Rebuilding Lives. Strengthening Communities.

Expand capacity and number of Adult Transition Centers for a more
gradual transition from prison to the community.
Recommendation
Issue
For most prisoners, the transition from prison back to
their communities is a stressful and complicated time,
filled with questions, concerns and unknowns.
With even the best pre-release programming, many
prisoners may not be mentally, emotionally or logistically
prepared for their discharge. The Illinois Department of
Corrections (IDOC) has created Adult Transition Centers
(ATCs) to provide selected prisoners with structured
supervision in a community setting for a more gradual
transition back into society. Formerly known as
Community Corrections Centers or Work Release Centers,
the ATCs allow incarcerated individuals to spend the last
months of their sentence residing in or near their home
community. They have been successful in helping prisoners
reconnect with family, prepare for the rigors of employment,
and generally readjust to the social and cultural
mores of life outside prison. 30
IDOC operates eight ATCs throughout the state, three of
which are located in Chicago. 31 Only one of these eight
centers houses female prisoners. All combined, they are
designed to house approximately 1,500 prisoners, who
must work or go to school and return to the ATC when
not participating in an approved community activity.
Prisoners who are within two years of release and
classified as minimum security may apply for transfer to
an ATC, and IDOC is extremely selective about who is
approved. The population at ATCs has increased 22 percent
in recent years from 1,360 in 1999 to 1,658 in 2001. 32
Despite this increase, only three percent of all Illinois prisoners
are transferred to Adult Transition Centers.
Prisoners at ATCs are expected to spend at least 35 hours
a week involved in constructive activity, including
employment, vocational training, life skills, alcohol and
drug counseling and public service work. These individuals
are expected to contribute 20–30 percent of their
income to offset the facilities’ operation costs, and are
required to save a portion of their earnings. This financial
involvement helps prisoners develop a sense of personal
responsibility and competency. Those individuals unwilling
or unable to live up to the requirements of the ATC are
returned to prison to serve out the remainder of their
sentence.
Unfortunately, even with highly restrictive requirements
for participation, these ATCs operate beyond full capacity,
and can only accommodate and assist a small portion of
the prison population to gradually transition back into
their communities.
MAYORAL POLICY CAUCUS ON PRISONER REENTRY
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