Thomas P. LeBel

If One Doesn't Get You Another One Will: Formerly Incarcerated Persons' Perceptions of Discrimination

Research on prisoner reentry has largely neglected the perspective of formerly incarcerated persons concerning the stigma and discrimination they face in society. The purpose of this study is to address this gap by examining whether formerly incarcerated persons perceive themselves to be discriminated against due to their membership in 10 disadvantaged groups, and if these perceptions are related to self-esteem. The findings indicate the vast majority of men and women feel discriminated against for one reason, with most indicating multiple reasons. Moreover, the findings provide support for past research indicating that perceptions of discrimination are negatively related to self-esteem.

An Examination of the Impact of Formerly Incarcerated Persons Helping others

Abstract This study builds upon theory and research concerning the helper therapy principle, mutual-help groups, wounded healers, and retroflexive reformation to examine the possible benefits of helping others in a sample of 228 formerly incarcerated persons in prisoner reintegration programs. A 4-item helper/wounded healer orientation scale was developed. OLS regression analysis was used to determine if this orientation is related to psychological well-being and/or acts as a sort of buffer against criminality. The results indicate that the helper/wounded healer orientation has a positive relationship with higher self-esteem and greater satisfaction with life, and a negative relationship with having a criminal attitude and the forecast of rearrest. The finding that helping helps the helper suggests that this principle should be recognized for its potential in facilitating the recovery and reintegration of formerly incarcerated persons.

Helping Others as a Response to Reconcile a Criminal Past: The Role of the Wounded Healer in Prisoner Reentry Programs

Anecdotal evidence suggests that many of the staff members working for prisoner reentry programs are formerly incarcerated persons. Moreover, criminologists have written that the strengths-based role of the “wounded healer” or “professional ex-” is exemplified by released prisoners who desist from a deviant career by replacing it with an occupation as a paraprofessional, lay therapist, or counselor. Despite these observations, there is a paucity of research about formerly incarcerated persons employed by agencies that provide reentry-related programming. This study begins to fill this gap by examining whether, how, and why the staff members of prisoner reentry programs differ from the clients. Characteristics of formerly incarcerated persons thought to be related to desistance and reconciling a criminal past such as overcoming stigma, prosocial attitudes and beliefs, active coping strategies, psychological well-being, and satisfaction with life are examined. Findings support the notion that the wounded healer or professional ex- role is related to desistance and can potentially transform formerly incarcerated persons from being part of “the problem” into part of “the solution” to reduce crime and recidivism.

Intervening with Women in Jail around Alcohol and Substance Abuse During Preparation for Community Reentry

The Women and Jails Project involved a jail in-reach brief screening and feedback intervention for women experiencing problems with alcohol or other substances. The screening and brief intervention (SBI) protocol involved the application of an evidence-informed screening interview (the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test-Including Drugs, or AUDIT-12) and the provision of personalized feedback on each womans screening results, delivered in a brief motivational interview format. Comparisons of interview data while incarcerated and 2 months postrelease indicated significantly greater improvement in alcohol and other substance use screening results (lower AUDIT-12 scores) among women randomly assigned to intervention versus treatment as usual groups. This greater improvement could not be attributed to greater treatment engagement because that difference was not significant. The authors discuss practice and future research implications of the jail in-reach intervention and providing resource information to women preparing for community reentry.

Implementing Substance Abuse Screening and Brief Motivational Intervention With Women in Jail

This article presents a social work in-reach model for identifying womens substance abuse service needs while in jail and increasing their motivation and abilities to obtain services on reentry to the community. The authors describe important aspects of the Women and Jails Project and its development that can help inform social work practice in this area. Data are reported on the first 1,091 women participating in the project. Specific issues and practical suggestions for planning, conducting, and evaluating this type of in-reach intervention are examined. Implications for social work practice and future outcomes research are discussed.

Wounded healers: How formerly incarcerated women help themselves by helping others

This mixed methods study explores the role that being a helper/wounded healer has for formerly incarcerated women. Regression analyses examining the influence of a helper/wounded healer orientation on self-esteem and social support are triangulated with in-depth responses to probes regarding the benefits of helping others among a purposive sample of previously incarcerated women. Results reveal that helping others benefits the helper by boosting self-esteem, increasing prosocial activity, and enhancing social connectedness. The culture of “giving back” and being of service to others who are less far along in the recovery/reintegration process is discussed. Implications for policy and practice are offered.

Looking Out from the Inside: Incarcerated Women's Perceived Barriers to Treatment of Substance Use

Using the Allen Barriers to Treatment Instrument (ABTI), 299 women incarcerated in a local jail were asked about the barriers they believed they would face in seeking treatment after their release. The top reported barriers were the inability to pay for treatment, the lack of health insurance, and long waiting lists for publicly funded care. An exploratory factor analysis was used to categorize the ABTI barriers into seven factors these women believed would stand in their way: Program Characteristics, Non-Gender Specific Programming, Treatment Site Access, Financial Access, Personal Beliefs About Use & Recovery, Community & Social Environment, and Children & Work Obligations.

Incarcerated Mothers of Minor Children: Physical Health, Substance Use, and Mental Health Needs

Mothers of minor children serving sentences in a large Midwestern jail were screened for potential substance use problems and asked to report their physical and mental health status and treatment experiences. Of mothers screened for substance use problems, 72.1% had positive findings on the AUDIT-12, 56.7% reported at least one serious physical health problem, and 67.1% had received mental health treatment. More than two-thirds (68.8%) of the 240 mothers reported a co-occurring condition, and a third (33.8%) reported problems in all three spheres (substance use, mental health, and physical health). The relationship among the three health-related problems is examined as well as the characteristics of mothers related to having co-occurring health conditions. Given that the overwhelming majority of mothers reported more than one health-related problem, the changes to policy and practice need to avoid simplistic solutions.

Can Released Prisoners “Make It”? Examining Formerly Incarcerated Persons’ Belief in Upward Mobility and the “American Dream”

The American Dream is rooted in the notion that anyone who works hard enough and has the necessary skills can achieve a comfortable lifestyle, despite economic or societal barriers. Given that formerly incarcerated persons already must overcome a host of barriers to successfully reenter society from prison, an interesting and unanswered question concerns whether or not formerly incarcerated persons’ believe in the American Dream, and the implications of these beliefs. This chapter addresses this gap in the literature using a sample of 258 formerly incarcerated persons participating in, or staff members of, prisoner reentry programs in New York State. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis was used to determine the characteristics of formerly incarcerated persons most strongly related to the belief in the American Dream, and correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship between the belief in upward economic mobility and psychological well-being, the forecast of rearrest, and concealment of one’s criminal record on applications. Analyses reveal that the vast majority of formerly incarcerated persons believe that the American Dream is obtainable for all people in society, and that any former prisoner can “make it” if they want to do so. Among the factors related to the belief that all people can achieve, the American Dream include lower perceptions of personal stigma (due to being a former prisoner), lower scores on a scale for the illegitimacy of the criminal justice system, having served less time in prison, less formal education, identifying more strongly with other former prisoners, and remorse for prior crimes. Stronger agreement that any former prisoner can “make it” was significantly related to group identification, lower perceptions of stigma, having more parole violations, feelings of remorse, current employment status, not living in New York City, being married, and believing that the criminal justice system is illegitimate. Those believing more strongly in the American Dream had higher self-esteem, were more satisfied with their life as a whole, were less likely to forecast a rearrest, and less likely to conceal their criminal record on applications. Implications of the findings for prisoner reintegration policy and practice are discussed.

Drug Courts: An Interview With Dr. Michael Fendrich

The first drug court was launched in Dade County, Florida, in 1989, and there are now close to 2,500 such courts across the United States (Huddleston & Marlowe, 2011). A drug court is a specific court docket or calendar in which drugand alcohol-dependent individuals are directed to treatment and are otherwise assisted as an alternative to a jail or prison sentence (Huddleston & Marlowe). In addition to being substance dependent, eligible individuals usually have been charged with drug-related offenses, including offenses that might have been indirectly related to their addiction, such as theft or burglary; in most cases, eligible individuals do not have a criminal history involving violence (Huddleston & Marlowe). In 1997, as the number of drug courts were increasing around the country, the National Association of Drug Court Professionals issued the 10 components of drug court programs (see, e.g., Tyuse & Linhorst, 2005). These components,