Growing Recidivism Rates Makes Successful Prisoner Reentry Programs Critical

BALTIMORE, MD--(Marketwire - December 20, 2007) - Social Solutions, nationally recognized for empowering human service providers and the organizations that fund them to strategically tie their efforts to measurable outcomes, will host a live Webinar to address the keys to delivering effective prisoner reentry programs to increase success and help diminish recidivism rates.

The cost of incarceration has surged to unprecedented amounts and recidivism is an often overlooked problem. An average of 650,000 prisoners are released from state and federal prisons each year. With a recidivism rate of 44 percent, a staggering number of released prisoners are likely to be repeat offenders. Governments and organizations nationwide are working to more effectively reintegrate former offenders into the community.

"Released prisoners face a multitude of obstacles upon returning to their communities, including joblessness, substance abuse, mental health problems, and a disconnect from their community and family," said Richard Morales, President of Pinnacle Resources LLC, a consulting and management firm that specializes in training and education work force development programs for youth and adults. "Statistics show that two out of three inmates are re-arrested for new crimes within three years of their release and more than half are re-incarcerated. The mission to provide effective programming that gives released prisoners the critical tools and guidance needed for successful reintegration into society could not be more clear."

Reentry programs assist released prisoners by providing life skills, vocational training, substance abuse treatment, as well as other support to help offenders make a seamless transition into society. In addition to being a priority of the White House, the Department of Justice and the Department of Labor, prisoner reentry issues have also struck a chord with many state governments and nonprofits nationwide, who are taking steps to improve the chance of a successful transition back to society and better the lives of offenders and the communities they join.

During the December 20 Webinars, to be held from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. and 3-4 p.m. (EST), Richard Morales of Pinnacle and Estela Padilla of the Latino Coalition, a Prisoner Reentry Initiative National Intermediary recently highlighted at the White House Summit on Prisoner Reentry, will present the keys for successful reentry programming including defining processes that work for reentry initiatives, intermediary performance management, and utilizing performance tracking software.

"The efforts made by the Latino Coalition and Pinnacle in improving the lives of those returning to their communities is remarkable," said Kate Robinson, director of advocacy, Social Solutions. "We look forward to a compelling discussion on what has proven to be a significant topic that crosses a myriad of industries."

Persons interested in participating in the Webinar can register at http://www.socialsolutions.com/NewsandEvents/Webinars/ReentrySuccessEffectiveModelandPractices/tabid/254/Default.aspx.

About Social Solutions and ETO Software®

Social Solutions challenges and equips human service providers and their funders to turn good intent into measurable change by relating efforts to outcomes. The company's ETO (Efforts to Outcomes) reporting software replaces one-size-fits-all data tracking with a reporting system tailored to the unique mission of each nonprofit organization. ETO Software® generates a clear and accurate measure of impact to improve service delivery, earn more funding, and reduce the time and resources dedicated to tracking performance.

Contact Information: Media Contacts: Matthew Langan DBC Public Relations (202) 292-4563 matthew@dbcpr.com