Incarceration adds to the discrimination a person in recovery must face, but officials in Philadelphia have been working over the last two years to combat the problem of reentry so that ex-offenders have the opportunity to rebuild their lives and function positively in their communities.

In March of 2002, various community leaders from public and private organizations convened in Philadelphia to address issues hindering the successful reintegration into society of ex-offenders leaving the Philadelphia Prison System, forming the Philadelphia Consensus Group on Reentry & Reintegration of Adjudicated Offenders.

The group -- comprised of such a wide range of members such as the district attorney, chief public defender, police commissioner, and ex-prisoner groups -- agreed that its goal is to reduce recidivism by rededicating Philadelphia to the development of competencies necessary for successful reintegration of offenders into the community. In February of 2003, the Consensus Group released a report containing 29 recommendations for action to combat the recidivism rate, estimating that two-thirds of those released from prison will return within three years.

Former Philadelphia mayor W. Wilson Goode, Sr. invited the Washington, D.C.-based conflict resolution organization, Search for Common Ground, to initiate this consensus process among the diverse members of the group. In a Search for Common Ground news release on February 12, 2003, Dr. Goode explained that, "By using a consensus process, all of the key stakeholders were at the table as equals, from high officials to ex-offenders."

The group agreed on the need to remove legal and administrative barriers to enhance the participation in society of ex-offenders with a dual approach combining community outreach and policy initiatives, citing over 60 hindrances to a successful return to society, including drug addiction, unemployment, and homelessness.

In March of this year, the Consensus Group published the second edition of its report, "They're Coming Back: An Action Plan for Successful Reintegration of Offenders that Works for Everyone." The report highlights the group's new initiatives, the Ready4Work Program and JOBS Project, and its outstanding accomplishments in the past year.

As a result of the Consensus Group's efforts in community involvement, Philadelphia has been selected as one of 17 sites in a national reentry workforce development initiative, Ready4Work, organized as part of President George W. Bush's $22.5 million Faith-Based Initiative.

Ready4Work advocates a holistic approach to case management. The initiative's website explains that all case plans include mandatory acknowledgment of substance use disorders, health, housing, employment, education, and community issues, among others.

The Department of Labor awarded a $1.05 million, three-year grant to seven organizations involved in the Consensus Group in the effort to help ex-offenders find jobs, housing, and other reentry assistance, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported on March 27.

One of the groups benefiting from the grant is the secular Pennsylvania Prison Society, which offers, among many services to the incarcerated and their families, a Reentry Services program that includes life skills workshops, employment assistance, case management and mentoring.

Another beneficiary is REST Philly, a post-release ministering group, which has since collaborated with the Philadelphia Defenders' Association to allow REST to serve as an early release program for the incarcerated.

The Defenders' Association -- whose director of Alternative Sentencing, Byron Cotter, is a member of the Consensus Group -- is funded by the Coordinating Office for Drug and Alcohol Abuse Programs of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (CODAAP), and refers offenders to the Forensic Intensive Recovery (FIR) program. FIR is a community-based prison deferral initiative that offers offenders treatment instead of incarceration if they are determined eligible after evaluation by the Clinical Evaluation Unit, run by the Philadelphia Health Management Corporation.

Among the Consensus Group's other accomplishments is Community Legal Services' filing of a joint amicus curiae brief against post-incarceration sanctions, including the ban on food stamps, cash assistance, and TANF for people convicted of drug crimes.

Ray Jones of IMPACT Services, a faith-based organization, stated in the group's 2004 report that, "There is no question that the atmosphere has changed around ... reentry in Philadelphia. We are slowly moving towards a more collaborative effort."

The optimistic executive director of REST Philly, Dr. Rick McKinney, said, "I really believe that, when you look at Philadelphia five years down the line, you're going to see a lowered recidivism rate, and that you'll be able to point back to a time and place in this consensus process when that began."