• The Michigan Department of Corrections provided 30,000 inmates with critical identification documents 
  • The program aims to ease reentry and reduce recidivism 
  • Challenges remain for exonerees who don’t always have access to documents upon release 

For thousands of released inmates across Michigan, a driver’s license can mean the difference between landing a job or returning to prison. 

The Michigan Department of Corrections has provided 30,000 inmates with vital documents, including government-issued photo IDs, through its Returning Citizens Identification Program, which launched in 2020 in partnership with the Michigan Department of State.

It wasn’t immediately clear how much the program costs. Department of Corrections officials could not be reached for comment on Monday, which was President’s Day. 

The program was created to help incarcerated individuals reenter society by providing them with the tools they need for a smooth transition, in an effort to reduce recidivism. 

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One of the barriers to reentry could be not having access to proper identification, like a driver’s license or state ID, which is needed to apply for a job or housing or enroll in school.  

“It’s hard to do either of those without a driver’s license or social security card, and replacing those documents can take months and can be a difficult process to navigate,” said Kate McCracken, chief operating officer of Safe and Just Michigan, a nonprofit that advocates for reduced incarceration. 

Michigan’s current recidivism rate is 21%, which the state says is the lowest it’s ever been. As of January, there were 32,348 inmates statewide, a slight decline from the end of 2020, when there were 33,617 inmates.  

“The Michigan Department of Corrections’ work to assist people in securing these documents before they go home is critically important. We can reduce the potential for poor outcomes in reentry by sending people home with those documents in-hand,” McCracken said. 

The Department of Corrections’ Offender Success Administration employment counselors also assist incarcerated individuals with gathering records that show what programs someone finished, what education they completed and what skills they have, which can help them once they are released.

“By providing those resources alongside the robust infrastructure the department has built for secondary and post-secondary educational attainment, vocational training and evidence-based behavioral programming, we help keep Michigan safe by promoting the success of those reentering,” said Kyle Kaminski, an offender success administrator for the Department of Corrections, in a press statement. 

In 2024, the Michigan Legislature passed a bill that would have required the Department of Corrections to apply for state IDs or driver’s licenses on behalf of inmates who were expected to be released. 

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed the bills on technical grounds, but expressed support for them. 

Reentry challenges for exonerees 

Not everyone leaves prison with those materials in hand.

In most cases, incarcerated individuals know ahead of time when they are being released, giving the state time to help secure documents that can take weeks to process.

But individuals who are exonerated usually find out they are being released from prison on short notice, sometimes a few weeks before or even a few hours before. 

The reentry path for exonerees can be just as difficult for parolees because the process for getting released is much more condensed, said Eric Anderson, director of program and operations for the Organization of Exonerees, a nonprofit founded by wrongfully convicted individuals who advocate for innocent people in prison. 

According to the National Registry of Exonerations, which collects and analyzes information about wrongly convicted people, seven people were exonerated in Michigan last year. In 2024, 11 people were exonerated and six people were exonerated in 2023. 

“When I came home, I had my birth certificate and my social security card,” Anderson said. “That’s because my mom … is very organized. But what if I didn’t have a mom like that?

“That would’ve been a catastrophic situation.” 

Without identification, exonerees can face delays obtaining state IDs, along with barriers to finding housing or employment.

Anderson said the challenge is not necessarily a failure by the state to provide documents. Rather, the system is not structured around the sudden release of someone whose conviction has been overturned.

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