While much attention is paid to preparing for prison and resolving problems in prison, not much is spent on reentering society after a period of incarceration until it is too late. At the Zoukis Consulting Group, we know that our work is not done until our clients come home safe and reenter society as productive citizens. This is why we offer prisoner reentry programs to clients.
How Our Prisoner Reentry Programs Work
When a client hires us to help with their reentry needs, our team of experienced prison consultants starts by speaking with the client and their family to understand not only their immediate needs, but to understand their background, potential challenges, and personal objectives. Much like with prison preparation, each individual needs a customized program for reentry success.
Generally speaking, our prisoner reentry programs are fulfilled via letters, emails, and phone calls with incarcerated clients and their families. Through these communications, we understand their specific needs, create an action plan for success, and both coach our clients, as well as get directly involved in logistical matters. The big key here is that by talking through the incarcerated client’s reentry needs, we are able to help them flesh out a quality prisoner reentry plan. Our goal here is to raise potential issues and find solutions to them as much as it is to explain what is to come, where the trouble spots are likely to be, and calm anxiety and fear.
After we understand the client’s background and needs, our team goes to work — and works in conjunction with family members — to create a prisoner reentry program for success. Often this starts by focusing on maximizing halfway house and home confinement placement, but quickly turns to the big three: housing, employment, and support network creation. The biggest issues faced by most prisoners concern these three elements.
Housing
We start by speaking with the incarcerated client and their family to understand their financial resources and family circumstances. If the prisoner’s family is willing to allow the prisoner to move back home, then this part of the reentry program is solved. If not, our team will discuss options, search out appropriate housing, and even act as an in-between with the incarcerated client in securing specific housing. We can be however hands-on or hands-off as the client desires.
Employment
With housing in place, our team then discusses with the client their employment prospects. If they have employment already lined up, then this is easy. If not, our team can research local employment markets, help the client prepare for the line of work they’d like to pursue, assist the client in creating a resume, and even contact local employers (or even help the client to structure a new business — our Managing Director does, after all, have an MBA). One of the big benefits of hiring the Zoukis Consulting Group is our strength in strategic educational planning. Christopher Zoukis, ZCG Managing Director, is also the author of the Prison Education Guide. As such, he’s well aware of correspondence education programs that prisoners can enroll in to better prepare for employment after release from custody.
Support Network
An often overlooked area of prisoner reentry programs is creating a support network. Reentering society is challenging at best. Many released prisoners fail. But with appropriate housing, a good job, and a strong support network, it is possible for most, if not all, released prisoners to succeed.
Our support network creation service starts, as with all of our other consulting services, with fully understanding who our clients are and their needs. By understanding what brought the client to prison in the first place, and the issues they faced before prison and during imprisonment, we can help them to create a prisoner reentry program that addresses their specific needs. For example, many of our clients have suffered from substance abuse addictions. In such a case, we would assist the client in finding treatment (if they are so inclined), help them figure out a way to stay away from bad people, places, and things, and even search for positive influences for them to associate with (e.g., ministers, treatment providers, sports or recreation leagues, prisoner support or advocacy groups, etc.). The same process can be applied to many other issues (e.g., past sex offenses, mental health issues, underemployment, social issues, etc.).
Contending with Supervised Release
All federal prisoners are sentenced to a term of imprisonment followed by a term of supervised release. Supervised release is effectively a term of post-incarceration probation. During this period of supervision, those under supervision will be required to adhere to specific restrictions on their conduct and the directives of their supervised release officer. The issues that tend to come up while on supervised release concern conflicts with the supervised release officer, specialized treatment groups (e.g., drug treatment, sex offender treatment, etc.), and restrictions on daily life.
Any successful prisoner reentry program for federal prisoners needs to involve planning for supervised release and troubleshooting when issues present themselves. Our consulting approach is to first explain the basics of supervised release to clients and their families, discuss their standard and special conditions of supervised release, help them to plan and prepare for these restrictions and obligations, and to troubleshoot when issues arise.
While the basics of creating a prisoner reentry program are important and lay a foundation for release success (e.g., housing, employment, and support network), successfully completing the term of supervised release is also vital, as violations can, and do, result in supervised releasees being sent back to prison.
Before starting a term of supervised release, you need to speak with a prison consultant to understand what is to come, how to deal with it, and what to do if problems occur. At the Zoukis Consulting Group, we can help with all of these. In addition to this, when the time is right, we can also assist you in seeking early termination of supervised release.
Zoukis Consulting Group: The Team You Need
We at the Zoukiss Consulting Group have significant experience helping clients prepare for release, create intuitive and effective prisoner reentry programs, and solve issues as they present themselves. Our Managing Director, Christopher Zoukis, has helped dozens of prisoners successfully reenter society and not return to prison. In addition to this, Chris is also the author of the Federal Prison Handbook, the bestselling guidebook to Federal Bureau of Prisons policies and operations. When it comes to reentering society after a period of incarceration, whether after a short or long period, our team can help you navigate the rough waters and put this period of your life behind you.
Hire Us for Your Prisoner Reentry Program Needs
If you would like help creating a prisoner reentry program for yourself or an incarcerated loved one, please schedule an initial consultation with our team. Our team of highly experienced staff will take the time to understand your needs, help you create a plan for success, and help you resolve any issues that come up in the process. Preparing for release is just as important as preparing for prison. Hire us today to give yourself and your incarcerated loved one the best possible chance at success. You can also learn more information about our other prison consulting services and consulting fees.
Other Prisoner Reentry Programs Services
Halfway House Maximization: Zoukis Consulting Group will assist you in securing maximum halfway house time through a variety of means.
Home Confinement Maximization: Prisoners who are soon-to-be-released, or who are already in halfway houses, will often seek maximum home confinement, also known as house arrest as an alternative to remaining in the halfway house. ZCG can help you secure maximum home confinement placement.
Reentry Assistance: Reentering society can be a challenging and overwhelming time for inmates as they consider where they’re going to live and how they’re going to make a living, not to mention the other day-to-day realities of life after prison. ZCG can help.
Release Planning: There are many aspects to consider surrounding a release from prison. We can help you and your family put together a plan which outlines your needs and how to fulfill them.
Supervised Release Reductions: Following a term of federal imprisonment, most federal prisoners are required to spend a number of years on supervised release. The Zoukis Consulting Group can help seek a reduction in the term of supervised release.
Creating a Support Network: Many federal prisoners lack a healthy support network to rely on for when they are released. We can help inmates in creating a support network for use after they are released from prison.
Published May 11, 2021 by Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA | Last Updated by Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA on Jan 31, 2025 at 7:39 pm