The Supervision to Aid Reentry (STAR) programme
| Published date | 01 June 2013 |
| Date | 01 June 2013 |
| Author | Caitlin J. Taylor |
| DOI | 10.1177/0264550513478319 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice
Probation Journal
The Supervision to
60(2) 119–135
ª The Author(s) 2013
Aid Reentry (STAR)
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DOI: 10.1177/0264550513478319
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Enhancing the
social capital of
ex-offenders
Caitlin J. Taylor
La Salle University, USA
Abstract
This article explores a central finding from a process evaluation of a federal reentry court
programme entitled the Supervision to Aid Reentry (STAR) programme in Philadelphia,
PA, USA. Using inductive and deductive analyses, results revealed that the STAR pro-
gramme helps participants build social capital by encouraging family involvement as wel
as the development of relationships among programme participants. Family involvement
and relationships among participants were found to offer participants social and emo-
tional support as well as access to felon-friendly employment opportunities.
Keywords
courts, desistance, probation, relationships, supervision
Introduction
With approximately 70,000 individuals exiting federal prison every year in the
United States and many cycling in and out of prison multiple times, there is a
pressing need for a comprehensive plan to help reintegrate offenders back into the
community (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2008). Recognizing the importance of
Corresponding Author:
Caitlin J. Taylor, Assistant Professor, La Salle University Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice,
1900 W. Olney Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19141, USA.
Email: taylorc@lasalle.edu
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Probation Journal 60(2)
ex-offender reintegration, the Federal Probation Office for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania, USA, initiated a pilot programme entitled the Supervision to Aid
Reentry (STAR) in 2007. STAR programme participants appear in court for a
biweekly reentry court session and have access to a variety of services intended
to support their successful return to the community.
As part of a long-term outcome evaluation, a process evaluation was first conducted
to investigate successful components of the STAR programme. In order to explore the
key processes involved in making the STAR programme successful, the analysis
balanced both inductive and deductive analytical techniques. An inductive approach
was used to identify key themes of the STAR programme that emerged during inter-
views with programme participants and court observations. The study also used a
deductive analytic strategy to assess whether the process goals explicated by the reen-
try court workgroup and within programme documents were being achieved in the
STAR programme based on observations and interviews with participants.
Although the wider investigation of the STAR programme revealed several
important processes that drive the reentry court’s success, this article will focus on
just one of the key processes uncovered by the analysis: the programme’s role in
helping participants build social capital. The current study found that the reentry
court helps ex-offenders build social capital by encouraging family involvement as
well as the development of relationships among programme participants. Including
such individuals in their social networks allows participants to benefit from the social
and emotional support of family members and other participants while also acces-
sing employment opportunities through these personal connections. Family mem-
bers and other ex-offenders appear to be valuable assets in securing gainful
employment for reentry court participants. Before exploring this finding in more
detail, this article will first provide a brief overview of the STAR programme and also
summarize previous research on the role of social capital as part of a successful
reentry process. The article will conclude with a discussion of the implications of this
finding for the STAR programme and other reentry programmes.
The STAR programme reentry court
In 2006, several criminal justice practitioners convened to develop a pilot reentry
court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which includes the City of Philadelphia
(the fifth largest city in the United States). The first reentry court session was launched
in September 2007 with twelve participants. By early 2011, there were over 125
current or former STAR programme participants split between two Philadelphia
reentry courts with two reentry court judges.
Those eligible for participation in the STAR programme have served a sentence in
federal prison and been recently released on probation (or ‘supervised release’) to
the Philadelphia area. Eligible participants are generally medium to high risk
offenders who were given split sentences, meaning that at the time of adjudication
for their offences, their original sentencing judge sentenced these individuals to a
certain number of years in prison and a certain number of years on probation fol-
lowing their release from prison.1 Individuals returning from federal prison to
Taylor
121
Philadelphia on probation were presented with the opportunity to voluntarily partic-
ipate in the reentry court. In addition to gaining access to a valuable array of services,
probationers have another incentive for participating in the STAR programme. If a
participant completes 52 successful weeks of supervision, the reentry court judge will
recommend to the original sentencing judge that the total term of the participant’s
supervised release be reduced by up to 12 months. Similar to the drug court model in
its tolerance of potential setbacks, these 52 weeks do not need to be consecutive. A
‘successful’ week is earned if the participant appears in court (or notifies the court
ahead of time of a valid reason for being absent) and continues to successfully follow
the terms of his or her probation. If an individual fails to appear for a court session,
gives a positive urinalysis test, or fails to fol ow the directions of the judge or probation
officer, he or she will not receive ‘credit’ for that particular week.
In addition to meeting the regular requirements of probation, STAR programme
participants must also appear for regular reentry court sessions. There is one pro-
bation officer for each court who is responsible for all individuals in that court. Each
court session is attended by all programme participants assigned to a particular
court day, the judge for that group, the probation officer for that group, an
administrative assistant, a representative from the Federal Public Defender’s Office,
an Assistant US Attorney and a reentry coordinator. The reentry coordinator is
responsible for partnering with various community organizations and businesses in
order to provide services to STAR programme participants in both courts as well as
helping participants to overcome a variety of obstacles to their successful reentry.
During a reentry court session, the judge calls each participant up to the front of the
court and asks the individual to discuss successes and obstacles encountered during
the process of reentry into the community. These successes and obstacles often include
issues related to employment, education, family, health and personal matters. The
judge praises individuals for successes and encourages individuals to continue with
their reintegration efforts. When an individual reports a certain obstacle to their
reentry (such as employment problems, ongoing substance abuse problems or other
legal problems), the judge may refer the individual to a particular service provider or
he may invite the reentry coordinator to suggest possible strategies for overcoming the
obstacle. Typically, the reentry coordinator and the participant wil converse further
fol owing the court session to plan a course of action for dealing with the obstacle.
When an individual voluntarily mentions a certain struggle to the judge, he or she
is openly requesting help in addressing the problem. Some participants are hesitant
to report any ongoing problems to the judge. In these circumstances, as a result of a
pre-court meeting, the judge has often already been informed of any significant
problems the participant is experiencing and can ask the individual about the issue.
In the hour prior to each reentry court session, the judge meets with the participants’
probation officer, the administrative assistant, the reentry coordinator and represen-
tatives from the Federal Defender’s Office and the US Attorney’s Office. During this
workgroup meeting in the judge’s chambers, the probation officer reviews the prog-
ress of each participant and identifies successes and problems that should be
addressed by the judge in open court. The workgroup often decide collaboratively
on the most appropriate response to a particular obstacle or success. Working with
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Probation Journal 60(2)
their probation officers and the reentry coordinator, programme participants can be
directed to a variety of appropriate services including education, vocational train-
ing and placement, mentoring, drug abuse treatment, counselling, mental and phys-
ical healthcare, legal services, and housing assistance.
As of February 2011, 48 reentry court participants have successfully completed
12 months and ‘graduated’ from the STAR programme. During the graduation
ceremony, motions to reduce the length of time on probation are presented to the
original sentencing judges. If the original sentencing judge is not available to attend
court, another federal judge will receive the motion. All STAR graduates have had
their motions signed by a judge and have received a reduced probation...
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