Sharing Reentry Resources Online

categories: parole / probation, prisoner reentry

Published August 28, 2009 @ 05:54AM PT

The law is a paper-based industry. Or at least it always has been. Judges like paper. They like notarized paper even more.

This is why I was so glad to learn recently that reentry advocates in (at least) two states have gone to the effort to create wikis cataloging the resources and agencies that provide services to prisoners reentering society after time behind bars. These reentry wikis have the potential to connect parolees, their families, service providers and many others to help these systems work much more smoothly than the siloed, bureaucratic, paper-weighted backwaters they have traditionally been.

The two I've seen are in Michigan and Oregon, but there could be more.

I wrote a few months ago about a fascinating report from Stanford that pointed to the first 72 hours after release as critical to the success of reentry. Even better, the report found that focusing on the first 72 hours won't take an overhaul of the entire system, just improved communication between prisons, service providers, prisoners and their families. Enter wiki.

I hope we see in the years ahead more collaboration and openness on the web from law enforcement, corrections and formerly incarcerated individuals themselves. This will not only lead to more connected state and nonprofit services and public information, it'll help build community and foster cooperation.

Do you have a reentry wiki in your state? Post it in the comments.

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Matt has worked and volunteered in various capacities in criminal justice reform for several years. When he's not blogging, he works as the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project. Views expressed here are Matt's, and don't represent the positions of the Innocence Project.