Going home: formerly incarcerated African American men return to families and communities.

More than 800,000 African American men are currently incarcerated in prisons or jails in the United States. Most of these men leave prison ill prepared to return to society as workers, or to reintegrate into family settings. Returning from prison is complicated by struggles in the housing and job markets. This article begins with a review of literature exploring drug laws and disproportionate incarceration rates, homelessness, and joblessness. Data from a community-based, qualitative study of African American men following incarceration is presented. A discussion of how incarceration influenced their return to family situations is included that supports the findings by earlier studies on the effects of homelessness and joblessness on individuals and families. The article concludes with recommendations for the development of targeted support systems and offers suggestions for future nursing research with this population.