(FBOP) - Events such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) Access to Justice (ATJ) Reentry Simulation held on April 19, 2024, help answer questions about when and how resources are needed for the formerly incarcerated and allows those working in criminal justice to have empathy for individuals who have experienced it.
Rachel Rossi, Director, ATJ, shared that, "...while we know that one in three people in this country have some sort of a criminal conviction, and over half of the people are ending right back up in custody, we know that creative and new solutions are required if we want to disrupt this cycle [of incarceration], improve justice outcomes, and better expand policy."
During ATJ's event, participants were given a fictional identity, a Life Card, one to three forms of identification, money, transportation tickets, an item of some type of value (e.g., a guitar), and instructions on what they had to do and where they had to go. Some participants also received a Wild Card, which was used as a life event, and/or props such as babydolls to represent children or a bag to represent being homeless or poor. Using these tools, they were to navigate through various stations to complete their weekly tasks to avoid being sent back to prison for non-compliance with the requirements of their release.
At the end of each fifteen-minute week session, the participants had to return and check in to their "home" station. During that time, the facilitators explained the statistics and challenges behind being incarcerated. DeAnna Hoskins, the Director of JustUs went into detail about some of her experiences, as well as others, and one of the major topics discussed was identification cards.
Many of the participants were missing at least one, if not more, of their identification cards during the simulation. The ID cards included a Birth Certificate, Social Security Card, and State ID. Without these items, completing the tasks on the Life Card was nearly impossible, much like it would be in real life.
But, in real life, there is a solution. To help combat issues revolving around identification, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) has introduced Federal Release Identification Cards. During her remarks, FBOP Director Colette S. Peters stated, "[The FBOP has] developed and are issuing Federal Release Identification Cards to eligible individuals upon their release...[and] as of February 24th, with the help of the Government Publishing Office, over 3,000 cards have been printed and twenty states now recognize these cards as proof of identity and residency."
Another major talking point to be addressed during the reentry simulation was how easy it is to end up back in prison once you've been released. The simulation began with most individuals living with friends and family according to their Life Card and roughly twenty percent of people split between jail, the shelter, and the halfway house. During the recap, participants who were in jail at any point during the simulation were asked to return and stand at the "jail" station.
A whopping 95 percent of individuals were in jail.
This revelation surprised many of the participants who work for several agencies within the DOJ and, even more surprising, of the remaining 5 percent of individuals split between the shelter, halfway house, and homes, only about 1 percent were within a home.
When asked how many of those individuals were formerly incarcerated, almost all of them raised their hands. And, when asked why they were successful during the simulation, many of them stated it was about communicating with their probation officers, the courthouse, and making sure they attended the meetings required as part of their release, such as with Alcoholics Anonymous, treatment providers, the Career Center, and Legal Services.
There are many takeaways from this simulation, but the most important one is this: once you've been incarcerated, the journey to returning as a productive member of society is arduous and long. It is full of barriers and obstacles and only with the help of organizations, a strong and active support system, and the resources they provide, will justice-involved individuals be successful and break the cycle of incarceration.