Re-entry
Meeting Trauma With Trauma-Informed Care, on Both Sides
Re-entry work sits at an intersection few other fields do: the people coming home from incarceration are carrying significant trauma, and so, often, are the case managers, coordinators, and support staff trying to help them rebuild a life. Serving this population well means understanding both halves of that equation.
On one side, the numbers on what people bring with them into re-entry are hard to look away from. Research reviewing incarcerated populations found that 86% report traumatic experiences before incarceration, 70% experienced a traumatic event within the year leading up to it, and 89% report being victimized by or witnessing violence while incarcerated. For justice-involved youth specifically, 86% report at least one childhood traumatic event, and they are 12 times more likely to have significant adverse childhood experiences than their peers. A re-entry program that ignores this reality isn't just missing context — it's missing the actual cause of many of the behaviors it's trying to change.
The good news: trauma-informed approaches measurably work. In one study, participants who received trauma-focused treatment (EMDR paired with a "Seeking Safety" program) reoffended at roughly 10%, compared to about 38% in a non-treatment comparison group — and those who did reoffend took twice as long to do so. The economics are just as compelling: for every $526 spent on this kind of treatment, an estimated $18,404 is saved in reduced offending.
None of that happens without staff who can sustain the work. Case managers and re-entry coordinators face the same secondary trauma exposure documented across social services. One study found roughly a third of workers showing signs of vicarious trauma, and half saying they'd seriously considered leaving their organization. Programs that build trauma-informed, mind-body practice into staff support (not just client-facing programming) see the payoff twice over: staff who last longer in the work, and returning citizens who get consistent, regulated support instead of a revolving door of new caseworkers.