--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What are people released from prison…" description: "\"What are people released from prison expected to do? How are they expected to survive? Can't get a job, locked out of housing, and even food stamps may..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/554/michelle-alexander-750_child-support_what-are-people-released-from-prison-exp_1594071.jpg" --- # What are people released from prison expected to do? How… ![“What are people released from prison expected to do? How are they expected to survive? Can't get a job, locked out of housing, and even food stamps may be off limits. Well, apparently what we expect them to do is to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees, fines, court costs, and back child…” quote by Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/554/michelle-alexander-750_child-support_what-are-people-released-from-prison-exp_1594071.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/554/michelle-alexander-750_child-support_what-are-people-released-from-prison-exp_1594071.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/554/michelle-alexander-750_child-support_what-are-people-released-from-prison-exp_1594071.jpg) > “What are people released from prison expected to do? How are they expected to survive? Can't get a job, locked out of housing, and even food stamps may be off limits. Well, apparently what we expect them to do is to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars in fees, fines, court costs, and back child support (which continues to accrue while you are in prison).” [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society imposes financial burdens on formerly incarcerated people, making reintegration difficult and perpetuating inequality. **In simple terms:** Ex‑prisoners face costly fees that block basic needs. Key Takeaway Advocate for policy reform to remove financial barriers. Themes justice reintegration poverty systemic inequality Mood frustrated determined hopeful Type social critique policy analysis advocacy When to use this quote - job search - housing applications - benefits enrollment - legal aid - community support Key Concepts mass incarceration financial exploitation social exclusion Questions to Reflect On - How can communities support reentry without relying on punitive fees? - What policies could replace financial penalties with restorative measures? A Different Perspective Reforms may be politically contentious and face fiscal opposition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Child support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-support/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/) [Court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/court/) [Dollars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dollars/) [Expected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expected/) [Expected Survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expected-survive-4247202/) [Fees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fees/) [Fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine/) [Food stamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food-stamps/) [Housing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/housing/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Locked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/locked/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Prison Expected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison-expected-6048049/) [Stamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stamps/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [Once you're labeled a felon, the old forms of discrimination - employment discrimination, housing discrimination, denial of the right to vote, denial of educational…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/once-you-re-labeled-a-felon-the-old-forms-of-discrimination/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Everyone in 'the life' was brutal by necessity and most by nature as well, however some were also intelligent. Of course, intelligence itself was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-apuzzo/everyone-in-the-life-was-brutal-by-necessity-and-most-by-nature-as/) [Nick Apuzzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-apuzzo/) > [“How long should a dragon of my stature be expected to survive without a warm, willing pussy at my disposal?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-a-aiken/how-long-should-a-dragon-of-my-stature-be-expected-to-survive-without/) [G.A. Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-a-aiken/) > [I am moneys medium. It passes through me- taxes, insurance, mortgage, child support, rent, legal fees. All this dignified blundering costs plenty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-am-moneys-medium-it-passes-through-me-taxes-insurance-mortgage/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“Although 'debtor's prison' is illegal in all states, many states use the threat of probation or parole revocation as a debt-collection tool. In fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/although-debtor-s-prison-is-illegal-in-all-states-many-states-use-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [I hope and understand that people are getting a better recognition that food stamps is a program that really helps America, helps families in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/i-hope-and-understand-that-people-are-getting-a-better-recognition/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [And the same goes for government benefits. The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that 62 percent of households headed by illegal immigrants use some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/and-the-same-goes-for-government-benefits-the-center-for-immigration/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Until the 1930s, the Constitution served as a major constraint on federal economic interventionism. The government's powers were understood to be just as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/until-the-1930s-the-constitution-served-as-a-major-constraint-on/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [I've been on food stamps and welfare, did anybody help me out? No. No.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-t-nelson/i-ve-been-on-food-stamps-and-welfare-did-anybody-help-me-out-no-no/) [Craig T. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-t-nelson/) > [Well, we lost a lot of our independence already. We are dependent on China for credit. We are dependent on Middle Eastern countries for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-demint/well-we-lost-a-lot-of-our-independence-already-we-are-dependent-on/) [Jim DeMint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-demint/) > [Hunger is a political issue, and there are several things politically that are keeping people hungry - not funding food stamps adequately, not funding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-colicchio/hunger-is-a-political-issue-and-there-are-several-things-politically/) [Tom Colicchio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-colicchio/) > [Stewardesses are still paid so little that in many cases, new hires qualify for food stamps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-ireland/stewardesses-are-still-paid-so-little-that-in-many-cases-new-hires/) [Patricia Ireland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-ireland/) > [Those of us in the Congress must confront and overcome Republican intransigence to increasing the minimum wage, extending unemployment insurance and protecting food stamps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-b-rangel/those-of-us-in-the-congress-must-confront-and-overcome-republican/) [Charles B. Rangel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-b-rangel/) > [We have to convince people that the handouts – just taking a few little handouts, where you have a subsistent living, where you never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-guillory/we-have-to-convince-people-that-the-handouts-just-taking-a-few-little/) [Elbert Guillory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-guillory/) > [Elect me to office. I will protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. Because there's no constitutional authority for Congress spending on the objects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/elect-me-to-office-i-will-protect-and-defend-the-u-s-constitution/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) ## More by Michelle Alexander > [If you ask for good schools, you aren't likely to get them. If you ask for jobs or economic investment, you won't get that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-ask-for-good-schools-you-aren-t-likely-to-get-them-if-you-ask/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The uncomfortable reality we must face is that California, like the nation as a whole, has treated generations of African Americans and Latinos as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-uncomfortable-reality-we-must-face-is-that-california-like-the/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Seeing race is not the problem. Refusing to care for the people we see is the problem. The fact that the meaning of race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/seeing-race-is-not-the-problem-refusing-to-care-for-the-people-we-see/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Since the nations founding, African Americans repeatedly have been controlled through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow, which appear to die but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/since-the-nations-founding-african-americans-repeatedly-have-been/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Felon disenfranchisement laws have been more effective in eliminating black voters in the age of mass incarceration than they were under Jim Crow…These figures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/felon-disenfranchisement-laws-have-been-more-effective-in-eliminating/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“That was King’s dream—a society that is capable of seeing each of us, as we are, with love. That is a goal worth fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/that-was-king-s-dream-a-society-that-is-capable-of-seeing-each-of-us/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Activists take the risks, while advocates are professional tinkerers with the system. What's necessary is for those who are advocates to support those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/activists-take-the-risks-while-advocates-are-professional-tinkerers/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Civil rights protests were frequently depicted as criminal rather than political in nature, and federal courts were accused of excessive “lenience” toward lawlessness, thereby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/civil-rights-protests-were-frequently-depicted-as-criminal-rather/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [We cannot 'fix' the police without a revolution of values and radical change to the basic structure of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/we-cannot-fix-the-police-without-a-revolution-of-values-and-radical/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If we continue to tell ourselves the popular myths about racial progress or, worse yet, if we say to ourselves that the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-we-continue-to-tell-ourselves-the-popular-myths-about-racial/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The mass incarceration of poor people of color, particularly black men, has emerged as a new caste system, one specifically designed to address the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-incarceration-of-poor-people-of-color-particularly-black-men/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [ “\[T\]he slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery. —W.E.B Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/t-he-slave-went-free-stood-a-brief-moment-in-the-sun-then-moved-back/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [If you take into account prisoners, a large majority of African American men in some urban areas, like Chicago, have been labeled felons for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/if-you-take-into-account-prisoners-a-large-majority-of-african/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [The rules and reasons the political system employs to enforce status relations of any kind, including racial hierarchy, evolve and change as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-rules-and-reasons-the-political-system-employs-to-enforce-status/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Explore all 381 Michelle Alexander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) ## More Child support quotes > [I hate when a mother prevents the father of her children from seeing his kids because she is mad that he moved on, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deshawn-branch/i-hate-when-a-mother-prevents-the-father-of-her-children-from-seeing/) [Deshawn Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deshawn-branch/) > [“If Catherine would just let go' had been their mantra for so long. Now Mamah understood Catherine's dilemma better. She wouldn't divorce Frank because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-horan/if-catherine-would-just-let-go-had-been-their-mantra-for-so-long-now/) [Nancy Horan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-horan/) > [What's worse than being dumped by the love of your life? Having to pay child support afterwords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-s-worse-than-being-dumped-by-the-love-of-your-life-having-to-pay/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I always listen,” Ranger said. “I don’t always agree. I have a problem right now that I can’t seem to solve by myself. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-always-listen-ranger-said-i-don-t-always-agree-i-have-a-problem/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [One of the greatest challenges in collecting child support is that deadbeat dads move from job to job and state to state. it's hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-blagojevich/one-of-the-greatest-challenges-in-collecting-child-support-is-that/) [Rod Blagojevich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-blagojevich/) > [“By making the birth of the child the physical choice of the mother, the sexual revolution has made marriage and child support a social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-akerlof/by-making-the-birth-of-the-child-the-physical-choice-of-the-mother/) [George Akerlof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-akerlof/) > [ “Since 1865, when the \[Thirteenth\] Amendment was passed, Black men were getting charged, set up, arrested, and convicted for the pettiest of offenses--like child… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-watkins/since-1865-when-the-thirteenth-amendment-was-passed-black-men-were/) [Amy Watkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-watkins/) > [The old G's that beat the game. Forever young, Peter Pan 35, still playin'. child support, still payin'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-cole/the-old-g-s-that-beat-the-game-forever-young-peter-pan-35-still/) [J Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-cole/) > [Ghetto people always naming their kids after stuff they cant afford; Mercedes, Bentley, Pearl, Child support.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ghetto-people-always-naming-their-kids-after-stuff-they-cant-afford/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The most unacknowledged spending expectation among women is the amount of time spent by single mothers caring for children, not only physically, but psychologically.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/the-most-unacknowledged-spending-expectation-among-women-is-the/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [The child should support his father and mother when he is able to do and they are in hand. But,in religious matters,the man must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jainism/the-child-should-support-his-father-and-mother-when-he-is-able-to-do/) [JAINISM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jainism/) > [Everything that I've gone through since the end of 2010, from me finding out about my financial adviser stealing, mismanaging my money - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrell-owens/everything-that-i-ve-gone-through-since-the-end-of-2010-from-me/) [Terrell Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrell-owens/) > [I am moneys medium. It passes through me- taxes, insurance, mortgage, child support, rent, legal fees. All this dignified blundering costs plenty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-am-moneys-medium-it-passes-through-me-taxes-insurance-mortgage/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Divorced men are more likely to meet their car payments than their child support obligations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-faludi/divorced-men-are-more-likely-to-meet-their-car-payments-than-their/) [Susan Faludi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-faludi/) > [Countries with higher levels of gender equality have higher economic growth. Companies with more women on their boards have higher returns. Peace agreements that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/countries-with-higher-levels-of-gender-equality-have-higher-economic/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) [Browse all 68 Child support quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-support/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What are people released from prison expected to do? How are they expected to survive? Can't get a job, locked out of housing, and even food stamps may be off limits. 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