July 2010 National Reentry Resource Center Newsletter
Feature
New Hampshire Enacts Law to Reduce Recidivism and Generate Savings
On June 30, 2010, New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, surrounded by a bipartisan group of state leaders representing all three branches of government, signed landmark criminal justice legislation (Senate Bill 500) into law that will increase public safety by lowering the state’s recidivism rate and, as a result, reduce both the prison population and taxpayer spending on corrections.
In a subsequent press release from the Governor's office, Lynch stated, "Most people who enter New Hampshire's prison system will complete their sentence and be released back into the community at some point. These reforms will make New Hampshire safer, and save taxpayers money by working to ensure that released offenders become productive members of our society, do not commit new crimes and do not return to prison."
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Hill Update
Senate Appropriations Bill Includes $50 Million for Second Chance Act
On Thursday, July 22, 2010, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2011 that allocates $50 million for Second Chance Act programs. The bill, which contains $29.9 billion in total budget authority, provides $3.7 billion for state and local law enforcement programs and also includes:
- $11 million for the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act
- $520 million for Byrne Justice Assistance Grants
- $214 million for Byrne Discretionary Grants
- $40 million for Byrne Competitive Grants
- $586 million for Community Oriented Policing Service Grants
- $45 million for drug courts
- $20 million for residential substance abuse treatment for state prisoners
- $300 million for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program
- $468 million for the Office on Violence Against Women
- $490 million for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention
- $468 million to prevent violence against women
- $400 million to prevent, investigate, and prosecute crimes against children under the Adam Walsh Act
- $841 million for the Crime Victims Fund
Committee approval is only the first step in the appropriations process. The appropriations bills must be passed by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, as well as the full House and Senate. The House Commerce Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee approved a draft FY11 spending bill on June 29. The numbers will be released after the full House Appropriations Committee mark-up.
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Convenes Hearing on the Second Chance Act
On Wednesday, July 21, 2010, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on "The Second Chance Act: Strengthening Safe and Effective Community Reentry." The committee, chaired by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), heard from the following witnesses:
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Andrew A. Pallito, Commissioner, Vermont Department of Corrections
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Le'Ann Duran, Director, National Reentry Resource Center, Council of State Governments Justice Center
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Sol Rodriguez, Executive Director, OpenDoors, Providence, RI
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David Muhlhausen, Senior Policy Analyst, The Heritage Foundation
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Howard Husock, Vice-President for Policy Research, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
The hearing was attended by Chairman Leahy, Ranking Member Jeff Sessions (R-AL), and Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Al Franken (D-MN), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), each of whom noted that recidivism imposes fiscal and social costs that make prisoner reentry a pressing issue for the federal government and for communities around the country.
"As a former prosecutor, I believe strongly in securing tough and appropriate prison sentences for people who break our laws," said Chairman Leahy. "But it is also important that we do everything we can to ensure that when these people get out of prison, they enter our communities as productive members of society, so we can start to reverse the dangerous cycles of recidivism and violence. The Second Chance Act helps break this cycle."
A recording of the hearing is available at the Senate Judiciary Committee's website.
To learn more about the Second Chance Act, click here.
Second Chance Act Grantee Profile
Occasionally, the Justice Center will spotlight a state, local government, or nonprofit organization that has received funding through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Second Chance Act Grant Program.
Grantee: New Hampshire Department of Corrections
Grantee Type: Adult Demonstration
Location: Concord, New Hampshire
Program Name: Community Corrections Pilot
Program Summary
The New Hampshire Department of Corrections (NHDOC) is piloting a community corrections system in Concord, New Hampshire, the jurisdiction with the state’s highest concentration of reentering individuals and the largest prison, which targets high-risk and high-need individuals on parole who have substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders, which largely account for the increasing incarceration rate. These individuals are returning to prison as a result of unmet treatment needs and an absence of comprehensive, evidenced-based re-entry supports and services. Recognizing that targeting the highest-risk individuals to receive the most intense services and combining community corrections supervision with treatment for substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders has the greatest impact on reducing recidivism, this comprehensive re-entry program will combine a strong network of community providers with a "community corrections" model that includes treatment, supervision, and supportive services.
"We are truly fortunate that the stars appear to be aligned regarding corrections reform in New Hampshire. There is a consensus regarding implementation of evidence-based practices and policies. This consensus has enabled the blending of several funding streams into a cohesive effort," says Joseph Diament, director of the Division for Community Corrections, NHDOC.
To capitalize on the opportunities presented by Second Chance Act funding, New Hampshire is leveraging other federal and state dollars and partnering with The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to help fill the gaps in those services that address the critical criminogenic needs of the reentering population. The New Hampshire Department of Justice will use a Byrne Justice Assistance Grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to increase access to substance use and co-occurring disorder treatment and relapse prevention services for high-risk, high-need parolees throughout the state. In addition, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation has a strong history of dedicating its resources to improving access to and quality of substance use disorder treatment, which plays a critical role in supporting the Second Chance Act and related criminal justice treatment efforts. New Hampshire’s approach demonstrates how leveraging diverse resources can improve reentry programming.
"Although this is all new, we are confident in our ability to shape a positive future for public safety and the lives of many people," says Diament.
Announcements & Events
The deadline for submitting proposals for presentation at the 3rd Annual National Prisoner's Family Conference is July 31st. Click here for more information.
As budgets dwindle, addressing chronic problems facing communities is more challenging. Leaders at all levels of government are relying on evidence-based policies and practices to establish funding priorities. The 2010 National Forum will convene leaders from state, tribal, and local governments and the private sector to work collaboratively in navigating the choppy waters of improving community safety and find the most effective course of evidence-based policies and practices on which they can sail toward success.
The Crime and Justice Institute at Community Resources for Justice and the National Institute of Corrections recently released a comprehensive eight-part series of papers known as the Box Set, available for free download. The Crime and Justice Institute will be hosting a series of webinars for people in the field to learn more about each document from the researchers, authors, policy makers, and criminal justice professionals who are engaged in this work.
The American Probation and Parole Association is hosting the 35th Annual Training Institute, a training conference for community corrections professionals in the United States and abroad.
Publications
This article examines the disturbing reluctance of schools to allow delinquent
youth to continue their education and the high dropout rates for youth returning
from juvenile justice placements. The strengths and weaknesses of current
litigation strategies are discussed, with a focus on the importance of strengthening the due process
protections available to delinquent youth returning to school. Given the limitations
of litigation to fully address the problem, some policy
recommendations are highlighted, including amendments to the No Child Left Behind Act that
could promote the integration of youth from juvenile justice placements back into
school. Finally, a few promising state models are featured that specifically address the
transition from juvenile facilities to schools.
Legislators across the country are currently looking at state budgets for areas to cut, and many have already made reductions to juvenile justice programming. Advocates have worked for years to achieve reform, only to see the fruit of their efforts disappear due to funding concerns. This report, published by the National Juvenile Justice Network, offers advocates strategies to use limited money more wisely in the present and the future. These strategies preserve and encourage programs that are proven to successfully rehabilitate youth, strengthen communities, and increase public safety. Substantive strategies offer cost-effective administrative and legislative solutions, whereas tactical strategies provide advocates with specific tools for their work. To download this publication, click here.
With four million youth in the United States estimated to have experienced at least one traumatic event, childhood trauma has become a pressing public health concern...Youth in correctional facilities already face significant challenges related to their incarceration and justice involvement, including separation from their families, communities, education and other positive social networks. But youth who have experienced trauma will be even more acutely affected. In addition, there is risk of re-traumatization by staff and other people in correctional facilities. Addressing a child’s trauma through the public health system before the child becomes involved in the justice system, or if necessary while in the justice system, is critical to promoting the well-being of the child, his family, and the community.
Under contract with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) worked with Oklahoma to develop, implement, and evaluate a model program to ensure that eligible individuals with mental illness are enrolled in Medicaid when discharged from state institutions. As a result of extensive collaboration across state
agencies and with MPR, Oklahoma implemented a new program in July 2007 to help inmates with serious mental illness in three correctional facilities complete
disability and Medicaid applications. Oklahoma also gathered detailed
information on the Medicaid enrollment status of clients entering the state’s largest institution for mental diseases (IMD) to determine whether implementing a similar program in IMDs would be beneficial. This report describes the evaluation of these efforts.
In 2006, the Corporation for Supportive Housing launched its Returning Home Initiative (RHI) with two goals: 1) to establish permanent supportive housing as an essential reentry component for formerly incarcerated persons with histories of homelessness, mental illness, and chronic health conditions; and 2) to promote local and national policy changes to integrate the corrections, housing, mental health, and human service systems. The Urban Institute assessed the process of system change stimulated by the RHI activities in three communities that received significant RHI investment and other jurisdictions. In addition, the report identifies challenges and lessons learned from the RHI to date.
The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $5 billion through the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) under the U.S. Department of Energy to help weatherize one million low-income family homes—marking a tremendous increase from $227.2 and $250 million for WAP in FYs 2008 and 2009, respectively.
In this paper, the National Employment Law Project, with help from the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and PolicyLink, provides the necessary information to enable efficient and equitable hiring using WAP funds. This paper fills an important void by clearly explaining the laws regulating who can access these jobs, particularly as it pertains to people with criminal records, a population that faces significant barriers to securing employment.
This paper assembles the most promising local policies that promote the hiring of people with criminal records. Of special significance, the paper features twenty-three cities and counties — four more in the past year — that have decided to "ban the box" on their job applications that asks about an individual’s criminal record.
In addition, the paper highlights a range of other innovative hiring strategies, ranging from first source hiring policies to special tax credits and bonding subsidies. These promising reforms open up employment opportunities for
people with criminal records which, in turn, improve public safety in those communities hardest hit by crime and unemployment. The paper also describes some of the fundamentals of the local government hiring process and the federal civil rights laws that regulate criminal background checks.
This paper introduces a new kind of social support services designed to fill the needs of people in or seeking recovery. These services are called peer recovery support services and are designed and delivered by people who have experienced both substance use disorder and recovery.
New research is emerging that demonstrates that strategies targeting stronger relationships
between offenders and their families correlate with better offender outcomes. For this reason,
corrections agencies and their partners are becoming increasingly interested in the role families
can play in promoting successful reentry. This Coaching Packet addresses a key area in the
formula for offender success: identifying and building upon offenders’ pro-social supports from
families and other social networks.
This past year, the United States took important steps toward a criminal justice system that is fair and equitable in its sentencing laws and practices, and that uses incarceration only as a last resort in ensuring public safety.
It's a big vision, but one that is coming into view. Every day. In substantive, measurable ways. See how in The Sentencing Project's new 2009 Annual Report.
Whether the issue was crack cocaine sentencing reform, ending the practice of sentencing juveniles to prison for the rest of their lives, helping policymakers understand the unsustainable social and economic costs of imprisoning over two million Americans, or capturing media attention for analyzing how current policies create difficulties for people returning home from prison, The Sentencing Project was at the forefront of change.
Reentry in the News
Articles from newspapers around the country covering reentry issues can be found on the National Reentry Resource Center website. Some recent headlines from the homepage are posted below.
7/22/10 — "A new Weed and Seed initiative for Johnson City should help reduce crime in certain neighborhoods and increase employment among the area’s recently released inmates."
7/21/10 — "[E]mployers' reluctance to hire ex-offenders—especially during a recession—isn't the only obstacle. Often, state officials say, a patchwork of restrictions imposed by state laws, regulations and policies keep ex-offenders from being employed in certain public- and private-sector fields or obtaining professional licenses. Just how many jobs are affected—and whether some restrictions even make sense or are applied correctly—are questions that Gov. Mitch Daniels hopes to answer soon. He has asked all state agencies to participate in an inventory of such rules."
7/21/10 — "It's difficult for a convicted felon to find a job. But it's possible for the felon to find work and be productive in society if the felon hires himself. That concept is behind a University of Pittsburgh pilot program which trained ten former inmates to become entrepreneurs so they can start their own businesses."
7/21/10 — "STAR is described by staff and administrators as a 'prison diversion program,' where judges from nine southern-Ohio counties can send non-violent offenders to get treatment for addiction. While they are here, the inmates, known as residents and referred to only as Mr. or Mrs. by their supervisors, can earn their General Educational Development diploma and attend classes to help them change their criminal thinking."
7/20/10 — "Obviously, it is sometimes a difficult decision as to how long to incarcerate someone who breaks the law. But it is equally obvious that the cost of incarceration is such that imaginative programs and ideas must be brought to bear on previous incarceration-cost models. Some of the techniques have been shown to work well in New Jersey, and such initiatives need to be expanded—very carefully and with lots of monitoring—so that justice is maintained, costs are reduced and, most important, the offender is returned to the community as a productive citizen."
7/20/10 — "One hundred miles southeast of Wilmington, in a blip of a town on Old U.S. Route 52 along the Ohio River, Eddie Philabaun is smiling. As director of the STAR Community Justice Center in Franklin Furnace, Philabaun oversees drug offenders, probation violators and non-violent criminals from nine Ohio counties, including Clinton. His minimum security facility is an alternative to prison, where judges send the drug-addled but not the dangerous, the troubled but not the terrible."
7/20/10 — "Boston, Chicago and San Francisco set a welcome example earlier in the decade when they abandoned counterproductive policies that often barred former offenders from municipal jobs, no matter how minor their crime nor how distant in the past. Connecticut, New Mexico and Minnesota have recently passed laws protecting the employment rights of former offenders. Other states should quickly follow."
7/20/10 — Boonville- The Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC) today announced the award of nearly $3 million to support and enhance reentry services statewide. These thirty-four contracts awarded to MDOC’s nonprofit partners are part of the Community Reentry Funding Project, now entering its third year. The Community Reentry Funding Project is offender-funded through intervention fees paid by clients on supervision in the community.
7/9/10 — "Administrators at the new Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Justice Center are hoping the facility will enable them to help reduce crime on the reservation with increased patrols, a more effective court system and a rehabilitation-focused jail and detention center."
7/9/10 — Virginia is launching a new effort to help convicted felons transition out of jails and prisons and back into society. It's going to take a lot of work, but it's a long-term effort that Governor Bob McDonnell is fiercely promoting as a win-win situation.
7/7/10 — "Citing studies showing that ex-offender employment reduces recidivism by as much as 50 percent, Contra Costa County may join San Francisco County, Alameda County and the city of East Palo Alto, which 'ban the box' on job applications. Contra Costa County’s recidivism rate mirrors the state’s, at 70 percent."
