RPC Newsletter - 5/2/2008
FEATURES
Congressional Leaders Working on Funding of Second Chance Act
Now that the Second Chance Act has been signed into law, members of Congress are turning their attention toward ensuring that the legislation receives funding in 2009 so that communities can begin to apply for the Second Chance reentry grants.
On April 21, the Council of State Governments Justice Center convened a meeting of state agency officials, victim advocates, prosecutors, and national experts to discuss a draft policy guide, which reviews strategies for increasing public safety by ensuring that sex offenders released from prisons and jails have a place to live.
The Council of State Governments Justice Center convened a focus group of officials from state departments of correction and representatives of community and faith-based organizations in April to discuss a draft guide, which recommends strategies for increasing collaboration between state departments of corrections and community and faith-based organizations. The meeting was held in conjunction with a conference in Arlington, VA hosted by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, for the 2007 grantees of the Presidential Prisoner Reentry Initiative.
Corrections Today Features Reentry, Justice Center Board Members
The April 2008 issue of the American Correctional Association magazine Corrections Today focuses on the benefits of collaborations, with several articles promoting reentry partnerships in particular. In his commentary, Justin Jones, a Justice Center board member and director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, underscores the importance of truly collaborative efforts to any reentry initiative.
ANNOUNCEMENTS & EVENTS
Congressional Forum on the Impact of Reentry from Local Jails
John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Urban Institute
May 7,2008
Washington, D.C.
2008 "Raising the Bar" Ex-Offender Reentry Conference
"Building Effective Collaborations for a Stronger Community"
PowerNet of Dayton
May 8-10, 2008
Dayton, OH
E-mail Richard Greenberg for more information.
"Moral Panic" Documentary Screening
New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
May 13, 2008
Newark, NJ
E-mail Richard Greenberg for more information.
The Financial Consequences of Criminal Convictions
"New Fees and Fines in New York's Criminal Justice System"
New York County Lawyer's Association
May 15, 2008
New York, NY
White House Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
May 29-30, 2008
New Orleans, LA
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
The U.S. Office for Victims of Crime will award grants of up to $500,000 to private nonprofit organizations and public agencies to support capacity-building initiatives focused on advancing rights and services for crime victims. Qualifying initiatives will be national in scope and will propose to fill service gaps in the field by providing training and technical assistance or will promote promising practices or program models through demonstration projects.
Application Deadline: May 29, 2008
REENTRY NEWS
- IA: 5/1/08 - Study: 93% of prisoners have had disorders (Des Moines Register)
- NH: 5/1/08 - Tiered-system proposal for sex offenders undergoing major changes in Senate (Foster's Daily Democrat)
- OH: 4/27/08 - Seeking the key to employment for ex-cons (New York Times)
- OH: 4/27/08 - Inmates sink teeth into training (Columbus Dispatch)
- CT: 4/27/08 - Editorial: Why three-strikes could harm sex assault victims (Hartford Courant)
PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES
- The Impact of Incarceration on Crime: Two National Experts Weigh In (Pew Center on the States’ Public Safety Performance Project)
- Mapping the Innovation in Correctional Health Care Service Delivery in NYC (Prisoner Reentry Institute, John Jay College of Criminal Justice)
- To Treat or Not to Treat: Evidence on the Prospects of Expanding Treatment to Drug-Involved Offenders (Urban Institute)
- What Works: Effective Recidivism Reduction and Risk-Focused Prevention Programs (Colorado Division of Criminal Justice)
- Restoring the Right to Vote (Brennan Center for Justice)
In this Issue
Our Publications
How and Why Medicaid Matters for People with Serious Mental Illness Released from Jail
Hundreds of thousands of people with mental illness are released from jail each year. Without continuity of care, they are likely to be reincarcerated. Enrollment in Medicaid increases access to treatment for people with mental illness released from jail, who typically lack other means to pay for those services.