The United States of America has the highest incarceration rate in the world and it also

incarcerates more of African descent than any other country (King, 2015). According to the U.S.
Department of Justice, over 48% of males confined in State prisons in the United States are
African American, keeping in mind that these same males are less than 6% of the United States
population. Out of the 7 million incarcerated in the United States, on probation or parole in 2010,
more than 4 in 10 can expect to return to within 3 years (Lee, 2012). States collectively spend
$52 billion a year on correction costs based on the cycle of repeated arrests and incarcerations
(Lee, 2012). The overall impact is immeasurable. The ex-offenders, their families, communities
suffer from the effects of the crime as well as the effects of an ill-equipped criminal justice
system that is unable to properly assist the offenders to re-enter society (Lee, 2012). Upon
release from prison, the individuals struggle to find employment, overcome addictions, and
criminal associations (Lee, 2012). Many ex-offenders re-offend due to lack of marketable skills,
few job prospects, and family pressures (Lee, 2012). Recidivism rates vary from state to state for
example Californias rate is about 60% compared to South Carolinas rate which is about 32%
(Lee, 2012). However many socioeconomic issues make the likelihood of recidivism pretty high
(Lee, 2012).
According to King, many human services agencies and professionals have ignored the
issues of incarcerated African American men. He further state that majority of social service and
mental health programs do not address the unique needs of inmates, former inmates, or their
families. There are not many schools of social work that offer courses or concentrations on social
work practice in correctional settings (King, 2015). There are many reasons to be concerned with
the impact of incarcerated African Americas. The United States spends nearly $20 billion per
year to incarcerate nearly 800,000 citizens; this could be spend to rebuild infrastructure, improve

education, and providing preventive health for individuals who cannot afford it on their own
(King, 2015). Next, the African American family will never be able to improve the environment
that nurtures, educates, and raises its children without the contributions of both African American
men and women (King, 2015).
According to Petersilia, what we are seeing today is that the past approach to dealing with
convicted criminals too costly and not only was the price too high, the benefits were too low.
Although Petersilia states that mass imprisonment has helped reduce crime rates, the effects have
been much smaller than reported. It is noted that offenders leaving prison now are more likely to
have fairly long criminal records, lengthy histories of alcohol and drug abuse, great periods of
unemployment and homelessness, and a physical or mental disability (Petersilia, 2011). One of
the methods used for re-entry into society is probation or parole. Some policies require that
inmates find employment as a condition of admission into pre-release or work release programs,
or parole (King, 2015). King states that such job requirement reduces the likelihood that the
inmates will gain access to early, and pre-release programs, and parole due to the fact that their
families are disproportionately poor and lack social networks, and resources to locate
employment.
I believe that recidivism of African American males is an issue that requires an
interdisciplinary approach. The two disciplines that I would use to possibly fix or resolve this
issue would be from a social science and socioeconomic perspective. They are many issues that
have been stated to occur within a prison system that was designed to punish, rehabilitate, and
deter individuals from committing more crimes. Due to the rate of re-offending this system is not
working. As stated previously majority of social service and mental health programs do not
address the unique needs of inmates, former inmates, or their families. There are not many

schools of social work that offer courses or concentrations on social work practice in correctional
settings (King, 2015). The first task at hand is to create curriculum that would create the gap of
the social work practice in the correctional setting. There would have to be more concentrations
on how to deal with individuals within the prison system. I believe understanding the individuals
within the system, the way that the prison system works, and the potential issues the individuals
are facing upon release are very important in order to be able to better assist them and prepare
them for re-entry into society. Most will need some form of life coaching to be able to deal with
re-emerging back into their family environment as well as society. They will need to learn coping
skills on how to deal with the pressures they will face once released from prison. Also, the
stigma of being incarcerated can potentially follow them for the rest of their lives so there needs
to be some type of programs that will help with employment. The individuals who choose to take
advantage of the various educational and vocational opportunities offered within the prison
system would need support and help on how to prepare for a job interview, how to create
resumes, cover letters, and how to follow up after the job interview has occurred. There would
need to be some type of partnership with businesses that would be willing to hire the individuals
once released from prison. If the persons background and criminal record prevents them from
getting job the educational and vocational programs are of no use if they cannot be given a
second chance. I also believe that once released the support should continue for a specified
amount of time and this along with the possible family support could be used to let them know
that help is available.

References
Petersilia, J. (2011). Beyond the Prison Bubble. National Institute of Justice, (268). Retrieved
April 1, 2016, from http://www.nij.gov/journals/268/pages/prison-bubble.aspx
Lee, T. (2012, June 9). Recidivism Hard To Shake For Ex-Offenders Returning Home To Dim
Prospects. Retrieved April 01, 2016, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/09/recidivism-harlem-convicts_n_1578935.html
King, A. E. (2015). African-American Males in Prison: Are they Doing Time or is the Time
Doing Them? The Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 20(4). Retrieved April 1, 2016, from
http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2092&context=jssw