How Prisoner Reentry Programs Influence Reentering Citizens' Trust in Government

Abstract

This research provides insight into how reentering citizens reintegrate into society through prisoner reentry programs. Specifically, we examine the personal and economic benefits to reentering citizens and how these interventions impact their trust in government. Through a survey of participants in a South Carolina prisoner reentry program, we gained former inmates' perceptions of the programs' services on their social, economic, and political lives. We found that levels of trust in government were lower for all of the formerly incarcerated men. However, participants that were placed in governmental positions through the re-entry program recovered a substantial amount of trust in government compared to participants working in non-governmental positions or those who were unemployed.