Coordinating Community Development:
The Heart of the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative
Michigan’s approach to reduce crime by former prisoners who are re-entering society aligns three major
national paradigms on how to develop and fully implement a comprehensive model of prisoner transition
planning. As a result, the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative (MPRI) represents a synergistic model for
prisoner re-entry that is deeply influenced by the nation’s best thinkers on how to improve former
prisoners’ success. The MPRI Model:
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Begins with the three-phase re-entry approach of the Department of Justice’s Serious and Violent
Offender ReEntry Initiative (SVORI).
Further delineates the transition process by adding the seven decision points of the National
Institute of Corrections’ Transition from Prison to Community Initiative (TPCI) model.
Incorporated into its approach the policy statements and recommendations from the Report of the
ReEntry Policy Council that is coordinated by the Council of State Governments.
To develop the MPRI Model, Michigan had the tremendous benefit of technical assistance grants from the
National Governors Association (NGA) and the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) that provide
substantial resources for consultation, research, training, and technical assistance. As a result of grants
from NGA and the Hudson Webber Foundation in Detroit, the MPRI is also utilizing neighborhood level
parolee mapping conducted by the Urban Institute and Wayne State University as part of our intensive
strategic-planning process. As a result, the knowledge base created by the MPRI is unprecedented. (See
Side Bar1: “The Three Phase, Seven Decision Point MPRI Model”).
Michigan is showing early success in our crime fighting efforts due to the leadership provided from
Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and her Corrections Director, Patricia L. Caruso, an evidence based
policy framework, and the essential ingredient of strong and organized community buy in. Our work in
Michigan’s communities, fueled by a $2 million grant from the national, New Your based JEHT
Foundation is the heart of this growing movement that is in its fifth year of life. The challenge now is to
build on our initial results of a 6% reduction in return to prison of the former prisoners who re engaged in
the MPRI and to focus on statewide implementation on a scale of 11,000 prisoners per year transitioning
successfully from prison. Strong and sustained local capacity is the single most critical aspect of the
MPRI implementation process.
The VISION of the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative is that every inmate released from prison will
have the tools needed to succeed in the community. The MISSION of the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry
Initiative is to reduce crime by implementing a seamless plan of services and supervision developed with
each offender—delivered through state and local collaboration—from the time of their entry to prison
through their transition, reintegration, and aftercare in the community. The GOALS of the Michigan
Prisoner ReEntry Initiative are to:
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Promote public safety by reducing the threat of harm to persons and their property by released
offenders in the communities to which those offenders return.
Increase success rates of offenders who transition from prison by fostering effective risk
management and treatment programming, offender accountability, and community and victim
participation.
The plan for statewide implementation of the MPRI Model is structured using a pilot-testing approach
that is in its third round of expansion. Over a three-year period, the MPRI Model will be implemented
statewide. Initial funding recommended by the Governor and fully approved in bi-partisan legislative
effort led by conservative Senate leader, Alan Cropsey, the MPRI Model began with eight Pilot Sites in
2005. During fiscal year Fiscal Year 2007, another seven sites are now incorporating the lessons learned
from the first round of Pilot Sites for a total of 14 fully operational jurisdictions covering the territories to
which 85% of returning prisoners reside. During the third year, Fiscal Year 2008, the remainder of the
state will join the effort and the term “pilot sites” will be dropped. Pilot Sites are organized under three
key groups of stakeholders who have been instrumental to the wide range of activities needed for full
implementation of the MPRI Model.
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Local ReEntry Advisory Council: Advises, informs, and supports the implementation process
along the same lines as the statewide MRPI Advisory Council. These councils are created for the
purpose of building support for the local implementation of the MPRI Model and will work to
educate the community on how the initiative will create safer neighborhoods and better citizens.
Each Advisory Council may have as many as 150 members.
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Steering Team: Develops, oversees, and monitors the local implementation process and coordinates
local community involvement in the overall statewide MPRI development process. The Steering
Team is led by four co-chairs:
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The Warden of a local prison from where the inmates will be released when the MPRI Model is
fully implemented (MDOC, Correctional Facilities Administration).
A Parole Supervision Representative from the local MDOC Field Operations Administration
office.
Two Community Representatives drawn from the large number of local faith, human service,
and planning organizations who are critical to the local effort.
Each Steering Team includes representatives or service providers associated with the MPRI partner
government agencies representing the service modalities that must be included in successful re-entry
planning. These representatives are active on the Steering Team because of the strong mandate from
the Governor for multi-agency collaboration and participation as well as agency leaders encouraging
and empowering their active participation.
The four co-chairs of the Steering Team will work directly with the Community Coordinator who is
assigned to their jurisdiction and is typically housed in the local parole office. The Community
Coordinator is, in one sense, the “staff” the Steering Team under the guidance of the four co-chairs
during the six to nine month local development process when the community’s Comprehensive
ReEntry Plan is prepared for state funding. Once the plan is approved, the Community Coordinator
becomes a full time employee for the local administrative agency that manages MPRI funds granted
to the community by the Michigan Department of Corrections (See Side Bar2, “MPRI Local
Governance Structure”).
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Transition Team: Supports offenders in the transition planning process and guides the offender
from the institution back into the community through a case-management approach. The Transition
Teams are comprised of key local service providers, drawn from the membership of the Steering
Teams, whose major responsibilities include the local and essential input needed to develop and
implement the Transition Accountability Plans for the ReEntry, Community Supervision and
Discharge Phases of the MPRI Model. The Transition Team is led by the Field Operations
Administration parole representative—who also serves as one of the co-chairs of the Steering Team—
since the function of the parole officer is to work toward parolee success under a case-management
model. (The state is now piloting a new case-management process that is guided by Evidence-Based
Practices.)
The Pilot Site communities have become dedicated champions of improved prisoner re-entry that is
performance based and is resulting in less crime through determined and specific preparation for inmates
who transition back to their communities. In a time study conducted by the MDOC, the prisoners engaged
in the MPRI are returning to prison 6% less often, reassuring early results given that the full model is not
yet implemented (See Side Bar3, “MPRI Results to Date”). A collaborative process and impact evaluation
study funded by the JEHT Foundation and managed by Public Policy Associates is underway and will be
published in two years.
Local efforts at education, training, planning, and implementation need significant guidance and support
in order to build the capacity for system reform. Each Pilot Site utilizes their local Community
Coordinator to help the community effectively prepare for offender re-entry while MDOC is better
preparing inmates for release. Community convening and organizing elicits community buy-in and
investment, planning for sustainability, and ensuring quality results throughout the transition process.
The Community Coordinators receive training and technical support from the two non-governmental
partners in the MPRI, the Michigan Council and Crime and Delinquency (MCCD) and Public Policy
Associates (PPA) so that the coordinators are clear on how to manage the process based on the MPRI
Model. The four key ingredients for successful community organizing1 that the Community Coordinator
will assist with are:
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Capacity. Each Community Coordinator must have the capacity to work on prisoner re-entry.
Indicators of adequate capacity include experience, staff capacity, resources to apply to the work,
and relationships with key stakeholders.
Commitment. Each Community Coordinator must demonstrate a dedicated commitment to
prisoner re-entry. Additionally, the community must develop a commitment to prisoner re-entry.
The development of community commitment may be fostered by the Community Coordinator.
How is this level of interest perceived by other key community stakeholders?
Credibility. The Community Coordinator must demonstrate credibility within the community.
What is the demonstrated historic experience and credibility of the Community Coordinator in
playing a catalytic role?
Knowledge. What is the Community Coordinator’s understanding of prisoner re-entry and its
implications?
The Skills of Community Coordinators
It is through the Community Coordinator that the support from the JEHT Foundation will have
tremendous and long-lasting impact on the MPRI. Local community-development efforts to implement
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Adapted from The James Irvine Foundation, Community Catalyst.
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the MPRI Model throughout the state requires a precise and extensive set of skills that will be the
hallmarks of the Community Coordinators who will staff the local development process.
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Communication. The Community Coordinators have excellent communications (both written and
verbal) skills to facilitate connectedness among all implementation stakeholders. Communications
must be facilitated both from the local communities to the statewide MPRI managers and from MPRI
to the local communities.
Community convening. The Community Coordinators possess the skills to bring diverse
stakeholders together, build consensus around prisoner re-entry issues, and catalyze action and
leadership within communities toward transition planning.
Community organizing. Organizing within pilot communities involves training Steering Team
members and Transition Team members, facilitating ReEntry Advisory Council meetings, and
building partnerships among key stakeholder groups.
Brokering. When acting as a broker within communities, the Community Coordinators benefit from
maintaining a degree of neutrality to negotiate effectively through community conflict. Extensive
skills in brokering and fostering neutrality are a central requirement of a Community Coordinator.
Coordinating. The implementation planning associated with MPRI is challenging to coordinate.
Maintaining connectedness to community activities requires extensive coordination.
Systems building. Building systems and sheparding cross-systems change requires a complex set of
skills. The Community Coordinators have experience in building and managing system-wide change.
The Responsibilities of Community Coordinators
The involvement of Michigan’s communities in the MPRI revolves around three “focus areas” that are the
responsibility of the MPRI Community Coordinators who are funded at each of the 15 Pilot Sites under
the grant award from the JEHT Foundation. Each focus area involves a series of specific tasks that are
managed by the Coordinator on behalf of the local Steering Team.
The primary role of the MPRI Community Coordinator is to be the “point person” to coordinate
the community’s input so that the key local stakeholders have enhanced capability to adjust their
processes accordingly and have in place a communications system to make certain everyone is clear
about the process and has a voice in its development.
 Focus Area One: Coordination and communication regarding the evolving design of the MPRI
Model so that each of the seven primary decision points is deeply influenced by the community
perspective. The iterative process of refining the Model for local implementation requires open
communication and effective coordination to ensure that community input is captured, the community
has an accurate understanding of the Model, and expectations for implementation are clearly defined.
Task 1. The Community Coordinator is responsible for making certain the information from the
Transition Accountability Plan (TAP) is in the hands of the local MPRI Steering Team.
Task 2. The Community Coordinator is responsible for making certain that the Targeted or Earliest
Release Date and status of the offender’s movement to the facility nearest his or her city of return is
communicated to the local Steering Team by the local Field Operations staff.
Task 3. The Community Coordinator is responsible for ensuring that the local re-entry parole agent
coordinates the logistics for the interaction of the Transition Team and the local prison and for the
convening and facilitation of local Team meetings to develop the TAPs.
Task 4. Since the Community Coordinators is acting as staff for the local Steering Teams and their
ReEntry Councils as an employee of the local administrative agency. One of their many
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responsibilities is to coordinate the planning and implementation of the final iteration of the TAP that
will be the “hand off” of the parolee’s case to responsible parties in the community who will continue
providing services and guidance to the former prisoner.
Task 5. Committees will be formed to address these issues. Community representation on the MPRI
committees are coordinated by the Community Coordinator.
 Focus Area Two: Facilitation and coordination regarding the identification of: (1) community assets
that can be applied to improve parolee success, (2) policy and operational barriers among state and
local agencies, and (3) service gaps that can be filled with state, federal, and local funding.
Task 6. The community-assessment task of evaluating the assets, barriers, and gaps is organized by
the Community Coordinator. This process uses the Community ReEntry Assessment Tool developed
by the MPRI.
 Focus Area Three: The design and implementation by local Pilot Sites of Comprehensive ReEntry
Plans that provides the framework, rationale, and funding for improved policies, practices, and
programs whose success is being measured by fewer parolee returns to prison and the subsequent
reduction in crime. The Community Coordinator facilitates the local process and provides the staff
support needed to write the Comprehensive Plan.
Task 7. Coordinating the completion of the Comprehensive Community ReEntry Plans is the
responsibility of the Community Coordinator.
The conclusion in Michigan is that at the heart of the work that must be done to improve prisoner reentry, is community input and collaboration. Without local community involvement, the process would
be viewed as “top down” and undoubtedly miss the opportunities for local expertise and experience at the
ground level where service delivery must be focused. The community role in each of the seven decision
points is one of the hallmarks of the design and implementation process. The seven decision points affect
the policies and practices that apply to the offender transition process—each of which must be adapted as
a result of community input and involvement in the process. The affected policies and practices provide a
rich context for an examination of the community’s role in the MPRI and thus a guide to the work that
must be done to reduce crime, improve parolee success and guide toward the realization of our collective
vision: Every prisoner released to the community will have the tools needed for success.
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