Michigan’s Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative

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What’s the Issue?

Michigan’s Prisoner Re-entry Initiative has been heralded as one of Michigan’s crowning achievements in the state’s justice system. The Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative (MPRI) promotes public safety by increasing the success rates of prisoners transitioning from prison to the community.

The Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative: Creating Safer Neighborhoods and Better Citizens

The MPRI is a statewide strategic approach to create safer neighborhoods and better citizens. It delivers a seamless plan of services, support, and supervision from the time a prisoner enters prison through their return to a community.

The MPRI recognizes the vital role of community members in re-entry. In each site, MPRI planning and implementation is driven by a Steering Team of local leaders, including law enforcement, victims advocates, representatives of faith and community-based organizations, local representatives of state agencies, human service providers, and the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC). Steering Teams develop a community-based Comprehensive Prisoner ReEntry Plan that addresses service areas such as housing, employment, substance abuse services, mental health, transportation, victim services, and the involvement of local law enforcement and faith-based institutions.

The Success of Michigan’s Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative

Under the MPRI Model, Michigan achieved the largest drop in recidivism of former prisoners in the United States with an overall 18% reduction in returns to prison between 2005 and 2007 according to a September 2012 report from the Council of State Governments’ Justice Center, States Report Reductions in Recidivism. According to the Justice Center, “… over a longer period, Michigan’s decline in recidivism is even more significant, with a 28% reduction in returns to prison between 2000 and 2008.” According to more recent data (2013) from the Michigan Department of Corrections, the recidivism rate improved for studied cohorts of offenders by 38%.

As a result of the improved outcomes of parolees, Michigan’s prison population declined over 12% in just three years1 – and continued to decline to 17% in five years – the steepest reduction in the shortest period of time of any state in the nation. Subsequently, Michigan has also led the nation in prison closings with an astonishing 21 facilities closed saving nearly $350 million annually. Since the efforts to control and reduce the prison population began in 2002, it is estimated that cost avoidance for prison operations is nearly $1 billion. (On the Chopping Block: State Prison Closings; The Sentencing Project; August 2011).

MCCD Responds to Prisoner ReEntry RFI

On April 10th 2014, the MDOC hosted a Request For Information (RFI) to solicit input from state/local service providers and other members of the public relating to the development of a Prisoner Reentry model that appropriately funds community operational expenses while driving expected outcome metrics. Attendees brought ideas and potential models to the discussion.

The Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency (MCCD) supports the current, highly successful model for prisoner reentry, and recommends that the model be fully implemented with community engagement and ownership as the central tenet. As the Michigan Department of Corrections points out in their Notice of Request for Information (RFI), prisoner reentry in Michigan (formerly called the Michigan Prisoner Reentry Initiative – MPRI), “… has been extremely successful… and has repeatedly received national recognition a best practice model and an example for other agencies to emulate… due to the collaborative effort and partnership that draws on the talents and commitments of community groups and individuals who have dedicated themselves to making it work.”

Read MCCD’s Full response the MDOC FRI

History of Michigan’s Prisoner ReEntry Initiative

For over 50 years MCCD has worked in collaboration with numerous other advocates to move Michigan’s correctional philosophy from control and detain to one of preparing offenders to succeed when they return to the community. Reflecting on the progress gained during the 1970s and subsequently lost during the “get tough” era of the 1980s and 90s, MCCD concluded that lasting change in the corrections system requires a renewed focus on proven techniques for reducing crime and increasing community safety. Furthermore, that change can only be accomplished through a broad collaboration of state government, private organizations, and local communities throughout the state. Consistent with that vision, MCCD has been a key statewide partner in the planning and implementation of the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative.