Ex-Prisoners' Dilemma

PROJECT SUMMARY FOR 2003-IJ-CX-1005 The proposed study will explore how female ex-offenders' re-entry into the community is managed, not only by themselves but is also by their private and public social relationships. Subjects will be recently released ex-offenders who live in facilities run by a Chicago program that helps women out of prostitution. The primary goal of the study is to learn about the social lives of the ex-offenders and how their release from prison affects and is affected by their relationships with employers or potential employers, landlords, friends and family, aquaintances, criminal justice officials, and the general public. The study will identify which relationships are necessary, which are sufficient, and which are helpful but not necessary and also aims to examine the impact of geographical neighborhood. The study will focus on women who have served at least one prison sentence and who are residents of one of two facilities run by Genesis House, an organization that offers crisis and residential services (including group and individual counseling and case management) to adult women " caught in the system of prostitutions." Ca/ncf