Re-entry and Community Corrections Mission Statement
The Reentry and Community Corrections Committee was recently updated due to the consolidation of ASCA Committees in early 2010.
Click here to review the Reentry and Community Corrections Committee Mission Statement.
Byrne Reentry Project
ASCA’s Reentry Information Sharing Initiative is addressing this critical information sharing issue. The foundations are already available in the information sharing standards developed by the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative—the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM), Justice Reference Architecture (JRA), and Global Federated Identity and Privilege Management (GFIPM). ASCA is working as a team to build on these standards and capitalize on recent successes in constructing information sharing models for corrections with the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), the IJIS Institute, and the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics (SEARCH).The goal of this project is to design, develop and implement a set of information sharing capabilities that can be used by the corrections community to exchange information with law enforcement, public safety, human/social services partners, and other community resources that participate in the offender reentry process. Project participants, hereinafter referred to as Pilots, will be expected to design, develop and implement these exchanges with assistance and guidance provided by BJA, ASCA, SEARCH, APPA and the IJIS Institute, hereinafter referred to as the TA Staff. Pilot projects may include information sharing capabilities from corrections to reentry partners and from reentry partners to corrections. Two Pilot Sites were selected: Rhode Island Department of Corrections and the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Pilot sites were selected based upon their commitment, technical readiness and ability to collaborate with their reentry partners and stakeholders. Click here for the full project description.
Justice Information Systems Reentry Information Sharing Project
In October of 2010 ASCA was awarded a Justice Information Sharing cooperative agreement from BJA, Corrections Information Sharing Implementation Program, for $699,662. This agreement will act as the implementation phase of our previous information sharing grant. This funding is specifically designed to support pilot implementation within jurisdictions that possess the capacity to engage law enforcement collaboratively and demonstrate results for evaluation and later replication. Working with project partners SEARCH, APPA and IJIS, ASCA will: work with BJA and stakeholders to identify and support pilot sites through provisioning of financial and direct service support to meet the implementation needs of sites to include hardware, software, training, and/or technical assistance; build policy guidance and technology best practices on emerging work in the corrections area based on the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) and Justice Reference Architecture (JRA), as well as the work of the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative; and document results through the development of a case study report on the pilot projects and the overall effort, and provide technical assistance to additional agencies as needed to replicate results.
ASCA’s Justice Information Systems Information Sharing Initiative is an extension of the Byrne Reentry project. This project will enable ASCA to add pilot sites and hopefully provide additional assistance to the pilots. Hampden County Sheriff’s Department in Massachusetts was selected as a Pilot Site based on its innovative law enforcement information sharing project with western Massachusetts sheriff’s departments and its progressive reentry efforts. Another pilot site may be added in the near future.
National Reentry Resource Center
Acting Assistant Attorney General for OJP Mary Lou Leary issued the following statement about the recently released report Lessons from the States: Reducing Recidivism and Curbing Corrections Costs Through Justice Reinvestment.
We are very pleased to announce the results of an important report from the Department of Justice and the Council of State Governments (CSG), highlighting 17 states that have successfully cut corrections costs while reducing recidivism and improving public safety. As you may know, over the past 20 years, state spending on corrections has shot up from $12 billion in 1988 to more than $52 billion in 2011. Declining state revenues and other fiscal factors are straining many states’ criminal justice systems, often putting concerns about the bottom line in competition with public safety.
This new report, Lessons from the States: Reducing Recidivism and Curbing Corrections Costs Through Justice Reinvestment, summarizes the experiences of states participating in the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) and shows that evidence-based strategies can improve public safety and reduce recidivism, even in an era of reduced resources.
The initiative analyzed statewide crime and corrections data, looking for ways to help officials redirect public funds from expensive prison building projects to more cost-effective programs aimed at ensuring greater public safety. Based on these analyses, states have put in place legislation and policies which encourage use of risk-based decision making, increase services and support for victims, target grants to law enforcement and establish state-wide standards and training for probation agencies.
In North Carolina and Ohio, for example, JRI analyses led to legislation that focuses resources on high-risk offenders and conserves prison space for the most serious criminals. Kentucky enacted a law that requires 75 percent of state supervision and treatment expenditures to be evidence-based by 2016. An analysis in Hawaii found deficiencies in the collection of restitution for crime victims and prompted the state to revise its restitution collection infrastructure.
Through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, we’re helping state leaders become smarter and tougher on crime and employ data and research to wisely use scarce resources. This approach has shown that states don’t have to choose between safe communities and fiscal solvency. Both are possible.
Click here for the report and click here to find more information on the Justice Reinvestment Initiative.
The National Reentry Resource Center April 25, 2013 Newsletter features a recap of the Five Year Anniversary of the Second Chance Act. Other articles include the release of three publications: Lessons from the States: Reducing Recidivism and Curbing Corrections Costs Through Justice Reinvestment; Lessons Learned: Planning and Assessing a Law Enforcement Reentry Strategy; and The Implications of the Affordable Care Act on People Involved with the Criminal Justice System. Click here for the April Issue of the NRRC Newsletter.
The Council of State Governments Justice Center (CSG Justice Center) released a new report today, Lessons Learned: Planning and Assessing a Law Enforcement Reentry Strategy. Created with support from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), the report highlights how four law enforcement agencies engaged in local-level reentry partnerships in order to reduce crime and increase public safety in their jurisdictions. These four “learning sites” featured in the report applied strategies outlined in the Planning and Assessing a Law Enforcement Reentry Strategy toolkit released by the CSG Justice Center and the COPS office in 2008, which focuses on ten key elements of creating a local reentry initiative.
In addition to today’s release of the Lessons Learned publication, an interactive assessment tool will be launched that is a companion to the original Planning and Assessing a Law Enforcement Reentry Strategy toolkit. This online tool allows local sites to assess and plan improvements to their current reentry practices. Housed on the CSG Justice Center website, this tool will be accessible to law enforcement, corrections staff, community corrections professionals, and faith- and community-based services providers who are interested in assessing their current reentry projects and building on law enforcement and community partnerships focused on reentry strategies.
“Law enforcement professionals are uniquely positioned to engage their community policing networks of service providers who can help address the needs of those individuals returning from prison or jail,” said COPS Office Acting Director Joshua Ederheimer. “We are pleased by the commitment of these law enforcement executives in the four jurisdictions represented in this report, as they have served as solid examples for the field how local law enforcement can be important partners in the community reentry strategies focused on reducing recidivism, and improving public safety.”
In an effort to expand the knowledge base for law enforcement agencies interested in starting or enhancing a reentry effort, the CSG Justice Center selected four agencies to serve as “learning sites” that would implement recommendations and proposed strategies outlined in the law enforcement reentry toolkit. The four agencies that were selected and whose progress is featured in this report include:
- The Las Vegas (Nevada) Metropolitan Police Department,
- The Metropolitan (Washington, D.C.) Police Department,
- The Muskegon County (Michigan) Sheriff’s Department, and
- The White Plains (New York) Police Department.
Click here for more information about the four jurisdictions' challenges and their progress highlighted in the new report.
The March 27, 2013 National Reentry Resource Center Newsletter features a tribute to Colorado Executive Director Tom Clements by NRRC Director Michael Thompson. Other articles include a link to the just released Planning and Assessing a Law Enforcement Reentry Strategy, a list of Reentry related grant opportunities, and highlights of upcoming webinars.
Click here for the March 27, 2013 Reentry Resource Center newsletter.
The National Reentry Resource Center March 4, 2013 newsletter features an article on the recently released Recidivism Reduction Checklists for Corrections Administrators, Reentry Coordinators and Executive and Legislative policymakers. These checklists can help familiarize state leaders with key issues related to recidivism reduction, and help them honestly evaluate strengths and weaknesses in their reentry efforts through enhanced communication and coordination.
Other information in the newsletter includes Second Chance Act and SAMHSA reentry related funding opportunities; information about a Center for Justice Reform certificate program for workers that serve youth who are involved in the welfare and juvenile justice systems. Other reentry related publications and news articles are included in the newsletter. Click here for the March 4, 2013 National Reentry Resource Center newsletter.
The National Reentry Resource Center's November 29, 2012 Newsletter features articles including The U.S. Department of Justice new Second Chance Act awards, the MacArthur Foundation briefs about Youth Mental Health, a Reentry success story, and news briefs about reentry from around the country.
Click here for the November 29, 2012 National Reentry Resource Center newsletter.
The October 15, 2012 National Reentry Resource Center Newsletter features an article and link to a newly released database on collateral consequences; information about the CSG Justice Center report Adults with Behavioral Health Needs under Correctional Supervision: A Shared Framework for Reducing Recidivism and Promoting Recovery; and a new policy brief from CSG demonstrating States' success in reducing recidivism.
Click here for the October 15, 2012 Reentry Resource Center Newsletter.
On September 25th, 2012 the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center’s National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) released a policy brief highlighting a number of states that are reporting significant reductions in recidivism. The states profiled in the report show significant declines in their three-year recidivism rates based on data tracking individuals released from prison in 2005 and 2007. Texas and Ohio reported reductions of 11 percent, while the Kansas rate fell by 15 percent and Michigan’s rate dropped by 18 percent. Incorporating data through 2010 (and in some cases, through 2011), the report provides some of the most recent data available for statewide three-year recidivism rates.
Click here for the full NRRC Press Release.
Click here for the policy brief.
By Matthew Schwarzfeld, Council of State Governments Justice Center
Earlier this week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued updated enforcement guidance on employers’ use of arrest and conviction records when making employment decisions. In its guidance, the EEOC cited that hiring policies that include blanket exclusions of people with criminal records have a disparate racial impact, and therefore violate Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The new rules call for employers to assess applicants on an individual basis rather than excluding everyone with a criminal record through a blanket policy. The guideline states that employers should not reject a candidate because of an arrest without a conviction, as "arrests are not proof of criminal conduct." The new guidance doesn’t prohibit the use of criminal background checks. Rather, it urges employers to consider the "nature of the crime, the time elapsed, and the nature of the job” both in writing a hiring policy and in making a specific hiring decision.
EEOC’s commissioners decided to issue the updated guidance in a bipartisan 4-1 vote. The new guidance supersedes the EEOC’s previous position on the issue of criminal background checks, released in 1987. While confirming the core principles of the earlier policy, this guidance provides significantly more detail and direction for employers. In nearly 60 pages, the EEOC recommends “best practices” for employers, provides a dozen examples that clarify the standards, and answers frequently asked questions.
“The new guidance clarifies and updates the EEOC’s longstanding policy concerning the use of arrest and conviction records in employment, which will assist job seekers, employees, employers, and many other agency stakeholders,” said EEOC Chair Jacqueline Berrien, in a statement.
In its guidance, the EEOC cites extensive social science research and case law supporting the finding that blanket exclusions of people with criminal records violate Title VII. Specifically, the commission cites data indicating that about one in 17 white men are expected to serve time in prison during their lifetime, compared with one in six Hispanic men, and one in three African-American men.
“The ability of African-Americans and Hispanics to gain employment after prison is one of the paramount civil justice issues of our time,” said Stuart Ishimaru, one of the five members of the commission, when announcing the new standard.
The EEOC is the federal agency that enforces the nation’s laws against employment discrimination. Though it provides guidance, it is not a regulatory agency. Therefore, judges hearing employment discrimination cases have discretion whether or not to defer to EEOC guidance. The judge in a 2007 district court case on whether policies that prohibit hiring individuals with criminal convictions discriminate on the basis of race [El v. SEPTA, 479 F.3d 232 (3d Cir. 2007)] wrote that EEOC’s 1987 ruling didn’t provide sufficient research support, and therefore chose not to defer to it.
“The research is really important to this updated policy. It gives heft to the whole thing. That’s why half the document is footnotes. For courts to take the issue of disparate impact seriously, the argument has to be very well reasoned and thoughtful, which in this case it really is. This is clearly a very significant step by the EEOC,” said Maurice Emsellem, Policy Co-Director with the National Employment Law Project (NELP). (To view NELP’s highlights of the EEOC’s guidance, click here.)
Unlike the old policy, the new guidance also provides specific recommendations for how employer criminal record policies should be designed to comply with Title VII. For example, because criminal background checks have a disparate impact on people of color, the EEOC states that employers must show that the screening process is “job related” and consistent with “business necessity.” Specifically, this means that employers must consider the age of the offense, the seriousness of the offense, and its relation to the job in question.
The new policy also urges employers to give applicants a chance to explain their criminal record before they are rejected outright. An applicant might say the report is inaccurate, the conviction was expunged, that he or she has been fully rehabilitated, or that the conviction is unrelated to the job he/she is applying for.
The policy also makes clear how Title VII interacts with other local and state laws. It specifies that federal laws like Title VII generally preempt state laws (and that the Supreme Court has upheld the fact that Title VII does this), and that legislators cannot enact overly broad state and local laws that restrict employment of people with criminal records—as they would then be in violation of Title VII.
“This guidance is doing something very similar to what the Attorney General has been doing on reentry issues,” Emsellem said, referring to the Attorney General's Federal Interagency Reentry Council and recent guidance from the HUD Director on public housing access for ex-offenders and other issues. “It’s saying, ‘Look at your laws, and make sure they’re consistent with federal law.’”
This ruling comes at an important moment in the discussion around employer’s use of criminal background checks. According to a 2010 survey by the Society for Human Resources Management, 92 percent of employers conduct criminal background checks on some or all job applicants, up from 51 percent in 1996. More than two-thirds of states allow hiring and professional-licensing decisions to be made on the basis of an arrest alone.
EEOC has been considering the issue of the disparate racial impact of criminal background checks for several years. Many observers called for an updated policy, citing the fact that at the time of its last ruling, the Internet—and online background check companies, now part of a multi-billion dollar industry—barely existed. In a public hearing on the issue last July, the commission received approximately 300 public comments from prominent organizations, including the NAACP, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Society for Human Resources Management, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and others.
The EEOC has also recently stepped up its enforcement efforts. It recently publicly settled with Pepsi over the beverage company’s use of a blanket exclusion policy. The commission’s enforcement wing is also currently investigating more than 100 claims of job discrimination based on criminal background checks.
Second Chance Act Funding Under Consideration in the House and Senate
On April 17, 2012 the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, and Science released their fiscal year 2013 justice funding bills. In the House, appropriators proposed $70 million for the Second Chance Act, an increase of $7 million from the FY12 funding level. Senate appropriators included $25 million in their bill, while also proposing $6 million for the Justice Reinvestment initiative. The robust funding provided for the Second Chance Act and Justice Reinvestment Initiative reflects continued congressional support for prisoner reentry and recidivism reduction efforts.
Recently, 82 Members of Congress signaled their support for the Second Chance Act in two letters sent to leading appropriators responsible for determining funding for justice programs. In the House, 59 Members of Congress signed a bipartisan letter circulated by Representatives Howard Coble (R-NC-6) and Danny Davis (D-IL-7). A similar letter in the Senate, led by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), collected 23 signatures.
At a time when Congress is increasingly focused on reducing spending, these letters, and the Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittees’ decision to provide strong funding for the Second Chance Act, demonstrated that this important program remains a priority for many lawmakers. The Second Chance Act was passed by Congress in 2008 and supports evidence-based strategies proven to reduce recidivism.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan sent a letter clarifying HUD’s position on whether ex-offenders can live in HUD-subsidized properties. The letter, which was co-signed by HUD’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Housing/Federal Housing Commissioner Carol Galante, was sent to private rental property owners of HUD-assisted properties. Donovan and Galante called on owners “to seek a balance between allowing ex-offenders to reunite with families that live in HUD subsidized housing, and ensuring the safety of all residents.”
To view this letter, which also enumerates the specific cases when property owners do not have discretion regarding whom they rent to, click here.
This letter was sent to a vast number of property owners representing a broad segment of the rental housing market; nationwide, there are over a million units of HUD-assisted housing. It expands on a similar letter sent by the secretary last June to executive directors of public housing authorities (PHAs), in which the secretary clarified his agency’s position regarding people with criminal record’s eligibility for public housing.
While the impact of the secretary’s letters to PHA directors and landlords is hard to gauge, the National Reentry Resource Center did learn of a situation in which the earlier letter influenced local policy. A public housing resident in Birmingham, AL—who is also a participant in a reentry program run by the Alabama Justice Ministries Network (AJMN), a Second Chance Act (SCA) grantee—received a notice of eviction stating that his public housing building had a “no felon, no exception” policy. The resident alerted his AJMN program coordinator, who shared the secretary’s letter with the local PHA director. The PHA director, indicating that this was his first time seeing the letter, said that he was not only willing to reconsider the resident’s circumstances, but also initiated a process to formulate a new policy for the area. Within a month, HUD coordinated a seminar of over 140 PHA directors to explain the secretary’s position that flexibility is expected regarding access to public housing for people with felony records.
The recent letter from Secretary Donovan and Acting Assistant Secretary Galante builds on a series of federal efforts to address barriers to reentry. Under the leadership of Attorney General Eric Holder, various federal agencies have come together as the Federal Interagency Reentry Council.
Washington, DC — Teams of policymakers—which include the heads of the department of corrections, legislative leaders, judges and governors’ staff from all 50 states—are meeting in Washington today for an extraordinary forum on improving success rates for people released from prison. The purpose of the results-oriented event is to position states to set goals, or in some cases expand on existing goals, for reducing reincarceration rates for individuals committing new offenses or violating the conditions of their release.
Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress, as well as representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice, are joining the state leaders to highlight how the federal government can work in partnership with them to pursue cost-effective strategies that provide a strong return on their investments in public safety.
“Federal, state and local governments are working together to promote public safety and reduce recidivism in our communities. Helping offenders return to their communities as productive members of society ultimately improves their lives, and saves money for the communities in which they live. Reducing recidivism, through programs like those funded by the Second Chance Act, keeps us all safer,” said Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
Click here to read the full press release.
On Monday, November 14, 2011, House and Senate conferees released the “minibus” appropriations report, which includes Fiscal Year 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) spending. The conference report, a consolidated appropriations bill for several agencies including the Department of Justice, provides $63 million for the Second Chance Act.
The compromise appropriations bill resolves differences in Second Chance Act funding between the House, which allotted $70 million for the program, and the Senate, which provided no funding. The bill is expected to go to the full House and Senate for consideration this week.
"The Second Chance Act is having a tremendous impact nationally. It has changed the way state and local leaders think about prisoner reentry and it's demonstrating how we can reduce recidivism, which not too long ago many thought was impossible. Continued funding is a victory for every community seeking to increase public safety and to help families and neighborhoods receiving people released from prison and jail," commented Justin Jones, Director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
The bill provides $2.2 billion for state and criminal justice programs, including:
- $63 million for Second Chance Act programs;
- $9 million for Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act programs;
- $470 million for Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants;
- $6 million for comprehensive criminal justice reform and recidivism reduction efforts by states, also known as Justice Reinvestment;
- $35 million for drug courts;
- $10 million for residential substance abuse treatment programs;
- $20 million for Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act programs;
- $12.5 million for prison rape prevention and prosecution, and other programs.
In addition, the package contains a continuing resolution that funds other federal operations until December 16, 2011 – or until Congress completes the remaining nine FY 2012 appropriations bills.
Click here to see the legislative text approved by the conferees. To read the conference report, click here.
Attorney General Eric Holder has announced that 118 programs have been selected to receive funding in 2011 under the Second Chance Act (SCA). Grantees include both local and state governments and nonprofit organizations.
The selection process was highly competitive. According to Laurie O. Robinson, Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, DOJ received more than 1,000 applications for Second Chance funding this year.
These grant awards are posted at the Office of Justice Programs web site
- Fiscal Year 2011 Grant Awards Office of Justice Programs' program grants funded through the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2010, Public Law 111-117. Click here to view all the awards ordered by state, and here to view all the awards ordered by solicitation title.
To see the list of Second Chance Act grant recipients, click on one of the specific grant tracks listed below.
Mentoring Grants
Funding under this section helps nonprofit organizations and federally recognized Indian tribes implement mentoring projects to promote the safe and successful reintegration into the community of adults and juveniles who have been incarcerated.
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Adult Mentoring
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Adult Mentoring, “Promoting Successful Reentry Through Responsible Fatherhood/Motherhood”
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Juvenile Mentoring
Demonstration Grants
Funding under this section helps state and local agencies implement projects and strategies to reduce recidivism and ensure the safe and successful reentry of adults and juveniles released from prisons, jails, or youth detention facilities back to the community.
Family-Based Substance Abuse Treatment Grants
Funding under this section helps state and local government agencies and federally recognized Indian tribes establish or enhance residential substance abuse treatment projects in correctional facilities that include family supportive services.
Adult Offenders with Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders
This section’s funding helps state and local government agencies and federally recognized Indian tribes establish or enhance residential substance abuse treatment programs in correctional facilities that include aftercare and recovery supportive services.
Reentry Courts
This section’s funding helps state and local government agencies and federally recognized Indian tribes establish state, local, and tribal reentry courts monitor offenders and provide them with the treatment services necessary to establish a self-sustaining and law-abiding life.
Technology Careers
Funding under this section helps state and local governments and federally recognized Indian tribes to establish programs to train individuals in prisons, jails, or juvenile residential facilities for technology-based jobs and careers during the three-year period before their release.
In addition to these awards, other reentry research and technical assistance Second Chance Act awards were announced.
If you missed the National Reentry Resource Center's webinar, Recidivism Reduction, Substance Use, and Co-Occurring Disorders, it's now available online!
The presenters of this webinar discuss best practices in effective treatment for people whose co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders range in severity. They first focus on the importance of screening and assessment and then cover evidence-based treatment practices that help to reduce recidivism for people with co-occurring disorders.
Click here to watch a recorded version of the webinar.
Click here to download a PDF of the presentation used during the webinar.
The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center announced today the release of a guide for policymakers committed to reducing the likelihood that probationers will reoffend. A Ten-Step Guide to Transforming Probation Departments to Reduce Recidivism provides probation leaders with a roadmap to overhaul the operations of their agencies so they can increase public safety in their communities and improve rates of compliance among people they are supervising. Click here to download the report.
The first section describes how officials can engage key stakeholders, evaluate agency policies, and develop a strategic plan for implementing reform; the second section provides recommendations for redesigning departmental policies and practices; and the final section includes steps for making the department transformation permanent. The report provides numerous examples of how these steps were used in one probation department in particular (Travis County, Texas). Since transforming its operations between 2005 and 2008, the Travis County probation department has seen felony probation revocations decline by 20 percent and the one-year re-arrest rate for probationers fall by 17 percent (compared with similar probationers before the departmental overhaul).
Geraldine Nagy, Director of Travis County’s adult probation department and one of the authors of the report, said, “Probation leaders across the country share the conviction that probation administrators play a key role in community safety. In Travis County, we’ve made preventing crime and reducing reoffending the focus of our mission statement. Everyone, at all levels of our agency, along with judicial leaders, sees recidivism reduction as our shared and topmost priority. The Ten-Step Guide captures the key lessons we learned in reforming our agency.”
While probation officials in every state are experiencing cuts to their budgets, the number of people they are supervising is increasing. According to a recent study by the Pew Center on the States, more than five million people are currently on probation or parole in the U.S., representing an increase of 59 percent over the past 20 years. Facing high expectations and intense public scrutiny, probation officials should revisit their agency’s goals, processes, and measures for success. The Ten-Step Guide is designed for these community corrections officials and policymakers responsible for funding and overseeing probation.
North Carolina State Representative David Guice (R-Transylvania County), who is a member of the board of the CSG Justice Center and worked as a probation officer for over 30 years, said, "As a member of my state’s General Assembly, I worked diligently with fellow lawmakers to author legislation to overhaul the probation system across North Carolina. I believe it's important to realize how state governments can position probation staff to go beyond 'trailing and nailing' probationers who don't comply with conditions of release, and actually work to change behaviors among this population so they commit fewer crimes. The Ten-Step Guide is a critical tool for any state lawmaker who wants to help accomplish these same goals in their state."
Work on the guide was supported by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, Pew Center on the States Public Safety Performance Project, Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Community Justice Assistance Division, and the Travis County (TX) Community Supervision and Corrections Department.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Director Shaun Donovan sent a letter last week to executive directors of public housing authorities (PHAs) clarifying HUD’s position regarding people with criminal record’s eligibility for public housing. In the letter, which was co-signed by Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Sandra B. Henriquez, Secretary Donovan encourages PHA executive directors “to allow ex-offenders to rejoin their families in the Public Housing or Housing Choice Voucher programs, when appropriate.”
To view this important letter, click here.
“Housing is at the top of the list of what people need to succeed when they return from prison,” said Oklahoma Director of Corrections (and CSG Justice Center board member) Justin Jones. “We are very excited by this news in Oklahoma. It will contribute to public safety by helping people released from prison find a safe, affordable place to live.”
PHA executive directors generally have discretion whether or not to admit people with criminal records to public housing. The only circumstances under which a PHA is required by law to ban a person from federally assisted housing is if he or she was convicted of methamphetamine production on the premises or is subject to a lifetime registration as a sex offender.
The letter from Secretary Donovan and Assistant Secretary Henriquez is one of several efforts by the federal government that demonstrates its commitment to prisoner reentry issues. Under the leadership of Attorney General Eric Holder, various federal agencies have come together as the Federal Interagency Reentry Council. To learn more about the Reentry Council, click here.
"As President Obama recently made clear, this is an Administration that believes in the importance of second chances - that people who have paid their debt to society deserve the opportunity to become productive citizens and caring parents, to set the past aside and embrace the future,” Secretary Donovan and Assistant Secretary Heriquez wrote. “Part of that support means helping ex-offenders gain access to one of the most fundamental building blocks of a stable life - a place to live.”
Do you have questions about how to help people returning from prison and jail access housing or jobs? If so, the answers to your questions may well be found here: http://www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org/faqs.
In collaboration with its partners, the National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) has developed a series of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on hot topics in reentry. These issues target key areas to help formerly incarcerated individuals successfully re-engage in the community. Answers to questions about housing and employment are now available. Coming soon: Additional FAQs will be released that focus on the intersection of reentry and behavioral health; victims issues; pre-release planning and post-release supervision; tribal affairs; juvenile justice; and local government.
Still have questions? Contact the National Reentry Resource Center: info@nationalreentryresourcecenter.org to get help answering your specific concerns.
The National Reentry Resource Center is guided by the Justice Center’s key project partners: the Urban Institute, Association of State Correctional Administrators, American Probation and Parole Association, and Shay Bilchik, research professor/center director, Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, Georgetown University Public Policy Institute. ASCA also serves on the NRRC Pre-release Planning and Post-release Supervision committee, chaired by Carl Wicklund, Executive Director, American Probation and Parole Association. ASCA participates as faculty in grantee conferences, directs the planning of technical assistance and other NRRC activities, communicates with members about funding opportunities, provide documents and resources about reentry issues, participate in technical assistance activities. ASCA staff regularly attend steering committee meetings in Washington DC as well as teleconferences and webinars. Recently, ASCA has developed a directory of DOC Reentry Coordinators that will serve as a tool on the NRRC and ASCA websites. ASCA also p rovides forums for reaching all directors at ASCA events, through ASCA emails and newsletters, use of the ASCA/Clearinghouse website to inform membership about opportunities for assistance, reporting success stories to extend the value of the resource center through broad information sharing.
The Justice Center is excited to announce the launch of a new online discussion forum, where policymakers and practitioners from across the country can exchange ideas, ask questions of each other and national experts, offer comments and suggestions, and network around their collaborative criminal justice/mental health initiatives. The forum, funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs, U. S. Department of Justice, is located on the Justice Center’s Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project website, and can be accessed here.
To learn more about the new forum, please click here.
On August 26, 2010, the National Reentry Resource Center hosted a free webinar for local government officials interested in offender reentry. The webinar discussed the role of local government in reentry, how local government agencies can establish and sustain reentry efforts, and how these efforts affect local budgets. Reentry tools and resources available to local governments, such as the Urban Institute’s Transition from Jail to Community Implementation Toolkit, were profiled.
This webinar was supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. To view the archived version of the webinar, please click here. To download the PowerPoint slides used in the webinar, please click here.
ASCA is pleased to be partnered with the Council of State Governments (CSG) to provide work on the National Reentry Resource Center project.
Attached is the agreed on scope of work between The Council of state Governments and ASCA for the National Reentry Resource Center project.
The National Reentry Resource Center has identified helpful Publications and web sites from the Grantee Workshop "Making Connections to Health, Mental Health, and Substance Use Disorder Treatment".
The Council of State Governments Justice Center announced the launch of an online Reentry Programs Database, developed with support from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), U.S. Department of Justice. It is designed to catalogue adult and juvenile programs nationwide that work to make individuals' return to communities from prisons, jails, and juvenile corrections facilities safer and more successful.
“Every day, ex-offenders return to communities in need of programs and resources that support the challenges associated with reentry. Now, service providers throughout the country will have access to a database of programs that will help those seeking services achieve their full potential,” said COPS Director Bernard K. Melekian.
“As BJA provides $100 million in funding to state, local, and tribal communities for reentry programs through the Second Chance Act, it is essential that these communities know about the strategies in use in other parts of the nation, to facilitate a peer-to-peer learning network so that we have the ability to learn from each other's best practices. That is exactly why BJA has supported this project,” said BJA Acting Director James H. Burch, II.
The database will feature a variety of programs, ranging from community-based efforts to statewide initiatives. It will highlight self-reported innovative programs that have implemented promising practices and policies to facilitate successful reentry. This tool was developed with three goals: to promote peer-to-peer exchanges, highlight progress in the field, and help people returning home and their families to connect with local programs that can facilitate reentry.
“The unveiling of the Justice Center's Reentry Programs Database marks the first effort to create a national clearinghouse of promising reentry initiatives. This new resource will better inform policymakers and practitioners as they implement policies and programs designed to support stronger families and communities and increase public safety,” says Dr. Frank Straub, Justice Center board member and director of public safety, City of Indianapolis.
Designed to be user-friendly, the database includes these features:
Unlimited profiles. This online tool will allow reentry program staff to create multiple profiles for individual programs and initiatives by completing an online survey that gathers detailed information on target population, services, program activities, and data-collection efforts.
Multiple search capabilities. Users can generate a targeted list of programs, with the option to search by state or by topic area. Available topic areas include employment, housing, law enforcement, and families.
Additional resources. Profiles available in the database may include links to relevant media articles, research, and evaluations.
The Reentry Programs Database can be accessed at http://reentrypolicy.org/reentry-program-examples/reentry-programs-start. Jurisdictions with reentry programs are encouraged to create or update profiles.
FBI N-DEx Collaboration
The N-DEx Community Outreach strategy, CJIS Systems Officers (CSO) list and FBI N-DEx Liaison map are provided so ASCA Members can review the strategy and let your State's CSO know of your support. The map and CSO list by region will help you identify your CSO.
Click here for the N-DEx Program Office Efforts to Include the Criminal Justice Community As Users of N-DEx document.
Click here for the CJIS Systems Officer (CSO) Contact List by Region.
Click here for the N-DEx Liaison Map.
For the last three years, ASCA has worked with the National Data Exchange (N-DEx) program office to educate our members about the valuable tools that N-DEx provides for free to correctional agencies. ASCA continues to encourage our members to consider connecting to N-DEx to begin sharing offender information and to obtain valuable information from law enforcement and other federal, state and local community, and institutional correctional agencies.