Related Links

Reentry Initiative

Washington’s Reentry Initiative is a cornerstone of the Department of Corrections’ effort to improve public safety. The initiative protects citizens by providing offenders with programs that reduce the likelihood they will commit new crimes after release from prison, jail, or community supervision.

Causes of Criminal Behavior

For many people, the choice to engage in criminal behavior is influenced by circumstances that limit their ability to live as contributing members of society. For example, among offenders entering the state prison system:

  • Eighty-three percent of women and 71 percent of men read at less than a 9th grade level.
  • About half were unemployed at the time of their crimes.
  • About 54 percent need treatment for drug or alcohol addictions.
  • Approximately half need mental health treatment.

Offenders Will Return to the Community

About 97 percent of incarcerated offenders will one day complete their sentences and be released to the community. Without successful efforts to resolve their individual deficits, many will return to lives of crime. The goal of the Reentry Initiative is to prevent that from happening.

Reentry Begins on Day One

The process begins when an offender enters the correctional system and receives an extensive evaluation. They are classified based on identified risks and needs, and an individual reentry plan is developed.  The plan identifies programs and services specifically targeted to address those risks and needs throughout the process of incarceration and community supervision. The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (www.wsipp.wa.gov) has issued a report describing programs that are effective in reducing recidivism (www.wsipp.wa.gov).

Programs in Prison

The 2007-2009 biennial budget proposed by Governor Chris Gregoire and passed by the Legislature includes money to increase the number of offenders who have access to effective programs, including chemical dependency treatment, education, employment training and mental health treatment. In the prisons, the Department will employ a “step down” approach to address violent behavior first. Other programs will encourage positive and supportive relationships between offenders and their children, spouses and other family members.

Programs in the Community

Such efforts will continue after an offender is released. Partnerships between DOC and the community are essential to ensuring each offender’s successful adjustment. DOC will expand the number of criminal justice centers around the state, where offenders on community supervision engage with supervising Community Corrections Officers, who work with the offender to obtain job-finding assistance and take advantage of other community-based programs. The number of work release facilities will also be expanded, enabling more offenders in the final days of their incarceration to locate jobs and re-build positive connections to family and community. 

The Department of Social and Health Services has established a Web site with resources and access to public and community-based social service providers that can help with the transition from prison to the community.

The Goal of Reentry: Community Safety

The goal of reentry is not to reward offenders for past mistakes. By addressing factors that cause criminal behavior, the goal is to make citizens safer and avoid some of the cost of building expensive new prison facilities to house repeat offenders.

Fact Sheets