A Day at Kewanee: New Directions in Reentry Programming

Two years ago, BPI advocated for the closure of a youth prison located in Kewanee, IL. Since then, the youth prison has been closed and its facilities repurposed to house a groundbreaking new institution, the Kewanee Life Skills Reentry Center (LSRC.) In July 2018, two BPI staff members working on justice reform visited the facility. Here are a few of our major takeaways about this new “alternative prison”:

The Basics: Mission and Target Population
The Kewanee Life Skills Reentry Center, which opened in February 2017, aims to lower the recidivism rate by facilitating the successful reentry of inmates, who transfer to Kewanee from other Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) facilities with 1-4 years remaining on their sentences. Unlike other reentry programs, Kewanee only accepts inmates who have been designated medium- to high-risk to recidivate, in keeping with evidenced-based best practices in reentry. Consequently, many inmates have been convicted of serious offenses, and have been incarcerated for many years before entering Kewanee. Currently housing some 300 men, Kewanee LSRC has a maximum capacity of approximately 600 when fully staffed.

Resources and Programming
To help inmates successfully re-enter society upon release, Kewanee admits cohorts of 12 men at a time from other IDOC facilities. After an initial adjustment period where staff use risk assessments and other tools to determine individuals’ needs, the cohorts assimilate into a multi-faceted program that includes the
following:

  • A variety of intensive and personalized life-skills offerings, including courses on GED prep, postsecondary education, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), interpersonal skills, computer/technology skills, anger management, substance abuse, domestic violence prevention, and specialized job training
  • Access to additional resources and facilities for spare time use, such as resume assistance, a library, an art studio, and an outdoor vegetable garden
  • An “open campus” policy that gives each inmate the freedom to walk independently to programming and to choose how to use unrestricted free time during the day

Humane Environment
At Kewanee, we noted a good measure of mutual respect between inmates and staff. Kewanee staff members knew inmates by name and interacted with them comfortably. Several inmates reported that they felt they were treated “like humans.”

Results and Future Goals
Kewanee has begun to “graduate” inmates, and much of its current population is slated to exit within two years. While it is too soon to evaluate the facility’s impact on recidivism rates, early reentry success stories look promising. Kewanee plans to gradually expand to full capacity without sacrificing individual attention and program quality, adding staff in order to do so.

Read more:

Photo by Lisa Hammer / The Dispatch-Argus.

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