Title: Community Reinvestment- Re-Entry
1Community Reinvestment- Re-Entry
- Maureen Price-Boreland, Esq.
- Executive Director
- Community Partners in Action, established 1875
- Member Agency Of
- Connecticut Association of Non-Profits
2Goals of Effective Prison Re-entry
- Safer Communities
- Community Investment
- Social reintegration
- Stabilize the offender in the community
- Continued intervention/supervision post
incarceration - Reduce Recidivism
- Reduce incarceration cost to the state
3The state of the State of Connecticut re-entry
services
- Connecticut is viewed nationally as progressive
in its re-entry efforts -
- CTs DOC is committed to re-entry services
- DOC and CSSD have a proven track record of
funding a myriad of services for re-entry
services - CT has a long and established good working
relationship between the DOC, Board of Parole,
CSSD and Community Providers
4The state of the State of Connecticut re-entry
services.
- CT through the legislative leadership of Bill
Dyson and Mike Lawlor conducted a review and
implementation of reinvestment strategies
(Building Bridges 2003 2004) which has resulted
in correctional cost reinvestment and legislation
on prison and jail overcrowding - CT has a rich group of established community
providers who have partnered in providing quality
re-entry services to the criminal justice
population for many years - This partnership and alternatives to
incarceration have resulted in immense savings to
the State of Connecticut. Estimated average
community cost per person 3,000-8,000 vs.
27,000-30,000 for incarceration
5Premise and Need for Community Programs/Services
- Approximately 96 of those incarcerated will
return to the community - Period immediately following release is a
critical transition point for offenders - Managing re-entry is critical so that fewer
crimes are committed - Managing re-entry so that fewer crimes are
committed enhances public safety
6Premise of Need for Community Programming/Services
contd.
- Managing re-entry so that there are fewer returns
to prisonsignificant cost savings - Managing re-entry benefits families and
communities - Coordinated approach to re-entry is effective in
reducing recidivism - Churning is expensive
7Issues with re-integration
- Men and Women are re-entering with
- Low levels of educational and vocational skills
- Many with health related issues to include mental
health and substance abuse - Serious housing, educational, employment, social
and family needs - Most are returning to concentrated communities
which are already deprived of resources and ill
equipped to meet the challenges of this
population. (Five towns reflect 50 of the
incarcerated population)
8Issues with re-integration contd.
- Limited assistance in reintegration for end of
sentence inmates (EOS) pose immediate public
safety risks -
- Increased pressure on criminal justice system to
solve the social ills within communities - Significant collateral impact
9Issues with re-integration contd.
- Persistent pressure for a tougher response to
crime - More bi-furcation between urban and suburban
areas - African American Ratio 121 in CT.
- 88 of those overdosing on drugs according to
DPHs 2004 report are white - Significant racial and ethnic disparity in the
system
10Employment/Training and Re-Entry
- Challenges
- Prison records diminish prospects for stable
employment and reduces average wages - Time spent in prison is time spent out of the
legitimate labor market - Stigma associated with having served time
- Ex-Offenders are barred from working in certain
types of jobs - Desired results
- Employed ex-offenders are less likely to return
to prison - Education and Job Training placements reduces the
likelihood of re-incarceration
11Health and Re-Entry
- Challenges
- Nationally 30-40 of offenders report chronic
physical or mental health conditions, most
commonly depression, asthma and high blood
pressure - Higher rates of schizophrenia, depression,
bipolar disorder and posttraumatic stress than
general population (21 with significant needs in
Connecticut) - Infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS are a
significant problem - Incarceration makes offenders ineligible for
Medicaid - Desired Results
- Facilitating timely linkages between corrections
and local mental health and physical care
providers is critical - Services should meet the specialized and
identified risk factors of the offender e.g. sex
offender treatment, domestic violence, substance
abuse
12Housing and Re-Entry
- Challenges
- Housing is one of the most pressing concerns for
ex-offenders - Without housing ex-offenders have trouble finding
and maintaining stable employment - Without stable housing, ex-offenders are more
likely to return to prison - Public Housing denies housing to ex-offenders
- Some ex-offenders will find housing with family
or friends, others in public shelters and many
are homeless - Desired Result
- Securing stable housing is critical to fostering
successful re-entry - Appropriate housing should take into
consideration a healthy and supportive environment
13Substance Use and Re-Entry
- Challenges
- 88 of Connecticut offenders report substance
abuse addiction or substance abuse having an
impact on their incarceration - 26 receive treatment while incarcerated
- Offenders identify substance abuse as being a
critical factor associated with problems for
employment, schooling, family, finances and
criminal activity - Desired Results
- Continuum of services from prison to community
addressing substance abuse - Adequate inpatient and out patient evidenced
based substance abuse services
14Families and Re-Entry
- Challenges
- Incarceration has a major impact on the family
unit - Family oriented services can appropriately
strengthen ties between offenders and their loved
ones - Desired Results
- Strong family relationships can lead to improved
employment outcomes and act as a protective
factor against further criminal activity. - Need to be mindful and plan for issues such as
domestic violence, risk of injury to children
that may not be conducive to family reintegration
15Communities and Re-Entry
- Challenges
- Large number of offenders returning to mostly 5
communities in Connecticut - These communities are overwhelmed with managing
this concentration - Limited resources to address the social ills that
ex-offenders bring back to the community - Desired Results
- Network of informal control, empowered and
informed part of the solution family, religious
organization, mentor - Strong partnerships between formal and informal
controls - Information sharing between parole, probation and
community providers strengthen the ability to
identify, predict and possibly deter future
criminal activity
16Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Challenges
- Offenders make poor choices in problem solving
- Many offenders exhibit poor impulse and self
control - Desired Results
- Offenders must develop better reasoning skills,
learn problem solving skills and improve self
control - Teach offenders to anticipate problematic
situations and develop alternate pro-social
behavioral response to those situations - Crisis intervention with intense case management
is critical - These services need to be administered close to
release and reinforced post release
17Program Evaluations
- Goals
- Research can help to inform on effectiveness of
programs - Evaluations will produce evidence on the link
between good re-entry and recidivism - Help in the efforts to develop future activities
18Program Evaluations
- Evaluations should look at both Process and
Outcomes - Process evaluations- Does not evaluate
effectiveness. - Identify issues that obstruct program
participation and program operation- quantitative
and qualitative - Identify clear operational details of the program
- Outcomes
- Does the program reduce recidivism?
- Is the program cost effective?
- Does the program produce benefits in terms of
education, substance abuse reduction, employment,
housing stability, family functioning and
cognitive skills?
19Public perception vs. Reality issuesArguments
for Alternatives
- Time served is a significant component of the
rising prison population - Time served does not influence recidivism
- Increasing time served does not contribute to
general deterrence - Time in prison is expensive
- Longer prison terms erode community ties
- The pressure to punish the offender beyond the
established sentence can be counter-productive - We cannot imprison our way out of the problem
20Sample Programs that work
- Resettlement, established 1972- Long term case
management services to female offenders 6 months
prior to release and up to one year follow up
services in the community. - U.S. Department of Labor re-entry grant.-Awarded
to Connecticut under the Presidents Re-Entry
Initiative. Focuses only on non-violent
offenders for employment services.
21Resettlement-est.1992
- Have at least 4 to 6 months left on their
sentence - Participant must actively participate in
identifying needs and problems, setting goals to
overcome issues and succeed. - Participant must develop a concrete transitional
plan addressing goals for the future - Participant must help develop and sign a
commitment contract - Ongoing individual and group guidance, support
and encouragement - Basic needs offered housing, clothing,
identification, access to employment services,
substance abuse/mental health, and medical
treatment.
22U.S. Department of Labor Re-Entry Grant- March
2006-Present
- 3 Year Grant to Community Partners in Action and
a group of collaborative community partners - Department of Correction
- Capital Workforce Development Board
- Urban League of Greater Hartford
- Families in Crisis
- South Arsenal Neighborhood Development
Corporation (SAND) - Co-Opportunity, Inc.
- Our Piece of the Pie
23Goals and Services of Prep Re-Entry
- Seeks to strengthen the Greater Hartford
offenders with an employment centered program
that incorporates - Risk and Needs assessment
- Case Management
- Mentoring and Family intervention
- Job Training
- Job Development, placement and intervention
- Substance Abuse
- Other Transitional services
24Results to Date-11-28-07U.S. DOL Re-Entry Grant
- Participants enrolled-
318 - History of Alcohol or Substance Abuse- 224
- Received Job Training Activities- 44
- Received Work preparation activities- 306
- Received Mentoring Services- 232
- Job Placements-
166 - Recidivism Rate-
28
25Connecticuts Case Study
- Conducted by
- Public Safety Performance ( A project of the Pew
Charitable Trusts) -
- and
- The Council of State Governments
- www.pewpublicsafety.org
26Strategic Planning and Recommendations
- 1. Coordinated and centralized re-entry system
to include stakeholders -
- Correctional Staff
- Community Corrections
- Police
- Judicial staff
- Non-Profit Provider Network
- Mental Health Providers
- Local Workforce Boards
- Victim Advocates
27Strategic Planning and Recommendations
- Coordinated system should include- Institutional
phase, structured re-entry phase and community
re-integration phase. - Coordinated communication system between
Corrections and Community providers to ensure
identification and provision of services based on
risk and needs - Legislative and State Agencies- Intervention in
assisting with siting residential facilities - Support for Non-Profits to enhance their service
delivery and ensure stability of the provider
network Constant loss of staff to state
agencies, ability to hire staff with required
qualifications