Victims
The Issue
The release of any particular individual will likely have an immediate and direct impact on many people in the community, including victims, neighbors, friends, and family members. Information collected during intake to the facility about prisoner's personal relationships and responsibilities, and the risks that they may present to victims and others, can inform individual programming plans for the period of incarceration.
Challenges
- Criminal justice system officials' lack of familiarity with state law affording victims particular rights and services upon a person's reentry
- Contact information for crime victims is often missing or unavailable
- Failure to assess restitution, or, when restitution is ordered, failure to implement a reasonable payment schedule
- Understanding the particularly complex needs of crime victims who have or have had a personal relationship with the offender
- Incorrect perception among some criminal justice officials that victims are too grief-stricken or vengeful to participate in the reentry process
- Overburdened corrections and community corrections agencies that, given their limited resources, may not prioritize victims' needs
- Understaffed victim advocacy organizations
Our Publications
How and Why Medicaid Matters for People with Serious Mental Illness Released from Jail
Hundreds of thousands of people with mental illness are released from jail each year. Without continuity of care, they are likely to be reincarcerated. Enrollment in Medicaid increases access to treatment for people with mental illness released from jail, who typically lack other means to pay for those services.
Related Information
Reentry News Clip:
11/29/2008: Washington Post: Poignant Videos of Victims Valid in Court
Publication:
Domestic Violence and Prisoner Reentry: Experiences of African American Women and Men
Safe Return Initiative
(2008)
Publication:
Key Considerations for Reunifying Adult Sex Offenders and their Families
Center for Sex Offender Management
(2005)
Web Resource:
National Alliance to End Sexual Violence
Program Example:
California: Victim notification process
California Department of Corrections, Office of Victim Services and Restitution

