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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 9, No. 2

Publication Date: February 25, 2022

DOI:10.14738/assrj.92.11718. Watson, J., & DeBerry, C. D. (2022). Strategic Planning Using Engaged Scholarship: Building A Reentry Organization. Advances in

Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(2). 48-59.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Strategic Planning Using Engaged Scholarship: Building A Reentry

Organization

Jerry Watson, PhD, LCSW, MBA

Assistant Professor

School of Social Work, University of Memphis

Crystal D. DeBerry, DSW, LCSW

Executive Director

Indomitable Families Affected by Incarceration (IFAM)

ABSTRACT

Given the incredible growth in incarceration numbers and resultant increases in

returning prisoners, reentry programs play a critical role in the lives of justice

involved individuals and their families, and communities. The aim of this engaged

scholarship effort was to work in partnership with a community-based reentry

organization to conduct strategic planning. Among the unique organizational

assets identified were mental health services, social support groups, clinical

professional development, and social entrepreneurship including housing and

innovative technology development initiatives. Building on Indomitable Families

Affected by Incarceration’s history, strengths, and opportunities, the results yielded

a set of action steps to guide the organization’s future.

Keywords: Reentry programs, strategic planning, engaged scholarship, social support

groups, social entrepreneurship

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this engaged scholarship project was to build the organizational capacity of a

community-based, not-for-profit-organization. The researcher and stakeholders designed,

developed, and implemented a strategic planning process while leveraging higher education

faculty resources in partnership with Indomitable Families Affected by Incarceration (IFAM).

Founded by a former prisoner’s wife, IFAM is an organization that seeks to help restore and

empower persons impacted by the criminal justice system. The founder initially sought to

create an organization that would provide assistance for women facing the collateral

consequences of partner incarceration. After four years of operating, the organization

expanded to include all members to of the family affected by incarceration becoming IFAM.

The mission of the organization is to empower families and individuals affected by

incarceration, by promoting health and wellness, and minimizing societal barriers. The core

mission is the driving force behind what has grown into an organization focused on reentry,

rehabilitation, and social entrepreneurship.

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Watson, J., & DeBerry, C. D. (2022). Strategic Planning Using Engaged Scholarship: Building A Reentry Organization. Advances in Social Sciences

Research Journal, 9(2). 48-59.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.92.11718

LITERATURE REVIEW

Reentry

Reentry is an inevitable consequence of incarceration; the reentry process back into society

after serving time in prison is an enormous and extensive challenge for most ex-offenders in

the United States due to their criminal record and the stigma that accompanies it. To aid in the

reentry process and to reduce recidivism rates, a multitude of reentry programs have been

developed across the nation. Reentry programs that are in line with best practices aid ex- offenders to readjust to being an active and civil member of society with providing information

and connections to finding affordable housing, securing a source of income such as a job, find

appropriate educational programs, and providing an emotional support system. However,

every individual’s re-entry process varies based on the influences from the individual’s life

before prison. Substance abuse, peers, family members, community involvement, religious

beliefs, education level, and other factors can all contribute to the offenders’ reentry process.

Therefore, it is essential to seek out which services or characteristics of existing reentry

programs across the nation are successful.

The National Institute of Justice (2008) defines recidivism as the return to criminal behavior,

after the person receives sanctions or undergoes intervention for a previous crime. Recidivism

is measured by criminal acts that resulted in re-arrest, reconviction and/or return to prison

with or without a new sentence. The immense recidivism rate in the United States is

concerning for the criminal justice system because it is a criminal justice system effectiveness

indicator measuring the system’s ability to reduce criminal behavior (Behravan, 2011).

Recidivism is measured by criminal acts that resulted in re-arrest, reconviction and/or return

to prison with or without a new sentence.

The immense recidivism rate in the United States is concerning for the criminal justice system

because it is a criminal justice system effectiveness indicator measuring the system’s ability to

reduce criminal behavior (Behravan, 2011). Two studies found that lack of adequate

programming funding is a partial reason for the high percentage of recidivism rates. Funding

support provide by the government is how nearly all re-entry programs exist and operate

(Petersilia, 2001; Berghuis, 2018). The funding provides the programs with staff and the

resources necessary to aid ex-offenders in their re-entry process.

THE NEED FOR IFAM: OUT OF CONTROL MASS INCARCERATION

The Vera Institute of Justice reports that not only does the U.S. have the highest incarceration

rate in the world; every single U.S. state incarcerates more people per capita than virtually any

independent democracy on earth. In 2019, Shelby County Tennessee spent a total

of $138,824,467 on its two local jail facilities. This represents 31 percent of the county’s total

budget and approximately $148 per county resident. From 1980 to 2019, Tennessee’s jail

incarceration rate increased 319 percent. With the rise of mass incarceration, poor and

working people—whether white, Black, or brown—have been harmed by a justice system that

criminalizes poverty. Black and brown communities in particular have been disproportionately

criminalized and incarcerated. In 2015, Black people in Tennessee were jailed at 2.5 times the

rate of white people. Put differently, Black people made up 17% of county residents but 37% of

the jail population. Typically, Latinx people are also disproportionately incarcerated but often

underrepresented or misrepresented in data. The number of women in Tennessee jails has

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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 9, Issue 2, February-2022

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

increased 1,909%, from 301 women in jail in 1980 to 6,048 in 2019. In 2019, women made up

19% of the statewide jail population and 9% of the county jail population.

Figure 1: Race, education level, and risk for incarceration

The United States has surpassed 2 million individuals that are incarcerated in prisons, making

it the highest prison population in the world (Sawyer & Wagner, 2020). The per-capita rate of

incarceration is a parallel growth with the number of offenders released from United States’

prisons.

Figure 2: Total number people under correctional supervision

Note. Persons in prison, jail, on parole or probation. Connections Among Poverty,

Incarceration, And Inequality, May 2020 Fast Focus Research/Policy Brief No. 48-2020

The vast majority of incarcerated individuals will eventually be released from prison. back into

society. In 2016, approximately 626,000 incarcerated individuals were released from state and

federal prisons (Carson, 2018). On average, according to research, 67.8% of these individuals

will be rearrested within three years of their initial release and 76.6% will be rearrested within

five years of their initial release (Durose, Cooper, & Snyder, 2014). The leading reasons why ex-