Citing an article by Cheryl Lero Jonson and Francis T. Cullen called “Prisoner Reentry
Programs” from 2015
In 1939, the percentage of prisoners of federal and state prisons was 97%. That’s about 60,000
to 70,000 prisoners per year. Many of the released offenders would go on to recidivate. That
same year, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the issue of prison reform during the
National Parole Conference held at the White House. “Although other law enforcement, court,
and prison reforms had been made,” observed the president, “it seems to me that we have
made the least progress in the very important matter of getting people from prison back . . . to
society.” What is most shocking is that today, when the amount of prisoners reentering society
is more than 10 times what it was 75 years ago, we are still struggling with the same issues
identified by FDR.
In just the last couple of decades, hundreds of programs across the United States have been
developed with the goal of improving prisoner reentry. In 2003, the federal government allocated
more than $110 million to fund the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI ).
Located in all 50 states, 69 agencies received between $500,000 and $2 million over a 3-year
period. The programs that were implemented focused on reducing recidivism, improving access
to employment and housing, and improving overall health of those reentering.
We are proud to be one of the programs in Georgia that assists ex offenders. Lifechangers, Inc.
currently offers a free Workforce Readiness program and hopes to expand our services in the
future. The vision of LifeChangers, Inc., is to provide the programs, services and training that
will reduce the rate of recidivism by 80% by the year 2042.