Inmates’ re-entry into society getting Koch network help

A new project funded by the network aligned with billionaire industrialist Charles Koch is tracking 1,100 inmates in four states after they are released from prison starting Aug. 1 to help them re-integrate into society.

Through the project, called Safe Streets and Second Chances, a team of researchers from Florida State University will evaluate former inmates for 15 months after their release — a volatile period in which many are arrested again. The project is in its $4 million pilot phase, as researchers prepare to test the effectiveness of a new re-entry model that focuses on individualized plans to help inmates find healthy coping and thinking patterns, the right employment opportunities and positive social engagement.

For the past six months, the researchers have been interviewing the men and women in the program, who are currently housed in 48 prisons in rural and urban areas in Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

They will present the early findings today in Colorado, at the twice-annual meeting of the network’s largest donors.

Overhauling the criminal justice system is one of the top priorities of the network, which leans libertarian with a small-government, free-market agenda.

The network is advocating for a shift in the criminal justice system to prioritizing rehabilitation and reducing recidivism, rather than punishment. For years, the network has pushed for bipartisan support for overhauling the criminal justice system. It has teamed up with Van Jones — a former official in President Barack Obama’s administration and a CNN political commentator — for the cause.

Among their efforts, Koch network leaders have pushed to roll back mandatory minimum sentencing laws and stiffen the burden of proof for the government to put people in prison. They support the First Step Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at lowering the recidivism rate by funding educational and vocational training, metal health treatment and rehabilitation programs for inmates. The measure passed the House on a 360-59 vote, but its fate remains uncertain in the Senate.

“Rehabilitation programs are so important for people who are in the federal prison systems, to come out of prison less troubled, less traumatized, more skilled, educated and able to successfully reintegrate into society so they don’t go back to prison,” said Mark Holden, general counsel and senior vice president of Koch Industries who was once a correctional officer.

With the research conducted through Safe Streets and Second Chances, network officials say they want to transform the way re-entry programs are run in communities across the country.

“What we’re trying to do is to prepare prisoners to re-enter society and become productive members and taxpaying citizens, hopefully living productive lives and taking care of their families,” said Doug Deason, a Dallas businessman and Koch network donor who is on the advisory council of Safe Streets and Second Chances.

After interviewing the inmates preparing for release, researchers found these prisoners overwhelmingly felt optimistic about their chances of rehabilitation in life outside prison, but generally had high levels of trauma. Nearly 70 percent of people in the program reported seeing someone seriously injured or killed. Half the inmates had seen or handled dead bodies — more than a dozen times for some male prisoners.

The majority of them reported having a close friend or family member who was murdered, and 58 percent reported having a drug use disorder.