States have invested heavily in incarceration, compliance-based supervision and short-term transitional services. What remains underdeveloped and underfunded is the most consequential phase of reentry: the first year after release. When individuals return to the community without stable housing, consistent support or meaningful social connection, the outcomes are predictable.
In Tennessee, however, one long-running reentry model offers a blueprint that merits national attention. Men of Valor is a nonprofit organization that works with incarcerated men during imprisonment and through a structured 12-month aftercare program following release. For participants who complete the full aftercare phase, the organization reports recidivism rates far below state and national averages.
The program’s effectiveness is not driven by technology or novel assessment tools. Instead, it rests on three elements state systems consistently struggle to deliver at scale: continuity, duration and targeted post-release support.
Engagement begins inside prison through classes and mentoring prior to release. The critical transition occurs on release day, when participants move directly into a residential campus for approximately one year rather than returning to unstable housing.
During that time, they work full-time jobs, maintain sobriety, receive assistance resolving fines and child-support obligations, access health care, rebuild family relationships and develop daily routines necessary for long-term stability. The emphasis is sustained structure, not short-term compliance.
Research on reentry outcomes consistently identifies housing stability, employment continuity, and structured social support as key protective factors. Yet most state-funded reentry programs provide services for only weeks or a few months after release — often ending just as individuals begin to stabilize.
The Tennessee model highlights a structural mismatch: States fund incarceration continuously but limit aftercare to brief transitional windows. A full year of structured support allows time for habits to form, relationships to rebuild and setbacks to be addressed before they escalate into violations or new offenses.
The value of Tennessee’s experience lies not in the success of one organization but in the replicability of its framework. The core principles — early engagement before release, seamless transition into stable housing and extended aftercare — are evidence-based practices state governments can incentivize, contract for or integrate into existing systems.
For states seeking similar outcomes, four policy shifts stand out:
Fund reentry based on duration, not volume. Most state contracts reward providers for the number of individuals served rather than the length of engagement. Outcome-based contracting tied to six- to 12-month participation better aligns funding with risk periods.
Standardize prerelease coordination statewide. States can require uniform prerelease procedures — health-care activation, medication continuity and direct linkage to aftercare providers — implemented consistently across facilities.
Develop public-private reentry housing partnerships. Housing remains the single greatest barrier to reentry. States can repurpose underutilized facilities, leverage federal housing resources and provide capital support tied to performance outcomes.
Invest in community-based support roles. Adding supervision conditions alone does not reduce recidivism. Targeted investment in reentry case managers, employment navigators and peer mentors addresses instability that supervision alone cannot resolve.
Tennessee’s experience underscores a broader lesson for policymakers: Recidivism is shaped less by ideology than by infrastructure. The front end of the justice system — policing, prosecution, sentencing and incarceration — receives sustained investment. Long-term reentry remains the least developed and least funded component, despite its outsized impact on public safety.
States that invest in structured, yearlong aftercare can reduce correctional spending, lower crime, stabilize families and strengthen local labor markets. Programs like Men of Valor demonstrate what is possible when the transition from prison to community is treated as a process rather than an administrative event.
Brandon Burley, a retired police detective, is a criminal justice educator and host of the podcast series The Redemption Project.
Governing's opinion columns reflect the views of their authors and not necessarily those of Governing's editors or management.
Related Articles
