New York City turns to data sharing to help the formerly incarcerated reenter society
Views of the New York City jails on Rikers Island, as seen from a departing flight from Laguardia Airport on December 10, 2022, in Queens, New York. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
A six-month pilot program aims to expedite the process for people leaving a carceral setting to obtain a government-issued ID, the lack of which often stymies their ability to get assistive services, officials say.
For many people at carceral facilities, driver’s licenses or other forms of ID expire during their time in custody. This presents a challenge upon their release, as having no valid ID often becomes a barrier to reintegrating into society. A new pilot program in New York City aims to smooth that transition for formerly incarcerated people with the power of data.
The pilot program is an initiative under the city’s IDNYC program, which helps people obtain a municipal ID card in lieu of a state ID. Since 2015, the program, overseen by the New York City Human Resources Administration, has helped people get access to almost 1.8 million ID cards for other vulnerable populations like unhoused individuals, aging adults and youth who don’t have the documentation to obtain a state ID, said Albert Gamarra, assistant deputy commissioner of the IDNYC program.
“The importance of something that may seem simple, like a government issued ID, can really be groundbreaking when you don't have that access, haven't had that access ever or haven't had that access for a very long time,” Gamarra said.
Launched last month, the six-month pilot will target individuals in custody at Rikers Island who have at least three months left in their sentence. Eligible people can apply to be enrolled in the ID program, which will supply them with a government-issued photo identification upon their release.
It is a collaboration between HRA and the New York City Department of Correction, a partnership that helps break data silos that impede the identity verification process, Gamarra said. For instance, the agencies have agreed to share internal data with each other to confirm if a person is a resident of New York City by accessing documents like their birth certificate and other vital records.
Part of the partnership process included HRA and DOC training each other’s staff on how to handle the departments’ data safely and responsibly, as officials were conscious to not violate existing confidentiality rules or restrictions on what data could be shared, Gamarra explained.
HRA also set up a computer and camera system at Rikers Island so that people’s application and enrollment can be processed and individuals can get their ID picture taken on site, without having to wait until they’ve been released into the community to do so, said Anne Penson, executive director of reintegration services for the New York City Department of Correction.
Leaving Rikers Island without a valid ID can delay someone’s effort to, for instance, open a bank account, obtain housing or apply for public benefits, Penson said.
Additional services and resources the municipal ID cards can unlock for people include registering for New York’s insurance marketplace, accessing care at local hospitals or receiving discounts or free memberships for museums or zoos. The IDs are valid proofs of identity that are accepted by city agencies and other public spaces like schools.
Broadly speaking, the IDNYC program has seen an increase in the number of people seeking the service. A report released yesterday found that there was an 8% increase in the number of IDNYC cards that were processed in fiscal year 2025 over fiscal year 2024, with 97% of cards being sent to people within 14 days of the application’s submission.
Ultimately, officials hope that providing formerly incarcerated people “with this one small, but, very vital resource” is going to have a positive impact “in terms of being able to fast track access to services once they're released to the community,” Penson said.