Brokering Freedom: An Organizational Case Study of a Reentry Organization Ifeoma Yvonne Ajunwa Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2017 © 2017 Ifeoma Yvonne Ajunwa All rights reserved ABSTRACT Brokering Freedom: An Organizational Case Study of a Reentry Organization Ifeoma Yvonne Ajunwa This dissertation employs an organizational approach to examine how reentry organizations seek to provide social value as public-private partnerships with the mission statement of aiding the reintegration of the formerly incarcerated. With the help of a case study of a reentry organization in Cleveland, Ohio, I examine the sociological significance of the discursive “brokerage metaphor” of reentry organizations as brokers of the social and cultural capital the formerly incarcerated require as catalysts for their reintegration back into society. Based on ethnographic data and in-depth field interviews collected over a period of 16 months in Cleveland, Ohio, my research finds that the “brokerage metaphor” for reentry elides important factors which play an integral role in the organizational behavior of reentry organizations and the sociological experience of reentry for the formerly incarcerated. These other factors notably include the competitive and regulatory organizational environment of the reentry organization, and the intersectional identities of formerly incarcerated women. These external factors reveal the paradox of the public- private partnership represented by the reentry organization wherein some obstacles that stymie the objectives of the reentry organization might be attributed to its public partner, the government. Furthermore, my research finds that besides the brokerage of social and cultural capital, reentry organizations as public-private partnerships provide other tangible benefits for achieving the reentry of the formerly incarcerated, such as a remove from the carceral continuum that invites participation and creates the space for community-building. This dissertation research advances a new direction for the study of public-private partnerships wherein the lens of inquiry is not merely on the private partner, rather, the spotlight is also trained on the external impediments that prevent the organization from achieving full social value. This direction for research bodes well for determining appropriate and effective ethical policy interventions to addressing pressing social problems through public-private partnerships and social enterprise. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ ii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... iii Dedication ................................................................................................................................. iv Introduction: Mass Incarceration and Its Discontents ............................................... 1 Theoretical Overview ...................................................................................................................... 8 A Note on Terminology ................................................................................................................. 31 Roadmap for the Dissertation .................................................................................................... 35 I. Part One: The Problem of Reentry .............................................................................. 37 Chapter 1: The Need for A Reentry Intermediary ............................................................... 38 Chapter 2: From “Nothing Works” to “What Works?”: A History of Reentry .............. 57 II. Part Two: Interrogating the Value Creation of A Reentry Organization ..... 108 Chapter 3: Introducing the Brokerage Metaphor .............................................................. 109 Chapter 4: Complicating the Brokerage Metaphor: The Impact of the Organizational Environment and Other Externalities ................................................................................... 161 Chapter 5: The Special Case of Women in Need of Reentry ........................................... 192 Conclusion: The Disservice of a Brokerage Metaphor ........................................... 236 Healthcare as a Structural Barrier to Reentry ................................................................... 241 Abandoning the Brokerage Metaphor for Direct Interventions .................................. 245 New Directions for Research: Entrepreneurship as a Path to Reentry ...................... 250 References ............................................................................................................................ 255 Appendices ........................................................................................................................... 298 i LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Recidivism Rates in Ohio From 1999-2002, 2004-2007, and 2007- 2010 .......................................................................................................................................... 41 Figure 2. Incarceration Rate in the United States 1985, 1990-2008 ................... 62 Figure 3. United States Prison Proliferation From 1900-2000 ............................. 71 Figure 4. Time Magazine Cover February 7, 1994. .................................................... 74 Figure 5. Organizational Embeddedness of the Reentry Organization ............ 116 Figure 6. Impact of Organizational Environment of Reentry Organization .... 117 Figure 7. Moderating the Effect of Organizational Environment on Value- Creation ................................................................................................................................. 163 Figure 8. Reentry Organization as a Bridge and Broker ....................................... 167 Figure 9. Funding Streams and Money Flow .............................................................. 170 LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Overview of Paradoxical Position of Reentry Organizations & Tripartite Tensions .................................................................................................................................. 114 Table 2. Value Creating Mechanisms of Reentry Organizations ......................... 119 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, many thanks to my advisor, Josh Whitford; this completed dissertation would not exist without you. Thank you for believing in my intellectual and writing capabilities and for reminding me that I was already an academic. Many thanks also to my dissertation committee, Gil Eyal, Frank Pasquale, Damon Philips, and Adam Reich, with a special thanks to Gil Eyal for his enduring patience with me. I was grateful to have such an exceptional team with expertise in several disciplines. Many thanks also to Diane Vaughan and Alondra Nelson, who provided earlier guidance; I am especially thankful to Alondra Nelson as the idea for the topic of this dissertation was sparked by a conversation with her. A special thanks to Mario Small, whose path breaking book, Unanticipated Gains, was foundational for this dissertation. And a heartfelt thanks to Frederik Wherry, for a Skype conversation that made a world of difference. Many thanks to my family, I would not be who I am without you: my mother, my father, and all my siblings. For your love, support and dedication, many thanks to my husband, Joel Ford. Thanks to my two babies, Anya and Ari, your unprompted hugs and sloppy kisses kept me light on my long journey to this Ph.D. You remain my greatest accomplishments. To my best friend, Sajni Jobanputra, thanks for the laughs and for the reality checks when the rainbow was not enough. To Silvana Donis, we will always have perpetual youth in Bordeaux. To Liz Hanowsky, thanks for the adventures in law school and beyond. All those who helped me in many crucial ways on this journey, thanks to Stephen Nunez, Sarah Garrigan, Sarah Dyck, Gloria Pickett, Barbara Wilson, Mary Kozina, Mary Kelly, Bryan Chrostowski, Evan Cooper, and especially to Steve Marks, your work ethic, dedication, and optimism is admirable. My deepest gratitude goes to the formerly incarcerated men and women who graciously allowed me to interview them. For inspiration and encouragement, many thanks to all the J.D./Ph.Ds in my life: Darren Bush, Paul Gowder, Gregory Parks, Meera Deo, Erik Girvan, Vinay Harpalani. To those who emerged as enduring friends from the thunder dome of doctoral study: Pilar Opazo, Oliva Nicol, Kristin Murphy, and James Jones. To mentors and role models for a productive and impactful life in academia: danah Boyd, Kate Crawford, Dorothy Roberts, Gregory Fairchild, Jason Schultz, Janet Vertesi, Katherine Phillips, Modupe Akinola, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, and Melissa Thomas- Hunt. To anyone I accidentally omitted but who played a role in my doctoral study, thank you! iii DEDICATION To Lucy Ngwanma Ajunwa, my grandmother, who never got the opportunity for higher education. And to my grandfather, Harcourt Wafor Ajunwa, who believed in the Christian value of second chances. Also, for Anya and Ari, everything is for you. iv INTRODUCTION: MASS INCARCERATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS Her name was Julia1