Prisoner Re-Entry Goes Hyperlocal

"...Research has shown that if we can connect [just-released people] with resources within the first few weeks, recidivism is less," said [Amy] Meek ...So the resources are traveling en masse, to the released prisoners and their neighborhoods in the form of resource fairs. As a companion effort to localize services for re-entering prisoners, parole officers are being placed in the substations. That means parolees don't have to travel across town to meet their officers at the main office on Fitch Street...."   read the entire article here, at the New Haven Independent

Malcom Young on Re-entry Principles

"...Nationally, state policymakers have endorsed prisoner reentry and employment as a strategy to reduce a $69-billion annual prison bill. And it can work: with an investment of $56 million in programs, Michigan realized $200 million in prison savings. But here's the rub: states lack the money it takes to save money. Deficit-ridden states such as Kansas have cut the very programs which had successfully reduced prison populations. Federal stimulus funds for transitional work programs and incentives for employers to hire former prisoners are drying up. And some observers are predicting that federal funding for reentry programs will be halved in the coming year..."   read the rest of the article here   [Malcolm Young directs the Program for Prison Reentry Strategies at the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern University School of Law]

Good Work in Newark

"...Let's assume, for example, that an individual, recently released from prison on parole, is entered into a residential "halfway back" program, and has an appointment with Opportunity Reconnect. There he meets with Legal Services, to address outstanding fines and surcharges which caused the suspension of his driver's license; and to seek modification of his child support payments and deal with arrears which accumulated while he was incarcerated. He meets with a representative of America Works to identify and develop employment opportunities. Next week, he will apply to take his GED examination at the college. ...  These are precisely the supports Opportunity Newark provides. This model of "bundled" prisoner re-entry services is efficient, creates a positive "community" of support, and with hope, may find success in other urban centers throughout the state."     read the entire article at: blog.nj.com

Who talked?

Our monthly meeting with recently paroled men and women is manditory, so it is reasonably well attended. Of course one or two POs give a pep talk. The agency people also give brief notes about what their groups offer. But the guests really sit up and take notice when hearing from some of our speakers who have themselves been former guests of the system. These talks begin with a laundry list of facilities and experiences with the revolving door. The language can be rugged, and their outline is very rough, but the audience hangs on every word. Whenever the speaker mentions years of sobriety or years of freedom, the applause is spontaneous. Clearly there is a desire to get it right, to get straight, to stay out. These speakers are always mobbed at the end of the morning. Connections are made. Hope takes a chance and grabs on. The speakers themselves would be there every time if they could. They are committed to the cause like no one else. The challenge we face is that each of these speakers is a volunteer, and a morning a month is a lot for most employers to give time away. If they can make it regularly, it means they are without a regular job, and so still on the edge of disaster. Ideally you can collect enough success stories to have a rotation of speakers. Five words from a person they know and trust is worth more than a month of Sunday sermons. In the end the results are all about who talked.

JG

Resource for California

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has put up this resource listing agencies willing to help with re-entry listed by county. It is very comprehensive, even just a little overwhelming in its volume. Public Internet access is available at many local libraries and locally in Merced at WorkNet. Other areas may have need for sites, be they churches or schools, who make networked computers available for parolee use.

When Prisoners Come Home- Book

Check out this book at Amazon.com

When Prisoners Come Home by Joan Petersilia

RAP - Re-entry Assistance Partnership

When men and women are released from prison they land in town with a little gate money in their pocket and the clothes on their back.

We host a meeting with Parole where those released in the last month hear a pep talk about staying out, and then meet with local agencies and organizations that offer them help. The RAP has members from housing providers, substance abuse programs, the DMV, Employment Development, the Welfare Department, church recovery groups, the Rescue Mission, and others. A catalog of local agencies is presented to parolees, and they are encouraged to talk to the representatives. The catalog includes phone numbers so they can call later through the month.

One of the best practices has been to send a reminder to the agency list a couple days before the next meeting. Our state has a budget crisis (whose doesn't?) and sometimes agencies cannot attend every month. But as the network develops we have seen participants sending literature with other attenders. There seems to be genuine concern over the success of the parolees, and we have seen a few make it off parole altogether.

What is working where you are? Leave a comment.