Reentry roadblocks: investigating the unique reintegration challenges of rural offenders

The reintegration process for inmates entails multifaceted challenges, with rural offenders experiencing even more unique obstacles. Factors such as limited employment opportunities, housing options, reliable transportation and prevalent substance use issues are significant obstacles that rural ex-offenders must navigate during reintegration. These challenges are only multiplied given the geographical location where rural ex-offenders will reintegrate (Garland et al., 2011; Harley & Dunkley, 2018). Compared to their urban counterparts, rural ex-offenders may experience lower wages, little to no drug treatment programs, or the inability to reach mental health services within their rural setting (Chan et al., 2016; Mohatt et al., 2005). Despite these significant obstacles, research on rural populations has fallen short as most scholarship has focused exclusively on urban settings (Rao et al., 2021; Ruddell & Mays, 2007). This thesis aims to fill that gap by analyzing the influence of sex on substance use and reintegration factors in hopes of addressing the critical need to develop effective and tailored programs for the needs of rural inmate populations.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Author dc:creator

• Zaragoza, Brenda

Contributors dc:contributor

• Crittenden, Courtney A.
• Dierenfeldt, Rick; Policastro, Christina N.
• College of Arts and Sciences

• Ex-convicts--Social conditions
• Ex-convicts--Rehabilitation
• Ex-convicts--Substance use

Licence

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English, eng

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/959

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-2138