Non-Binary Success Post-Release: Overall Well-Being & Desistance of RISE Graduates
The landscape of measuring success for the formerly incarcerated population is undergoing a significant shift. Academics, researchers, and practitioners are moving away from the traditional binary measure of success (recidivism or not) toward a framework that encompasses multiple milestones associated with overall well‑being and a long‑term pathway of desistance. These two concepts are complex, challenging to measure, and still under scrutiny as accurate success metrics. Yet, they more accurately reflect the reality that success post‑release is not linear—and a black‑and‑white definition simply isn’t appropriate.
RISE began to recognize the need to incorporate measures of overall well‑being and desistance into our evaluation model in 2021 as a way to capture the complexities of reentry. The measures cover several areas directly related to an individual’s overall health: prosocial thinking patterns, positive support systems, safe and affordable housing, employment stability, and personal milestones such as sobriety or mental‑health stability. Program evaluations also began to explore the circumstances surrounding parole revocations and reincarceration, not just the act itself. People and life are nuanced—both are complex and varied, not black and white—so defining and measuring success for participants or programs must be nuanced as well.[2]
RISE currently defines success of post‑release participants as achieving overall well‑being by securing stable employment, safe and affordable housing, and reliable transportation for at least 30 consecutive days. To date, 90 % of released RISE graduates have successfully achieved a sense of overall well‑being. These participants are also considered self‑sufficient; they can rely on themselves and/or know how to access and utilize appropriate resources to meet their needs. The high percentage of stability and self‑sufficiency is indicative of effective programming.[1]
As mentioned, using desistance as an outcome is a new concept and practice for reentry academics, researchers, and practitioners. By definition, desistance is the ongoing process of lessening deviant behavior over time. Lessening deviant behavior is not linear and is influenced by a multitude of internal and external factors. Like the concept of overall well‑being, a nuanced and individualized approach to measurement must be taken. RISE considers a person on a path of desistance if (1) any new offense is less severe than the original offense(s) related to the first incarceration, (2) time increases between recidivating events, or (3) recidivism results from a parole violation. To date, 174 graduates residing in the community have 96 % on a path of desistance.[3]
The first two years of this measurement model were rudimentary and exploratory due to limited best‑practices or tools available to enhance the qualitative measures of overall well‑being and desistance. However, through this exploratory period, RISE developed a measurement model designed to quantify overall well‑being and desistance using validated assessment tools, internally developed instruments, and qualitative data. This model will be piloted in 2023, and RISE is hopeful that outcomes will continue to support our promising practices as effective methods of breaking generational cycles of incarceration.
