ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND PRISONER RE-ENTRY: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CONCEPT

In 1992, this author proposed that small business and entrepreneurial training programs for soon-to-be-released inmates and for recently-released ex-convicts might increase their opportunities for self-employment and therefore reduce their rate of recidivism (Sonfield, 1992). Although this was not an original idea, at that time this idea was largely conceptual. This paper reviews the development of this concept since 1992 and then presents the current situation. Political values and public opinion have changed over the past fifteen years, and the costs of the American prison system and of ex-convict recidivism to the taxpayer are now better recognized. While they are still few in number and small in impact, a number of “re-entry programs” have been established in recent years throughout the United States. These programs provide instruction, workshops and mentoring, with the objective of preparing inmates and ex-convicts for both employment and self-employment. With a focus on self-employment, this paper looks at the changes over the past fifteen years, reviews some empirical analysis of prison inmates’ entrepreneurial aptitude, and considers the future direction of these re-entry programs