The purpose of this study was to examine community attitudes towards ex-offenders released in San Bernardino under AB 109 on subjects that would likely impact the ex-offender reintegration process. Past research has shown that a community’s willingness to employ and offer social support to ex-offenders has a substantial impact on their probability of re-offense. This study focused on individuals whose roles in the community give them greater influence over ex-offenders. A total of 11 community members participated in this qualitative study. Of the 11 respondents, 4 were employers, 4 were social service workers, and 3 were community center workers. Respondents participated in verbal interviews that explored their prior knowledge of AB 109, past interactions with ex-offenders, and their views related to ex-offenders on community safety, reform, employment, social support, and the severity of an offender’s crime. Unanimous agreement that ex-offenders should be able to compete for employment provided they have job skills, but varying levels of willingness to hire or work alongside ex-offenders was the study’s most substantial finding. All respondents also reported having at least 1 prior relationship with an ex-offender. Community members also expressed varying opinions on the impact ex-offenders have on safety, but unanimously agreed that they need social support after release. These findings indicate that San Bernardino community members have high levels of familiarity with ex-offenders and believe they iv should have a chance to become productive members of society, but that many community members want to avoid personally interacting with ex-offenders due to safety concerns.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to examine community attitudes towards ex-offenders released in San Bernardino under AB 109 on subjects that would likely impact the ex-offender reintegration process. Past research has shown that a community’s willingness to employ and offer social support to ex-offenders has a substantial impact on their probability of re-offense. This study focused on individuals whose roles in the community give them greater influence over ex-offenders. A total of 11 community members participated in this qualitative study. Of the 11 respondents, 4 were employers, 4 were social service workers, and 3 were community center workers. Respondents participated in verbal interviews that explored their prior knowledge of AB 109, past interactions with ex-offenders, and their views related to ex-offenders on community safety, reform, employment, social support, and the severity of an offender’s crime. Unanimous agreement that ex-offenders should be able to compete for employment provided they have job skills, but varying levels of willingness to hire or work alongside ex-offenders was the study’s most substantial finding. All respondents also reported having at least 1 prior relationship with an ex-offender. Community members also expressed varying opinions on the impact ex-offenders have on safety, but unanimously agreed that they need social support after release. These findings indicate that San Bernardino community members have high levels of familiarity with ex-offenders and believe they iv should have a chance to become productive members of society, but that many community members want to avoid personally interacting with ex-offenders due to safety concerns.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Herrera, Mari Lily","McGiffen, Matthew Erik"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Social Work","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"School of Social Work","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Davis, Tom Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:52:45Z","subjects":["reentry","stigma","offenders","employment","community","recidivism","Social Work"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/157","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Davis, Tom Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Herrera, Mari Lily","McGiffen, Matthew Erik"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-05-21T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Social Work"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Social Work"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["reentry","stigma","offenders","employment","community","recidivism","Social Work"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/157"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to examine community attitudes towards ex-offenders released in San Bernardino under AB 109 on subjects that would likely impact the ex-offender reintegration process. Past research has shown that a community’s willingness to employ and offer social support to ex-offenders has a substantial impact on their probability of re-offense. This study focused on individuals whose roles in the community give them greater influence over ex-offenders. A total of 11 community members participated in this qualitative study. Of the 11 respondents, 4 were employers, 4 were social service workers, and 3 were community center workers. Respondents participated in verbal interviews that explored their prior knowledge of AB 109, past interactions with ex-offenders, and their views related to ex-offenders on community safety, reform, employment, social support, and the severity of an offender’s crime. Unanimous agreement that ex-offenders should be able to compete for employment provided they have job skills, but varying levels of willingness to hire or work alongside ex-offenders was the study’s most substantial finding. All respondents also reported having at least 1 prior relationship with an ex-offender. Community members also expressed varying opinions on the impact ex-offenders have on safety, but unanimously agreed that they need social support after release. These findings indicate that San Bernardino community members have high levels of familiarity with ex-offenders and believe they iv should have a chance to become productive members of society, but that many community members want to avoid personally interacting with ex-offenders due to safety concerns.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Community Attitudes Toward Early-Release Offenders Under AB 109"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Davis, Tom Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Herrera, Mari Lily","McGiffen, Matthew Erik"],"dc:date.available":["2015-05-21T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to examine community attitudes towards ex-offenders released in San Bernardino under AB 109 on subjects that would likely impact the ex-offender reintegration process. Past research has shown that a community’s willingness to employ and offer social support to ex-offenders has a substantial impact on their probability of re-offense. This study focused on individuals whose roles in the community give them greater influence over ex-offenders. A total of 11 community members participated in this qualitative study. Of the 11 respondents, 4 were employers, 4 were social service workers, and 3 were community center workers. Respondents participated in verbal interviews that explored their prior knowledge of AB 109, past interactions with ex-offenders, and their views related to ex-offenders on community safety, reform, employment, social support, and the severity of an offender’s crime. Unanimous agreement that ex-offenders should be able to compete for employment provided they have job skills, but varying levels of willingness to hire or work alongside ex-offenders was the study’s most substantial finding. All respondents also reported having at least 1 prior relationship with an ex-offender. Community members also expressed varying opinions on the impact ex-offenders have on safety, but unanimously agreed that they need social support after release. These findings indicate that San Bernardino community members have high levels of familiarity with ex-offenders and believe they iv should have a chance to become productive members of society, but that many community members want to avoid personally interacting with ex-offenders due to safety concerns.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/157"],"dc:subject":["reentry","stigma","offenders","employment","community","recidivism","Social Work"],"dc:title":["Community Attitudes Toward Early-Release Offenders Under AB 109"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Social Work"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Social Work"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:52:45Z"}