Corrections_Today_Fall_2025_Vol.87_No.3

from the archives

IAR is committed to identifying, developing and disseminating evidence-based “best practices” and those policies, programs and protocols relevant to reentry. It recently hosted an Inaugural Summit in Columbus, Ohio. IAR will provide energetic advocacy and education targeting the many areas encompassed by reentry, including the issuing of action-oriented reports, position papers and policy briefs. For now, the reach of the association is within North America. Eventually, IAR expects a worldwide membership. There is a pressing need for information to be shared and disseminated regarding where reentry best prac tices may be found. It is equally vital to ensure that there are sufficient resources and mechanisms in place to provide staff training on what these best practices are and how they may be implemented. The Second Chance Act of 2005 includes a provision calling for a national adult and juvenile offender reentry resource center. The existence of such a center will provide a clearinghouse and national database whereby all levels of government, local jurisdictions and communities, and stakeholders who have an interest may go to learn more about what works and what is effective relative to offender reentry. They may also solicit technical as sistance and training to adopt evidence-based practices germane to reentry. The Second Chance Act of 2005 provides a very sensible balance that recognizes that reentry is about public safety as well as returning offenders home as

tax-paying and productive citizens. In think ing about the past, and the promising changes already under way, embracing reentry represents the only viable option for corrections. Reentry, however, must be done correctly. That means drawing on reentry best practices, seeking active collaboration and sustainable com munity and faith-based partners, engaging families across the full spectrum of reentry, and reducing those barriers that undermine offenders’ successful transitions from prison to home. CT ENDNOTES 1 Travis, J. 2005. But they all come back: Facing the challenges of prisoner reentry. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute Press. Travis, J. and C. Visher. (Eds.) 2005. Prisoner reentry and public safety in America. New York Cambridge University Press. 2 Wilkinson, R.A., G.A. Buckholtz and G.M. Seigfried. 2004. Prison reform through offender reentry: A partnership between the courts and corrections. Pace Law Review, 24 (Spring): 609-629. T ravis, J. and C. Visher. (Eds.) 2005. 3 Mauer, M. and Chesney-Lind, M. 2002. Invisible punishment: The collateral consequences of mass imprisonment. New York: The New Press. Reginald A. Wilkinson, Ed.D., is director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, and president and executive director of the International Association of Reen try. Edward E. Rhine, Ph.D., is deputy director of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Office of Policy and Offender Reentry.

Fast Forward: The Second Chance Act in 2025

The Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2025 seeks to build upon the foundations laid by the original act. Since its inception in 2005, the Second Chance Act has funded over 1,100 grants, helping communities by reducing the costs associated with incarceration and by uplifting public safety.

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Fall 2025 | Corrections Today

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