Being Honest About What Doesn't Always Work

It would be easy to only write about the studies that show positive results. We'd rather be straight with you about the ones that don't, because overselling this space doesn't help anyone make better decisions.

One well-known example: an evaluation of the STRIVE employment-focused reentry program compared outcomes for participants against a control group across employment, housing stability, and recidivism. The comparisons weren't statistically significant — meaning the program, as studied, didn't show a measurable effect on any of the three outcomes. Researchers involved in the review called the result both surprising and disappointing, and used it to argue for more research into what actually makes employment-focused programming work, rather than assuming any program with the right label will succeed.

Housing-centered reentry programs tell a more mixed story too — some counties that built dedicated housing case management, self-sufficiency planning, and landlord coordination saw better outcomes; the research base is thinner than for court or appointment reminders, and results vary more by how the program was actually run.

None of this means reentry programming doesn't work — plenty of the research we've covered here shows real, measurable effects. It means the specific design matters enormously, and anyone promising a guaranteed fix, including us, should be treated with some skepticism.

Sources: UNC Collateral Justice Initiative research summary, 2022; Farabee et al., 2014.