Research on Social Work Practice, Ahead of Print.
Purpose: Thousands release from imprisonment every day but no specialized measures of progress during reentry exist beyond criminal risk. This study investigates a new measure of well-being during the transition to the community called the Reentry Well-Being Assessment Tool (RWAT). The RWAT is designed as an alternative to measures of risk while responding to the challenges of individualizing program services and evaluating effectiveness. Method: Confirmatory factor analysis informed by item response theory was undertaken to identify a parsimonious set of RWAT items. Results: Analysis identified 13 unidimensional factors. Multidimensional modeling supported a second-order factor to assess reentry well-being with minor modifications, (x2(3,724) = 12,564.27, p <.001; root mean square error of approximation = 0.04 [0.039–0.040]; comparative fit index = 0.91; Tucker-Lewis index = 0.91). Discussion: The final RWAT is composed of seven measures with 89 items. Further research is needed to investigate the RWAT in populations disproportionately impacted by mass incarceration, particularly women of color.