Prisoner Reintegration in the Era of Mass Incarceration
What are the determinants of social and economic integration after release from prison? This talk develops a conceptual framework for understanding prisoner reentry and reintegration that centers on social and institutional contexts in which formerly incarcerated individuals are enmeshed and the fit between those institutions and contexts and the human, social, and cultural capital that formerly incarcerated individuals possess upon release. Viewed in this light, the current era of mass incarceration is a particularly challenging one for prisoner reintegration. These ideas are illustrated through a mixed method analysis of the labor market experiences of formerly incarcerated individuals, which draws our attention to the role of families, the nature of contemporary low-skill work, the criminal justice system, and health.
David J. Harding is Associate Professor of Sociology and faculty Director of the D-Lab at UC Berkeley. His research interests include poverty, inequality, urban neighborhoods, criminal justice, mixed methods, and causal inference. Harding is the author of Living the Drama: Community, Conflict, and Culture among Inner-City Boys (University of Chicago Press, 2010). This talk is based on his forthcoming book, tentatively titled On the Outside: Prisoner Reentry and Reintegration in the Era of Mass Incarceration (University of Chicago Press) and co-authored with Jeffrey Morenoff and Jessica Wyse.