Reform or Revolution: How Organizational Ideology Impacts Community Building with Formerly Incarcerated Populations

The United States faces a crisis not only of mass incarceration, but also of mass disinvestment in formerly incarcerated individuals. The literature has demonstrated the importance of community and social capital in supporting individuals during the reentry process, but little is known about the ways in which organizations approach building these networks of community support. In this paper, I explore the question of how organizations' ideologies regarding the carceral system, whether abolitionist or reformist, affect their methods of developing community networks among those impacted by incarceration. Using a qualitative case study of four community-based organizations (CBOs) in the city of Chicago, including 13 semi-structured interviews, I find that organizations' ideologies affect their priorities for and approach toward individuals, relationships, power structures, and community. I argue that characteristics of these ideologies—including their orientation to the state, understanding of the source of participants' challenges, and vision for long-term success—lead to differences in how such organizations approach community building. These findings give insight into different approaches for balancing pragmatic, economic priorities with social-emotional and political needs, ultimately developing a useful typology for organizations and policymakers who value building relationships with formerly incarcerated people as a key reentry strategy