Redefining Reentry

We are working to establish a framework to provide holistic supportive services to the entire family unit entangled with the criminal legal system from the first point of contact. We seek to reframe the focus of reentry on the amelioration of the root causes of harm in our communities. This shift will increase No Entry as the prevalent form of reentry and begin to eliminate the need for the criminal legal system altogether. Justice for our communities looks like (i) preventing harm by investing in the vital resources to create the circumstances in which people thrive — instead of barely surviving — and, (ii) responding to harm through accountability that centers healing for all parties involved — instead of brutality, dehumanization, and perpetual marginalization.

Check out our NEW Success Plan Toolkit

Check out our NEW Success Plan Toolkit

We believe in you, your family, your community, and everyone’s well-being. Therefore, ILARJ is committed to building the Beloved Community and we know that to do so, we must work together for our collective well-being. This program was designed to help families that are or may become entangled with the criminal legal system reclaim their agency regarding their well-being and assist them with developing their Success Plan…a plan designed by them for their successful navigation preferably away from or even through the criminal legal system and a successful reunification. We have designed this program because we are acutely aware of the fact that our communities are healthy, well, and thriving when its members are healthy, well, and thriving.

Remember that your Success Plan is YOUR Success Plan. As you follow your plan, you will experience peaks and valleys. It will not be linear so make sure to give yourself and others grace. But what can remain constant is your commitment to your success. Embarking on the creation and implementation of your Success Plan means that you must be accountable to yourself, your family whether biological or chosen, and most importantly your community…the Beloved Community.

This toolkit is designed to provide you with information to help you develop your Success Plan. The information provided is research-based and data driven. Click on the image on the right to access the toolkit.

Participatory Research

At the heart of our redefining reentry work is participatory research where we conduct collaborative and inclusive research that actively involves those with lived experience - the real experts. We endeavor to embody our motto in every aspect of our work including our research.

Together we:

  1. Co-create of Knowledge: Collectively develop the research questions, methodologies, and analysis.

  2. Empowerment: Seek to empower individuals and communities by acknowledging their expertise and involving them in decision-making processes throughout the research journey.

  3. Social Change: Utilize research to promote social change and addressing issues of social justice. It may involve advocacy efforts and the development of community-driven solutions.

  4. Ethical Considerations: Respect participants' autonomy, cultural sensitivity, and ensure ethical considerations are integral to our participatory research. We are actively working to minimize power imbalances and prioritize the well-being of participants.

  5. Action-Oriented: Our research is not just about generating knowledge but also about taking action based on the findings to ensure that our work shows up as a verb and not a noun.

Reentry Guidelines

In 2022 we released our Reentry Guidelines, informed by participatory research. Our Reentry Guidelines were created with the intent to redefine reentry that begins the process of building an infrastructure for community designed and delivered support and accountability. Our goal simply put: no entry. Our Reentry Guidelines argue that reentry (in its current iteration) is too little too late. Instead, we must envision and build a system that begins to support and stabilize people and their families at the earliest point possible. This framework also marries traditional reentry services (i.e., job placement, housing, education, training, etc.) with nontraditional services (i.e., mutual aid, participatory defense, community fridges and farms, restorative justice, transformative justice, etc.) — and expands those services to include the entire family unit entangled with the criminal legal system. Because anyone who has had that experience fully understands that the entire family unit is navigating life differently from the very first point of contact with and traumatized by that system.