RPC Newsletter - 8/12/2009

FEATURES

More Governors Form Statewide Reentry Task Forces

In recent months, governors in at least four states - Delaware, North Carolina, Kentucky and South Dakota - established statewide task forces to tackle issues associated with the growing numbers of adults released from prison and returning to communities. In each case, the governors cited continually increasing corrections costs as a reason for establishing the task forces.

To read the full feature, click here.

Two Reports Funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts' Public Safety Performance Project Highlight Efforts by States to Reduce Corrections Spending

According to the report by the Vera Institute, "All but two states are dealing with budget deficits, and spending is being cut across the board. Second only to Medicaid, corrections has become the fastest growing general fund expenditure in the United States. Considered off limits for many years, corrections budgets are now subject to these same cuts. Based on a survey of enacted FY2010 state budgets and other recent sentencing and corrections legislation, this new report from Vera's Center on Sentencing and Corrections found that at least 22 states have reversed the trend of recent decades and cut funding for corrections. This report examines the form of these cuts, including reductions in operational costs, reforms in release policy, and strategies for reducing recidivism, and it highlights some of the innovations that states are pursuing for long-term savings while also maintaining public safety."

To read the report, click here.

The National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) in conjunction with their Criminal Justice Program released a publication examining the efficacy of prison-based programs that are designed to increase the likelihood that individuals will be successful when they reenter the community. The NCSL found that "earned time" programs (e.g., education and work programs) have been successfully implemented in 31 states. According to the report, the economic gains have been impressive. New York enrolled 24,000 participants in "earned time" programs which saved approximately $369 million in only six months, while the state of Washington saw a net gain of $7,179 per participating individual when they increased the required amount of "earned time" participation.

To read the report, click here.

National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) Advocates for Collateral Consequences of Conviction Reform

On July 15, 2009, the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) of The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws approved support for a Uniform Collateral Consequences of Conviction Act to encourage states to clarify the collateral consequences associated with criminal convictions. The Act suggests all of the collateral sanctions and disqualifications contained in State statutes or administrative regulations should be retrievable from a single document.

To read the press release announcing the act, click here.

HILL UPDATE

House of Representatives Approves $108 Million for Reentry Programs for FY 2010

On Friday, July 24, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives approved an appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor and Health & Human Services that provides $108,493,000 for ex-offender activities under the Second Chance Act and Workforce Investment Act. The bill also provides $1 billion for mental health services programs administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which is an increase of $39 million over FY2009, and $2.4 billion for substance abuse prevention and treatment programs administered by SAMHSA, which is an increase of $46 million over FY2009. On Thursday, July 30, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a version of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill that provides $115,000,000 for ex-offender activities in the Department of Labor, $998 million for SAMHSA's mental health services programs, and $2.4 billion for SAMHSA's substance abuse prevention and treatment programs.The Labor-HHS appropriations bill now moves to the full Senate for consideration.

On Thursday, June 25, 2009, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved an appropriations bill for the Department of Justice for fiscal year 2010 that provides $64 million for prisoner reentry, including $50 million for Second Chance Act programs and nearly $14 million for reentry initiatives in the federal Bureau of Prisons. The version of the bill that passed the House of Representatives in June provides $114 million for prisoner reentry, including $100 million for Second Chance Act programs. The Department of Justice appropriations bill is also awaiting consideration by the full Senate.

For more information, click here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS & EVENTS

34th Annual Training Institute

The American Probation and Parole Association
August 23 - 26, 2009
Anaheim, CA

Dealing with the Mentally Ill Offender

The American Jail Association
August 24 - 26, 2009
Arlington, VA

116th Annual IACP Conference and Exposition

International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
October 3 - 7, 2009
Denver, CO

National Prisoner Re-entry Conference 2009

Christian Association for Prison Aftercare (CAPA)
October 15 - 18, 2009
Baltimore, MD

MCP Support Center Tribal Training 2009

Mentoring Children of Prisoners (MCP) Support Center
September 17, 2009
Albuquerque, NM

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Transition from Prison to Community Initiative

The National Institute of Corrections is offering technical assistance through the Transition from Prison to Community (TPC) Initiative. Six states will be awarded three years of assistance in an effort to, "reduce recidivism and future victimization, to enhance public safety, and to improve the lives of communities, victims, and offenders." A state's key correctional officers and administrators, along with their collaborative partnerships are encouraged to apply. Applicants should have a strong commitment to implementing successful reentry programs, and exhibit commitment, knowledge, and understanding of the TPC plan and philosophy. For an overview of this program, click here.

Application deadline: August 17, 2009

Housing for Everyone

The TD Charitable Foundation will be awarding a total of $2,000,000 in this year's Housing for Everyone competition. The competition focuses on housing stabilization, and will fund the most innovative plans that help maintain and protect the integrity of neighborhoods from deterioration caused by foreclosure and abandonment. Eligibility qualifications differ by state.

Application Deadline: September 4, 2009

Fair Housing Initiative Award Program

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that approximately $26,300,000 in FY2009 funds have been made available to support the following three initiatives within the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP): the Private Enforcement Initiative; the Education and Outreach Initiative; and the Fair Housing Organizations Initiative. Private nonprofit fair housing enforcement organizations and other nonprofit organizations that are "building their capacity to provide fair housing enforcement" may qualify.

Application Deadline: September 18, 2009

Weed and Seed Communities Competitive Program

The U.S. Department of Justice will award competitive grants of up to $150,000 to Weed and Seed Communities to support efforts to fight crime, drugs and gangs. The Justice Department's Community Capacity Development Office's FY 10 Weed and Seed Communities Competitive Program provides discretionary grant funding to nonprofits and government agencies in communities that were not previously approved Weed and Seed sites but have been so designated by Congress.

Application Deadline: December 1, 2009

Back to top

REENTRY NEWS

  • U.S.: 8/11/09 - At least 23 states spend less on prisons (Stateline.org)

    "The national recession is taking its toll on what had been one of the fastest-growing areas of state governments: prisons."


  • Wis.: 8/10/09 - Life after doing time: program aims to help ex-cons on journey home (Wisconsin State Journal)

    • "The Journey Home project, funded by the United Way of Dane County and run by Madison-area Urban Ministry, seeks to help former prisoners find work, secure housing, go back to school and get drug, alcohol or mental health treatment."


  • Ohio: 8/9/09 - Mentally ill offenders strain juvenile system (New York Times)

    • "As cash-starved states slash mental health programs in communities and schools, they are increasingly relying on the juvenile corrections system to handle a generation of young offenders with psychiatric disorders."


  • Pa.: 8/9/09 - Revolving jail door is only turning faster (The Redding Record Searchlight)

    "The budget crisis and a catastrophically broken system will put the public at risk without serious reform"


  • Ga.: 8/6/09 - Sex laws: unjust and ineffective (The Economist)

    • "Every American state keeps a register of sex offenders. California has had one since 1947, but most states started theirs in the 1990s. Many people assume that anyone listed on a sex-offender registry must be a rapist or a child molester. But most states spread the net much more widely."


  • Tenn.: 8/7/09 - Tennessee to cut prison population by 3,000 (The Tennessean)

    • "The Tennessee Department of Correction will reduce the state's prison population by 3,000 over the next two years, focusing on keeping low-risk offenders from going back to jail, as a way to cope with an ongoing budget crunch."


  • Iowa: 8/6/09 - New law creating 'exclusion zones' for ex-offenders shows value (The Des Moines Register)

    "Law enforcement officers around the state are welcoming new provisions in the sex offender statutes that allow them to arrest convicted sex offenders who enter zones near places where children are typically present, such as schools, playgrounds and swimming pools."


  • Mich.: 8/6/09 - Hysteria over parolees threatens rehab efforts (The Detroit Free Press)

    "Fearmongering and hysteria threaten to take Michigan back to the failed lock-'em-up-'till-they-drop prison policies of the last three decades."


  • Minn.: 8/6/09 - Students with criminal past to be told which careers are off limits (Minnesota Public Radio)

    "Under a new law, schools have to tell students that if they have criminal convictions, they should check to make sure those convictiones don't bar them from getting internships, degrees or even particular jobs."


  • Cal.: 8/5/09 - California's budget woes hinder proposal intended to help ex-cons (The San Bernardino County Sun)

    • "A Cal State San Bernardino professor leading an effort to establish a new program to help ex-prisoners merge back into society said the state's budget problems are whittling down the proposal."


Back to top

PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES

In this Issue

 Our Publications

Homelessness and Prisoner Reentry

Many people released from prison or jail are at risk for homelessness, which can increase the likelihood that they will commit new crimes and return to prison.

staff