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Brief

Supporting Returning Citizens’ Financial Health

Drawing on insights from recent pilot projects, this brief discusses ways in which stakeholders across sectors can empower people coming out of prison to access identification and financial services.

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Program:

Financial Solutions Lab
Category:

Criminal Justice

Monday, January 23, 2023

Supporting Returning Citizens’ Financial Health

Executive Summary

Incorporating ID and Financial Services Access Into the Reentry Journey

Every year, more than 600,000 individuals are released from state and federal prisons and another 9 million cycle through local jails. As the Financial Health Network has documented in previous reports, involvement with the justice system also means navigating complex financial decisions and demands, and it frequently results in negative financial health impacts.

Recently, there has been significant activity in the field related to illuminating and addressing the financial health challenges of reentry. To further explore ways to solve financial health-related pain points for justice-involved individuals, the Financial Solutions Lab made several grants in 2021 through our Exchange and Collaborative programs. This brief synthesizes learnings from our grantees and data from our most recent Financial Health Pulse® survey to inform insights and recommendations for practitioners, financial services providers, and policymakers that work with returning citizens.

Key Findings

- People in justice-involved households were less frequently Financially Healthy and more often Financially Vulnerable compared with those in households not impacted by the criminal justice system.
- Practitioners and others working to connect returning citizens with identification (ID) and financial services should leverage credible messengers and cross-sector partnerships.
- Funders, financial services providers, practitioners, and policymakers all have a role to play in reducing the bureaucratic and financial hurdles that returning citizens currently face. These hurdles make it difficult for returning citizens to access ID and financial services and build their financial health after their reentry.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank the following Financial Health Network staff members for their contributions to this report: Tanya Ladha, Julianna Samper, Angela Fontes, David Silberman, Andrew Warren, Michael Salmassian, Dan Miller, Chris Vo, and Lindsey Taureck. Former colleagues Josh Sledge and Arjun Kaushal were also instrumental in developing Financial Health Network’s understanding of the intersection of justice system involvement and financial health.

Thank you to our many advisory partners and grantees for participating in this valuable program including our 2021 Exchange grantees Justine PETERSEN, LaunchCode, Justice & Accountability Center of Louisiana, DaisyDebt, Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Stretch, IRC’s Center for Economic Opportunity, finEQUITY, Urban League of Essex County, and MoCaFi; our 2021 Exchange Advisory Partner Credit Builders Alliance; our 2021 Collaborative grantees Auburn University, Restorative Strategies, Alabama Non-Violent Offenders Organization, Greater Birmingham Ministries; and our 2021 Collaborative Advisory Partners Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice and TYTHEdesign. We also thank the workshop and convening participants and clients whose insights further informed this report.

The Financial Health Network is a trusted resource for business leaders, policymakers, and innovators united in a mission to improve the financial health of their customers, employees, and communities. Through research, advisory services, measurement tools, and opportunities for cross-sector collaboration, we advance awareness, understanding, and proven best practices in support of improved financial health for all.

The Financial Solutions Lab (FSL) was established in 2014 to cultivate, support, and scale innovative ideas that help improve financial health. FSL focuses on solutions addressing acute and persistent financial health challenges faced by low- to moderate-income individuals, Black and Latinx communities, and other underserved consumers.

The Financial Health Network manages the Financial Solutions Lab in collaboration with founding partner JPMorgan Chase and with support from Prudential Financial.

The views and opinions expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Prudential Financial, or their affiliates.

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Written by

Amelia Josephson

Senior Manager, Innovation