irisheyes66
02-13-2005, 02:19 AM
SAM HANANEL
Associated Press
reprinted from KansasCity.com
2/11/05
WASHINGTON - When prisoners are released in Shawnee County, Kan., many have already received job training, counseling and a re-entry plan to help with such issues as housing, employment and drug addiction.
"The ultimate goal is that they don't keep coming back into the system," said Margie Phelps, director of release planning with the Kansas Department of Corrections.
The program is being held up as a model by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress who want to combat the nation's high rate of recidivism.
Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., plans to introduce the Second Chance Act this month. The bill would help other states and communities cope with the growing population of prisoners re-entering society.
Two out of every three inmates will be arrested again within three years of leaving prison, according to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics. That translates into thousands of new crimes each year that lawmakers say could be prevented through prisoner re-entry programs.
Officials talked about the problem recently at a conference in Washington held by the Council of State Governments and its Re-Entry Policy Council, which issued a report last month that found most inmates aren't getting the help they need to transition to life after prison.
Prison rehabilitation programs used to be a hallmark of liberal activists, but more conservatives now embrace the idea as a way to reduce the financial burden on states and improve public safety.
"We got in a mind-set in the 1970s and 1980s: 'Let's just lock people up, it's what we're going to do to deal with crime,'" Brownback said. "We weren't thinking that someday people are going to get out."
The costs to society are staggering.
More than 2 million people are incarcerated in federal or state prisons, their populations driven up by mandatory minimum sentences. Annual corrections expenditures have gone from $9 billion in 1982 to $60 billion in 2002. And those figures don't include the cost of arrest and prosecution or take into account the cost to the victims.
The Second Chance Act would funnel millions in federal dollars to programs like the one in Kansas that focus on jobs, housing, substance abuse treatment and helping children and families of former inmates.
Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, introduced similar legislation in the House this week and a number of influential Democrats, including Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., and Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., are supporting the bills.
Similar legislation stalled last year as Congress focused on more pressing issues, but Brownback said the alignment of Democrats and Republicans makes passage more likely this time. Brownback sees a moral obligation in helping offenders leave prisons as better citizens.
"You have people from the faith community," he said, "looking at this saying, 'This is a crying shame, look what's happened, we've locked people up, we've thrown away the key, but you know what, their soul still exists and they're going to come out someday. This is wrong. I mean, God never gives up on us, why should we give up on them?'"
In the Shawnee County re-entry program, which began last year, release planning begins 12 months before an inmate's release. Each offender gets an individualized plan that targets risk areas, teaches life skills and provides mentors.
The program includes over 50 community partners, including employers, service providers, faith-based organizations and law enforcement.
"Where you are going to reduce recidivism with offenders is sustained employment, not just job placement," said Phelps, who oversees the program. "That's our goal, putting them in jobs that can become meaningful careers."
Sallie Glickman, executive director of the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board and a member of the Re-entry Policy Council who worked on the report, called the legislation a strategic investment that would pay for itself.
"We simply can't afford to have people coming out of prison and not given the opportunity to go to work," Glickman said. "We need the workers and we need them to be in the labor force where they are less likely to reoffend."
Associated Press
reprinted from KansasCity.com
2/11/05
WASHINGTON - When prisoners are released in Shawnee County, Kan., many have already received job training, counseling and a re-entry plan to help with such issues as housing, employment and drug addiction.
"The ultimate goal is that they don't keep coming back into the system," said Margie Phelps, director of release planning with the Kansas Department of Corrections.
The program is being held up as a model by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress who want to combat the nation's high rate of recidivism.
Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., plans to introduce the Second Chance Act this month. The bill would help other states and communities cope with the growing population of prisoners re-entering society.
Two out of every three inmates will be arrested again within three years of leaving prison, according to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics. That translates into thousands of new crimes each year that lawmakers say could be prevented through prisoner re-entry programs.
Officials talked about the problem recently at a conference in Washington held by the Council of State Governments and its Re-Entry Policy Council, which issued a report last month that found most inmates aren't getting the help they need to transition to life after prison.
Prison rehabilitation programs used to be a hallmark of liberal activists, but more conservatives now embrace the idea as a way to reduce the financial burden on states and improve public safety.
"We got in a mind-set in the 1970s and 1980s: 'Let's just lock people up, it's what we're going to do to deal with crime,'" Brownback said. "We weren't thinking that someday people are going to get out."
The costs to society are staggering.
More than 2 million people are incarcerated in federal or state prisons, their populations driven up by mandatory minimum sentences. Annual corrections expenditures have gone from $9 billion in 1982 to $60 billion in 2002. And those figures don't include the cost of arrest and prosecution or take into account the cost to the victims.
The Second Chance Act would funnel millions in federal dollars to programs like the one in Kansas that focus on jobs, housing, substance abuse treatment and helping children and families of former inmates.
Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, introduced similar legislation in the House this week and a number of influential Democrats, including Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., and Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., are supporting the bills.
Similar legislation stalled last year as Congress focused on more pressing issues, but Brownback said the alignment of Democrats and Republicans makes passage more likely this time. Brownback sees a moral obligation in helping offenders leave prisons as better citizens.
"You have people from the faith community," he said, "looking at this saying, 'This is a crying shame, look what's happened, we've locked people up, we've thrown away the key, but you know what, their soul still exists and they're going to come out someday. This is wrong. I mean, God never gives up on us, why should we give up on them?'"
In the Shawnee County re-entry program, which began last year, release planning begins 12 months before an inmate's release. Each offender gets an individualized plan that targets risk areas, teaches life skills and provides mentors.
The program includes over 50 community partners, including employers, service providers, faith-based organizations and law enforcement.
"Where you are going to reduce recidivism with offenders is sustained employment, not just job placement," said Phelps, who oversees the program. "That's our goal, putting them in jobs that can become meaningful careers."
Sallie Glickman, executive director of the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board and a member of the Re-entry Policy Council who worked on the report, called the legislation a strategic investment that would pay for itself.
"We simply can't afford to have people coming out of prison and not given the opportunity to go to work," Glickman said. "We need the workers and we need them to be in the labor force where they are less likely to reoffend."