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57 J. Offender Rehab. 1 (2018)

handle is hein.journals/wjor57 and id is 1 raw text is: JOURNAL OF OFFENDER REHABILITATION 2018, VOL. 57, NO. 1, 1-21 Routledge https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2017.1416439 Taylor& Francis Group Reversing the trend: The role of mentoring in offender reentry Melissa J. Stacer and Melinda R. Roberts Criminal Justice Department, University of Southern Indiana, Evansville, Indiana, USA ABSTRACT KEYWORDS Faith-based programs are becoming more common in Faith-based; mentoring; corrections, with most research examining offenders. Little offenders; reentry; religion attention has been paid to volunteers who work with offenders within these programs. In this project, 40 mentors who volunteered with a faith-based diversion and reentry program in southwestern Indiana were interviewed. Mentors revealed strong desires to help others, with religiosity driving their motivation to work with ex-offenders. Based on their mentoring experiences, mentors stated they were more sympathetic and their perspectives of ex-offenders and the conditions leading to crime had changed, including an increased awareness of problems related to reentry like housing, employment needs, and substance abuse. With the sheer number of offenders reentering U.S. communities from various correctional sanctions, more attention has been given to issues surrounding reentry. Numerous and diverse programs addressing reentry have emerged over the last several decades. President George W. Bush was the first president to mention reentry in his 2004 State of the Union address, culminating in the passage of the Second Chance Act signed into law in March 2008 (Clear & Frost, 2014). Faith-based programs have even received federal support from the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (formerly the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives). Faith-based programming and mentoring programs are increasingly acknowledged as important for rehabilitation within the correctional system (Akers, Lane, & Lanza-Kaduce, 2008; Connelly, 1995). Given the high cost of corrections and correctional programs, volunteer-based programs through religious organizations are viewed as viable alternatives (Chui & Cheng, 2013; Connelly, 1995). Chui and Cheng (2013) found in their study that a major motivation for those who volunteer with offenders is a desire to share their faith. Coupled with the idea that volunteers are given little training on working with offenders (Tewksbury & Collins, 2005) and concerns about volunteers proselytizing to inmates CONTACT Melissa J. Stacer 0 mjstacer@usi.edu Criminal Justice Department, University of Southern Indiana, 8600 University Blvd., Evansville, IN 47712, USA. 0 2018 Taylor & Francis

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