed the Correctional Tracking Data Extraction Tool to gather official data and personal and legal characteristics from a state department of corrections website. The majority of older prisoners were men from racial/ethnic minorities between the ages of 50 and 59 with a range of minor to serious offenses. Time served in prison ranged from 1 month to 45 years; more than 40% were eligible for parole within 5 years. These findings underscore the need for an intervention that can address the differing typologies and individual-level and systemic issues that gave rise to the aging prisoner population. Promising practices that address elements of a conceptual model in prison and community reintegration and recovery for older adult prisoners are reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service, New York, NY 10023, USA. tmaschi@fordham.edu
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maschi
authors.forename: Mary Beth
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Morrisey
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leigey
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D012917:Social Adjustment; D014481:United States
keywords: aging prisoners; community reintegration; human agency; older adults; prison; well-being