In 2009, 743 out of 100,000 people in the United States were incarcerated in their lifetime. Among prisoners, 67% reoffend and 52% are sent back to prison. If more than half of incarcerated people reoffend or are reincarcerated, something is wrong. Prisoners do not learn from their mistakes and are not rehabilitated. What can we do as a country to lower this recidivism rate? What are we doing wrong? Why does our prison system fail to prevent these individuals from committing more crimes as soon as they are released? The problem is that we are not teaching them anything. We are not helping them transition from incarceration to the real world. These people have nowhere to go, no jobs and no money. Therefore, these individuals resort to what they know how to “earn” money. They steal, sell drugs, exploit and exploit. That's all these people know how to do. We need to build programs that give these people a chance to succeed when they get out. As an MP, I have personally experienced in great detail many of the programs used in correctional facilities today. I have spent most of my career thus far in local correctional facilities. With this experience I have a good understanding of what works and what doesn't work when it comes to prisoner rehabilitation and recidivism prevention. I'll start by addressing what doesn't work. When it comes to reducing recidivism, simply locking someone up for a period of time has proven to be ineffective. Arguably, standardized treatment programs have also proven equally ineffective. There is no single approach to treatment. Not all prisoners are the same.... middle of paper... in their journeys to better themselves. Which, no doubt from me, will have a huge positive impact not only on the lives of these prisoners, but on the life and safety of every citizen of this country. All of this can be made possible with your support and the support of every American.Works Cited(2014). Incarceration rate in the United States. Wikipedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_incarceration_rateD. McKeon. (2006). Research talking points on dropout statistics. National Education Association. Retrieved from: http://www.nea.org/home/13579.htmL.Glaze, L Maruschak. (2010). Parents in prison and minor children. United States Department of Justice. Retrieved from: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/pptmc.pdf(2010). Results of the new Casa report. CASAColumbia. Retrieved from: http://www.casacolumbia.org/newsroom/press-releases/2010-behind-bars-II