The state's largest nonprofit law firm, Connecticut Legal Services, and the national advocacy group Root & Rebound have teamed up to release a new online publication, "Roadmap to Reentry: A Connecticut Legal Guide," aimed at helping Connecticut residents with life after release from state incarceration.

The 416-page guide is an informative legal resource that answers questions about where to live after being released from prison, how to apply for services while incarcerated, how to obtain identification documents and how to reconnect with children upon release. The publication includes detailed sections on housing, public benefits and family law.

Deborah Witkin, executive director of Connecticut Legal Services, said the new guide "is a resource that people with conviction histories can use as they reenter society—not just to survive, but to thrive. CLS is proud to be a leader in the reentry movement, with the creation of this first-ever Connecticut comprehensive legal reentry guide."

Connecticut's focus on decarceration and justice reinvestment efforts has resulted in one of the fastest declining incarceration rates in the country, the groups noted. Connecticut has approximately 14,000 incarcerated in state prisons. An estimated 95 percent of them will eventually be released, but will face more than 550 statutory barriers to reentry.

Root & Rebound's Chloe Noonan, national legal education and resource coordinator, said the organization "was thrilled to partner with Connecticut Legal Services on this project. We hope it will be a valuable tool for people with records in Connecticut and the families, social workers, lawyers and communities that support them."

The "Connecticut Roadmap to Reentry Legal Guide" is available online here. It is also available for download through Root & Rebound.

CLS is Connecticut's largest nonprofit law firm, dedicated to improving the lives of low-income people by providing free legal assistance.