Last week, I blogged about the issue of prisoner recidivism and re-entry. I shared data about the states with recidivism rates over 50% for male or female prisoners.

As promised, here is the available data about recidivism rates in other states. Please note that states define recidivism differently and measure it according to their own standards. Massachusetts is the only state where data is available that has a higher recidivism rate for female prisoners than for males. What accounts for this anomaly? I don’t have an answer but it would be interesting to do further investigation into this. 

Additionally, three states have particularly low recidivism rates (IA, PA, and WY).  Pennsylvania’s recidivism number does not count parole violators which I think would increase their rate to be sure.  However if I take the numbers at face value, it would be interesting to know what type of re-entry programs exist in Iowa, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.  We might all have a lot to learn from these states in terms of how to better support former prisoners. This article from the Fond du Lac Reporter offers an example of a local reentry program which seems to have it right. The key is for former prisoners to receive the support they need when they return to their communities and to build strong and positive relationships with good mentors.

No data could be located for the following states: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington