The Reentry Data Dilemma: What America Still Doesn’t Know About Life After Prison

July 23, 2026

By Sam Bufe, Sr. Manager of Research and Analytics at The Last Mile.

The United States spends more than $80 billion each year on corrections. It incarcerates over 1.2 million people, yet collects remarkably little data about what happens during reentry. That transition matters because the failure of reentry is one of the few outcomes we measure consistently.

More than two-thirds of formerly incarcerated people return to prison within five years, while over half struggle to find work or leave the workforce entirely. Those figures describe a system in crisis, but they cannot explain why people struggle.

Even in the face of this huge data deficit, The federal government has not conducted a comprehensive public survey of formerly incarcerated people since 2008, one that primarily focused on sexual violence during incarceration. Policymakers continue to make decisions without tangible data on the employment, housing, health, and financial conditions that shape successful reentry. America can measure when someone returns to prison. It remains largely blind to the pressures that brought them there (For more information on this data deficit, check out my first article here!)

In this article, let’s examine what current reentry data fails to capture, what The Last Mile is learning from its alumni, and why organizations nationwide must help build a clearer picture of life after prison. Without that evidence, programs and policies cannot meet the needs of people trying to build a stable life after incarceration.

Measuring Reentry Before It Becomes Recidivism

Unless a person returns to the justice system, the legacy system collects little meaningful data about people after release. In this situation, a re-arrest, supervision violation, or return to prison often becomes the clearest recorded outcome. By then, the conditions shaping that outcome may have gone unrecognized for months.

At The Last Mile, we treat reentry as a process that begins long before release. We use data to understand each participant’s progress from incarceration through post-release life. That means looking beyond a single outcome and examining how skills, opportunities, and circumstances change over time.

One of our most powerful tools after reentry is the baseline post-release survey. Alumni complete it during their first weeks home, when the realities of reentry are coming into focus. The survey explores employment, housing, financial security, health, technology access, personal goals, and available support.

These responses give us a measurable view of where alumni begin their lives after incarceration. Over time, that starting point can help us understand their trajectories and evaluate longer-term outcomes. It also reveals challenges that rearrest and recidivism data cannot capture. For the alumni who have completed our reentry survey, the financial findings are especially stark.

The Financial Reality Of Coming Home

Among the roughly 250 people who have completed The Last Mile’s baseline survey, the data reveals how financial instability shapes those critical first weeks home—and how quickly a minor setback can threaten the entire reentry process:

Could not cover even a $100 emergency expense using cash or savings.

Could cover an unexpected expense of more than $400.

Would have to borrow from friends or family to handle a $400 emergency.

Had no family or friends able to provide financial support during their first month home.

Were unemployed at the time of the survey — the vast majority were actively looking for work.

Even returning citizens who have completed extensive training and prepared carefully for release can encounter profound instability during reentry. Imagine managing supervision requirements, housing searches, job applications, transportation, and basic expenses without savings, stable employment, or reliable support. Every appointment and unexpected cost carries greater consequences when there is no margin for error.

Expecting people to navigate this transition alone overlooks both the complexity of reentry and the structural barriers they face after incarceration.

From Financial Fragility to Lasting Stability

The financial strain visible after release often begins long before incarceration. Nearly 60% of respondents said they were already “just getting by” or struggling financially before the arrest that led to their most recent sentence. Incarceration interrupts employment, drains savings, weakens credit, and places new pressure on families. Many people therefore return home with fewer resources than they had when they entered.

Our existing baseline survey captures that difficult starting point. As alumni move through their first months and years home, the picture changes significantly: Today, roughly 73% of TLM alumni are employed, while recidivism remains below 8%.

Nationally, more than two-thirds of formerly incarcerated people are rearrested within five years. TLM’s improvement on that average reveals an essential part of the reentry story. People can arrive home facing unemployment, financial insecurity, and limited support, then build lasting stability when the right resources reach them at the right time. A recidivism statistic records whether someone returns to the justice system. It cannot show the progress, support, and sustained effort that helped them remain home.

Building a National Reentry Data Network

Our baseline survey shows where TLM alumni begin, while longer-term employment and recidivism data show where many eventually arrive. Understanding the trajectory between those points is essential.

It can reveal which barriers persist, when circumstances begin to improve, and which forms of support are associated with lasting stability. Yet TLM’s findings represent alumni with access to education, reentry services, employment coaching, and an established community. They cannot show what these trajectories look like across the country, especially for people returning home with different levels of support.

The Last Mile is developing a national survey to help close that gap. The survey will gather anonymized information from formerly incarcerated people about employment, financial security, housing, health, wellbeing, technology access, and available support. It is voluntary, mobile-friendly, and designed for completion within 10 to 15 minutes. Participants will also receive a small financial incentive for their time.

Step 1:

Design the Survey

Define questions that reveal employment, housing, health, technology access, and financial security.

Step 2:

Recruit Partners

Invite trusted reentry organizations across the country to participate in the initiative.

Step 3:

Share the Survey

Partners distribute a voluntary, anonymous survey directly to returning citizens in their communities.

Step 4:

Build the Dataset

Each response adds new experiences, regions, and perspectives to the national picture of reentry.

Step 5:

Turn Data into Action

Use shared findings to improve programs, strengthen policy, and direct support where it matters most.

The strength of this initiative will depend on participation. Every organization that shares the survey adds new experiences, communities, and regional contexts to the dataset. As participation grows, the findings become more useful to everyone involved. Organizations can compare emerging patterns with the needs they observe locally, refine their programs, strengthen funding proposals, and support advocacy with better evidence. TLM will also share a high-level summary of the findings with participating partners.

Most importantly, a larger dataset can help the reentry field recognize common barriers earlier. It can show where support consistently breaks down and which resources contribute to long-term stability. Each new response helps create a clearer picture of what returning citizens need to build secure lives after incarceration.

Help Us Measure What Successful Reentry Requires

The United States currently measures reentry most clearly when it fails. Arrests, supervision violations, and returns to prison appear in official records. The financial emergencies, missed opportunities, housing disruptions, and support systems that shape those outcomes often remain invisible.

Our alumni survey offers an initial view of that missing story. The national survey can make the picture broader, more representative, and more useful. Reaching that goal requires organizations with trusted relationships across reentry communities.

Partners can distribute a unique survey link directly through email, text, or another targeted channel. TLM can also send one invitation on an organization’s behalf. Responses remain anonymized, and individual-level information will not be shared.

If your organization works with formerly incarcerated people, we invite you to join this national effort. By sharing the survey, you can help build stronger programs, better policy, and a reentry system grounded in the experiences of the people navigating it.

To participate or learn more, contact Sam Bufe at sam.bufe@thelastmile.org. You cannot improve what you cannot see. Together, we can begin building the evidence that successful reentry requires.

By Sam Bufe, Sr. Manager of Research and Analytics at The Last Mile.

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