Everyone Benefits When We Equip Returning Citizens for Successful Re-entry
Deputy Superintendent (Ret.) Cheryl Morris,
Over my decades of work in New York’s correctional system, I saw firsthand how often our process for re-entry—during which individuals return to their communities after incarceration—sets vulnerable people up for failure.
Upon release from prison, many returning citizens face a daunting combination of barriers, including lack of stable housing, limited employment opportunities, food insecurity, insufficient access to healthcare and mental health services, lack of transportation, and difficulty reconnecting with family and community. Each of these challenges, when unmet, becomes a potential trigger for re-offending and returning to custody.
That’s why I support S6222, a bill before the state legislature to create a re-entry assistance program, which would provide a temporary monthly stipend to people recently released from prison who meet certain qualifications. This modest yet meaningful investment—a maximum of $2,550 over six months—would help people meet basic needs and build a foundation for stability during the most critical period after incarceration.
Under current policy, individuals paroled from a NYS prison receive a one-time stipend of $200. In New York City, where a single meal can cost over $10 and a 7-day MetroCard is $34, that $200 might not last a week—much less sustain someone trying to secure housing, apply for jobs, attend parole appointments, or simply eat three meals a day. In rural areas, where public transportation and re-entry services are scarce, the challenge is just as severe. Many are released to shelters or unstable housing, with no phone, no ID, and no meaningful support.
The failure to invest in successful re-entry has fueled troubling patterns nationwide. While many states require individuals to complete programming prior to re-entry, there's often no continuity of care once they’re released. Job training doesn't translate into job placement. Mental health needs go unmet. Educational gains are not supported. And too often, parole supervision functions more like a surveillance system than a support system. As a result, some 60% of formerly incarcerated individuals remain unemployed a year after release. They face homelessness at around 10 times the rate of the general population and food insecurity at double the national average.
New research shows that direct cash assistance programs like the one proposed under S6222 are a cost-effective way to help ease these challenges.
In a recent nationwide study of the Returning Citizens Stimulus (RCS) program, run by the nonprofit Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), individuals across 28 cities received up to $2,750 over a 60-day period, tied to milestones like creating a résumé or securing housing. Participants saw reductions of 41% in parole violations and 64% in violent parole violations by the sixth month mark. More than 60% of participants used their funds for groceries, while 57% spent them on rent, transportation, or utilities.
These aren’t just numbers. They represent less crime, fewer victims, and fewer lives sent spiraling back into the criminal justice system. And while RCS payments lasted just two months, New York’s proposed program offers support for up to six months, offering even greater potential to help people stabilize.
Some critics argue that public funds shouldn’t support people who’ve broken the law. But New York taxpayers shoulder these costs in one way or another. Incarceration is among the most expensive interventions, at an annual cost of $115,000 per person for confinement in state prison. When we invest in successful re-entry, everyone wins. Preventing recidivism saves money by reducing parole and probation violations that account for more than a quarter of all prison admissions nationwide. This sort of re-entry support isn’t about handouts—it’s about empowering people to break free from a cycle that drains resources, and equipping them to begin positively contributing to their communities.
We already know what doesn’t work: releasing people from prison with almost nothing and punishing them when they struggle. S6222 demonstrates the value of a more holistic approach to re-entry that begins long before the prison gate and stretches well into the critical first year back in the community. This well-resourced and strategic process recognizes that re-entry must address not only employment and housing but also behavioral health, substance use treatment, education, financial literacy, and community reintegration. True re-entry is not transactional—it’s transformational. It includes building skills, healing trauma, repairing relationships, and providing access to supportive services that allow returning citizens to thrive, not just survive.
The findings from the CEO Works study show that re-entry assistance can be a promising first step to improving outcomes. New York has the opportunity to be a national leader by translating this evidence into policy through S6222. We can make the re-entry process more humane and cost-effective, while improving public safety for all.
In my years working behind prison walls, I saw countless people who had embraced the hard work of personal change, only to face insurmountable odds once released. This bill won’t solve every challenge, but it will provide a crucial bridge from incarceration to independence.
We owe it to those returning home—and to the public at large—to make that bridge as strong as possible.
_______________
Cheryl Morris, Deputy Superintendent (Ret.) began her law enforcement career in 1992 with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Later on, Morris was then promoted to Deputy Superintendent of Program Services at Eastern Correctional Facility in Napanoch, New York, where she supervised approximately 450 employees, 150 volunteers, and 930 justice-impacted individuals. Ms. Morris is currently the CEO of a Criminal Justice Consulting firm, CVM-Enterprises, LLC, and a speaker for the Law Enforcement Action Partnership