Highlights of report findings include: (1) between 1980 and 2003, the Michigan prison population more than tripled, increasing from 15,148 to 49,357; (2) Michigan Department of Corrections’ (MDOC) releases increased 41 percent from 9,752 prisoners released in 1990 to 13,707 released in 2003; (3) of the prisoners released in 2003, most were male (93 percent) with the median age at release 35.7 years; (4) approximately one-quarter (26 percent) had been serving time for violent offenses, 17 percent for drug offenses, 33 percent for nonviolent offenses, and the remaining 24 percent for a parole technical violation; (5) in 2003, 83 percent of all released prisoners exited prison at the discretion of the parole board to a period of supervision; (6) approximately one-third (34 percent) of prisoners released to parole in 2003 returned to Wayne County, a county facing significant economic and social disadvantage; and (7) the majority (80 percent) of prisoners released to parole in Wayne County returned to Detroit, where the unemployment rate in 2000 was more than double what it was in the rest of the State, and where over one-fifth of the families live in poverty. This report describes the process of prisoner reentry in Michigan by examining the trends in incarceration and prisoner releases, the characteristics of the State’s returning prisoners, the geographic distribution of returning prisoners, and the social and economic climates of the communities that are home to the highest concentrations of returning prisoners. The report consolidates existing data on incarceration and release trends and presents a new analysis of data on Michigan prisoners released in 2003. It is clear that the challenges of reentry in Michigan are great. Successful reentry is critical for ensuing public safety, reducing the costs of incarceration, and promoting the well-being of individuals, families, and communities. Figures and tables