Theorizing Community Reentry for Male Incarcerates and Confined Mothers: Lessons Learned from Housing the Homeless

Abstract

To date, a substantial amount of research has been conducted on offender reentry that measures recidivism outcomes or examines the effectiveness of risk/need assessment instruments. However, remarkably little attention has been given to cultivating a theory of community reintegration. This article provisionally addresses this issue. By turning to the relevant homeless studies research, a conceptual strategy for offender reentry is proposed. This strategy is based on a psycho-social developmental model of resocialization grounded in several insights derived from peacemaking, anarchist, and cultural criminology. The resocialization model, coupled with its assorted conceptual features, is fitted to the issue of community reentry for male incarcerates and confined mothers. Several tentative implications stemming from this conceptual work are delineated.

Key Words:

• Critical criminological theory
• housing the homeless
• offender reentry
• developmental model of resocialization