When the gates open: Ready4Work: a national response to the prisoner reentry crisis

Launched in 2003, Ready4Work is a national US demonstration project that puts into practice current 'best thinking' by both government and the private sector on how to reduce recidivism. The initiative brings together a range of partners that have rarely collaborated in the past: the business sector, which is providing the returnees with jobs; the criminal justice system; and faith-based and community-based social service providers. This report briefly outlines the scope of the recidivism problem and the rationale behind the Ready4Work initiative. It then describes in some detail the beginnings of the program, including the orientation of its major partners and how they came together. The report also examines the start-up and implementation of the program and provides a brief overview of promising practices that have begun to emerge from Ready4Work. The concluding section focuses on future directions, taking into consideration the outcomes that Ready4Work is beginning to produce and the program's role in influencing future re-entry initiatives. Show less