This report — a detailed how-to guide for improving release planning procedures — spells out the eight basic needs of all exiting prisoners and identifies some of the main challenges that correction agencies face in addressing each need. Even more, it gives readers specific recommendations for satisfying each exit-day essential to ensure that an individual’s transition from incarceration goes as smoothly as possible.
Release planning, at a bare minimum, should include: 1) assessing each inmate’s unique release needs; and 2) a written discharge plan. While 70% of all correction agencies surveyed said that they conducted pre-release assessments, just 40% of these agencies reported offering a personalized, written discharge plan to all exiting inmates, according to the Urban Institute.
