Most ex-offenders need help in making it on the outside. Entering the free world with only the clothes on their back, $10 to $200 in gate money, a few sketchy relationships, unstable housing and employment, most ex-offenders are unprepared for what comes next - costly housing, inconvenient transportation, lack of money and credit, a discriminatory job market, and highly digitized word requiring Internet access and skills. They face a variety of legal, financial, and social barriers to moving on with their lives. Saddled with questionable resumes and rap sheets, ex-offenders face numerous rejections that can lead to failed re-entry experiences. They urgently need helping hands to get them through their first 99 days of re-entry challenges. Helping hands are what this directory is all about. Designed to assist ex-offenders and re-entry professionals with critical transition decisions, it introduces users to a fascinating re-entry world focused on: Documentation, Housing, Employment, Transportation, Food and clothing, Health and wellness, Mental health, Substance abuse, Education, Parenting, Personal finances, Tattoo removal, Jam-packed with names, addresses, phone numbers, websites, and downloadable resources of key government agencies, nonprofit groups, and faith-based organizations, this is a "must have" directory for anyone involved with re-entry programs and resources as well as for those interested in developing their own "what works" programs. Special features include: 39 gateway websites focused on everything from housing to employment, 1,000+ re-entry assistance programs operating in each state, 50 free downloadable re-entry handbooks and curricula designed for use in 28 states and nationwide - worth thousands of dollars in development costs, 5-page, 13-category, 95-item checklist for re-entry preparation, 147-question re-entry success inventory and assessment, re-entry success commitment contract and goal setting forms Most important of all, this directory identifies major efforts at tackling one of today's most daunting problems - how to ensure the safe and productive integration of the more than 700,000 individuals who annually leave prisons, along with the nearly 12 million individuals who circulate in and out of jails and detention centers.

It goes a long way in revealing what is actually being done at the street level to better deal with recidivism and the collateral consequences of incarceration. Book jacket.