Why an ID Card Is the First Domino

Of all the barriers researchers track in reentry, one of the most basic is also one of the most disruptive: not having a state-issued ID.

A Reason Foundation analysis found that in one 2019–20 period, 52% of people released in Hawaii left custody without an ID card. That single missing document creates a cascade: no ID typically means no bank account, no lease, no formal job offer, and in many states, real trouble even accessing routine healthcare or housing assistance.

The fix, on paper, sounds simple — issue people an ID before they walk out the door. In practice, it requires coordinating a Social Security card, often a birth certificate, and proof of address, frequently across two or three different agencies with two or three different processing timelines, before someone can even start the state ID application.

That's precisely the sequencing problem behind why order matters as much as intent when someone is trying to get their paperwork in place — Social Security card and birth certificate first, then state ID, then everything that ID unlocks after: bank account, direct deposit, most job applications, most housing applications.

It's a small piece of paper. It's also, functionally, the first domino in the whole chain.

Source: Reason Foundation, "From Prison to Paperwork: A 50-State Survey of Policies on Reentry Identification Documents," February 2026.