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Our Mission
Our mission is to provide employment opportunities to women who have been faced with incarceration and need help reintegrating into society and putting their lives back together.
Our Vision
Reentry Center for Women seeks to improve the quality of life for its clients while actively engaging the community to help advocate public policy change within the criminal justice system. These changes will help reduce the female prison population and ultimately keep families together.
Our Values
At the heart of everything we do are our core values. We believe in doing the right thing for our clients and continually emphasize our desire to improve life and increase individual motivation for ex-incarcerated women, while delivering our reentry program to the highest standard and regard for those who rely on us.
We help victims of domestic abuse, human trafficking and more with our series of online support groups. Sign up now and reserve your spot in 2024!
Effective Parenting: Social Media & Teen Girls
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March 27, 2024
The Power of Positive Thinking
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April 17, 2024
Three Big Challenges for Justice Involved
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April 24, 2024
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Women and the Criminal Justice System
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Between 1980 and 2014, the number of incarcerated women increased nationwide by more than 700%, rising from a total of 26,378 in 1980 to 215,332 in 2014.
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In 2018, there were 197 women released from prison in Wake County; 58 in Durham County; 18 in Orange County, and 87 in Johnston County.
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In 2018, the total number of incarcerated women in North Carolina increased by less than 2% percent from 2016, while from 2017, the total number decreased by slightly over 3%.
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The rate of growth for female imprisonment has outpaced men by more than 50% between 1980 and 2014.
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In 2014, the imprisonment rate for African American women (109 per 100,000) was more than twice the rate of imprisonment for white women (53 per 100,000).
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Hispanic women were incarcerated at 1.2 times the rate of white women (64 vs. 53 per 100,000).
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The rate of imprisonment for African American women has been declining since 2000, while the rate of imprisonment for white women continues to rise.
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Between 2000 and 2014, the rate of imprisonment in state and federal prisons declined by 47% for black women, while the rate of imprisonment for white women rose by 56%.
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At the national level, 65 out of every 100,000 women were in prison in 2014.
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Women in state prisons are more likely than men to be incarcerated for a drug or property offense.
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In 1986, 12% of women in state prisons were incarcerated for a drug offense; by 2014, 24% were incarcerated for a drug offense.
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SOURCE: The Sentencing Project​; NC DPS Office of Research & Planning
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These alarming statistics are why the work that we do and our mission are vitally important. Without the support and intervention of our organization, these numbers would likely worsen. At Reentry Center for Women, we offer five programs to help formerly incarcerated women adjust to their new lives:
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The Job Readiness Program is a limitless system to assist with all facets of the job search and connects women ex-offenders with prospective employers.
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The Counseling Program is very intensive and administered by licensed and highly trained clinical professionals with the expertise to effectively handle gender-specific issues.
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The Education Program allows women ex-offenders the opportunity to complete secondary education, take advantage of continuing education courses or enroll in college-level degree programs.
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The Recidivism Reduction Program encompasses a wide array of cognitive and behavioral strategies to help women ex-offenders stay the course.
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The Human Trafficking Elimination Program addresses and aims to eradicate a growing problem for at-risk women and law enforcement.
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The Gang Violence Prevention Program is a comprehensively designed model to steer young females away from gangs.
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Restoring Hope To Justice-Involved Women
Women offenders have special needs that often are not addressed during incarceration. As a result, transitioning from incarceration can be challenging and even impossible for many.
In 2021, there were roughly 228 women who returned to the Triangle area from state prison and in 2022, that number increased slightly to 232 (NC DPS - Office of Research & Planning, 2023). Also in 2022, there were more than 800 women serving their sentences on community probation throughout the Triangle area. Of both parolees and probationers, more than 80% were mothers of minor children and had the primary responsibility for their care prior to and following incarceration. Ex-incarcerated women are more likely than their male peers to experience higher levels of poverty, homelessness and abuse following a jail or prison term--making the post-prison transition much more difficult.
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Research suggests that focusing on the differences between female and male conduits to criminality as well as applying gender-specific interventions, results in more positive outcomes. In the end, the application of specialized practices in criminal justice reform equals greater success for women ex-offenders when attempting to re-establish new pathways to society. It is also proven that the implementation of community-based, gender-responsive practices contributes to lower rates of female recidivism which in turn benefits justice-involved women, their families, the community and society as a whole.