Understanding Reentry
What is Reentry?
“Reentry” is the journey individuals begin after they come into contact with the criminal legal system, including through arrest, criminal charges or incarceration in either jail or prison. To reenter communities successfully after incarceration, people must navigate bureaucratic systems and institutions in order to establish a foundation for life.
This means returning residents must figure out how to meet numerous mandatory requirements established by a broad range of institutions, often without support. They also face laws that place additional punishments on them for past mistakes. Reentry has no defined time range, and reentry preparation should start immediately upon incarceration.
The IRC focuses on both the immediate transition from incarceration to community settings and the long-term journey of reentry, considering the permanent punishments faced by people who have been incarcerated. A transformative approach to reentry requires acknowledging the disenfranchisement and marginalization that are exacerbated for people leaving incarceration and working through obstacles by building empowering supports through cultural, narrative, and structural changes.
About the Illinois Reentry Council
The Illinois Reentry Council was launched in March 2021 to develop effective models and collaborative partnerships to support reentry.