LANSING—This year, Michigan’s prison recidivism rate, or the number of people leaving prison and then returning, is the lowest on record, with nearly 80% of ex-inmates staying out of prison three years after their parole.
Multiple factors contribute to the drop in the recidivism rate, including education programs, job placement assistance, housing and recovery resources, and ensuring that releasees have access to official documents like a valid state ID, said Heidi Washington, the director of the Department of Corrections.
“It’s not just one thing, it’s really a strategy across all areas of the department to be intentional about what we’re doing,” Washington said.
Through investing in re-entry programs, the department has made it a priority to give outgoing prisoners access to vital documents through a partnership with the Secretary of State’s office, she said.
Today, 99% of inmates leave with a state identification card or driver’s license, which is critical for success in society, she said.
Releasing people without such documents contributes to them ending up back in prison, Washington said.
“You can’t go out there and get a job, you can’t get an apartment, you can’t really do anything without identification,” she said.
The partnership between the Department of Corrections and Secretary of State is ideal, as access to identification documents is the most important aspect of re-entry, said Hakim Crampton, the government relations liaison for Citizens for Prison Reform, a nonprofit organization.
However, some people slip through the system and are released without essential documents, he said.
“The idea is absolutely phenomenal,” he said. “The program has been working quite well, but there are a lot of things missing from it because, unfortunately, the program is not necessarily able to provide every single person who is getting released with those documents.”
He said that happens because of how the department prioritizes obtaining the documentation.
Getting documents for those with shorter sentences is a priority over those serving longer sentences.
However, sometimes those serving longer sentences get out earlier than expected, which creates a last-minute scramble to get documents, Crampton said.
“Not everyone who is sentenced to 30 years is going to end up doing their 30-year sentence,” he said. “When that occurs, the Corrections Department is not able to account for that because they don’t have that consideration as a priority.”
Another issue arises when someone in a Michigan prison is transferred to a prison in another state, he said.
“When they get released from there, that state doesn’t have the partnership with the department and the Secretary of State,” Crampton said. “So, then they get released and return back home to Michigan, and they have to start from scratch.”
If a releasee doesn’t have family members or loved ones holding onto their documentation for when they get out, it creates serious challenges, he said.
Crampton said a potential solution to the problem is getting all inmates identification materials as soon as they go to prison and storing the documents in their files so they’re already there when they’re released.
Replacing the department’s inmate ID with an inmate’s actual state ID is another way to keep identification materials with them throughout their incarceration and upon their release, he said.
Crampton said there is still work to be done to fix the system and remedy the “antiquated idea that once you get released, it’s all on you now.”
He said the state is not at 100% in making sure released prisoners have vital documents.
“We’re out here in the community doing this work,” he said. “I’m still encountering people who are getting released without their documents.”
