MDOC hosting reentry webinar for families of prisoners preparing to come home
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Learn more about what to expect when your loved one returns home from prison during a webinar hosted by the Michigan Department of Corrections' (MDOC) Office of Reentry Services next month.
Families of people who have recently been released from prison or will soon be released are invited to learn more from 6-7 p.m. Dec. 10. Sign up for the webinar here.
This webinar will also include resources available to returning citizens, such as community support, employment help, housing resources, and what to know about the parole process.
MDOC's Office of Reentry Services partners with local, state, and federal agencies to help meet the needs of people as they are on their way out of prison and when they get back home. This help can include working with employers to help formerly incarcerated people find work, partnering with landlords to assist with housing, health services, and more, with a goal of reducing recidivism.
Welcome Inn prepares for another winter helping homeless in Starr Presbyterian Church building in Royal Oak
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These programs are credited with helping the state achieve record-low rates of re-offending.
MDOC tracks released prisoners for three years to determine the state's recidivism rate. Earlier this year, MDOC shared that prisoners released in 2020 had the second-lowest recidivism rate in state history.
According to data from the state, 6,100 people who got out of prison in 2020 successfully completed their incarceration and community supervision without returning to prison for either a technical violation of parole or a new crime in the 36 months since their initial release. Only 22.7% of those released by MDOC in 2020 returned to prison within three years.
"Those who work for the MDOC are called upon to do something remarkable, which is to help individuals change their behavior and direction in life. This is not easy work, but every single MDOC employee plays a role in producing these outcomes. I’m pleased to see that our work is making communities safer and helping those we work with find success," Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington said in a press release when the newest recidivism data was revealed.