Over 600,000 people are released from state and federal prisons every year.[1] They reenter their communities with a set of complex needs and challenging vulnerabilities, including chronic physical and behavioral health conditions, unstable housing, and impediments to finding and retaining quality jobs. Many struggle to reintegrate and a large share are rearrested or reincarcerated within a few years of release.
Given the size of this population, its relative disadvantage, and its frequent concentration in poor communities, human services agencies have a key role to play in helping to support successful transition. Access to a robust set of supports can help individuals while they work to attain self-sufficiency and avoid rearrest and reincarceration. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program) is a critical part of a reentry support infrastructure, providing basic food assistance and supplementing inadequate income. Additionally, robust and targeted interventions through the SNAP Employment and Training (E&T) program could mitigate the steep barriers to employment for some formerly incarcerated individuals.
Many state and local human services agencies are gaining a better understanding of the special challenges this population faces and are assessing how to support their transition back into their communities. This paper reviews some of those key challenges and recommends steps to better target SNAP policies and operations to help the formerly incarcerated. (author abstract)
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