Rehabilitation of released prisoners in the Kibbutz: From isolation to segregation

The present research examines 110 released prisoners who were sent for rehabilitation to the Kibbutz Movement by the Israeli Prisoner Rehabilitation Service between 1983 and 2001. The research examines several measures of their adjustment towards normative life during and after their stay at the kibbutz. The research was based on interviews with each of the offender's adoptive families and with the released prisoners themselves. Program participant's reincarceration rate was 22.7%, which is much lower than the 63% reincarceration rate in the general population of released prisoners in Israel. Findings show that the most significant predictors of successful rehabilitation were length of stay in the kibbutz, work and social integration, and adherence to kibbutz norms.