Kathy
01-03-2004, 02:16 PM
NO NEWS SECTION FOR ARIZONA? That makes me go Hmm?
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0102inmates02.html#
Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 2, 2004 12:00 AM
Hundreds of Arizona drug inmates became eligible for early release from prison Thursday under a new state law. But don't expect a mad dash out the gates in Florence, because Department of Corrections officials have yet to launch the program mandated by legislators.
Known as Senate Bill 1291, the measure was adopted in May to cut state incarceration costs and rehabilitate drug offenders by releasing them into a transition network three months early. Those convicted of violent crimes, sexual abuse or arson are not eligible.
The measure was to take effect Jan. 1. As of Wednesday, however, DOC officials were unable to say how inmates will be chosen or when the transition system will begin operating.
That uncertainty has inmates and their families waiting and wondering. Mesa resident Brandy Strunk said her 33-year-old husband, Clint, will complete his time on a methamphetamine conviction in May. If Clint is to get out early, Strunk said, she and the couple's two daughters need to make plans.
"Now he's clean," she said, "and I love him very much."
According to legislative summaries, about 4,800 inmates, or 16 percent of the state prison population, could qualify for the program. However, the new law sets a first-year funding cap at $500,000, which means fewer than 200 prisoners will be enrolled during 2004.
The measure requires Corrections Director Dora Schriro to hire a private contractor or non-profit agency to set up at least four offices providing substance-abuse treatment, educational development, housing assistance and employment services for those released.
State Sen. Mark Anderson, R-Mesa, who sponsored SB 1291, said the new program represents a shift in an Arizona penal policy that historically shunned rehabilitation efforts in favor of punishment as deterrence.
Anderson said state prisons overflow with inmates, who spend their time pumping iron and learning how to commit new crimes, at a taxpayer cost of $50 per day. When terms end, many of the convicts get dropped off at homeless shelters with a few dollars and fewer alternatives.
The new program is structured to pay for itself by reducing the number of inmates and charging enrollees a participation fee that is 8 percent of their salaries while they are in the program.
The department will be required to issue annual reports on program expenses and the number of enrollees who re-offend.
"If it's successful, it will lower the recidivism rate and save the taxpayers, you and me, some money," Anderson said. "There are so many people coming out of prison, it's really short-sighted when you still have them in custody not to make an impact on them."
The transition program appears to jibe with a new direction advocated by Corrections' new director. After her appointment last year, Schriro said she believes in preparing inmates for life after confinement.
Anderson noted that Arizona prisons, already short on bed space, face a swelling inmate population. "I just don't think we can keep building more and more prisons," he added. "It's so expensive."
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0102inmates02.html#
Dennis Wagner
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 2, 2004 12:00 AM
Hundreds of Arizona drug inmates became eligible for early release from prison Thursday under a new state law. But don't expect a mad dash out the gates in Florence, because Department of Corrections officials have yet to launch the program mandated by legislators.
Known as Senate Bill 1291, the measure was adopted in May to cut state incarceration costs and rehabilitate drug offenders by releasing them into a transition network three months early. Those convicted of violent crimes, sexual abuse or arson are not eligible.
The measure was to take effect Jan. 1. As of Wednesday, however, DOC officials were unable to say how inmates will be chosen or when the transition system will begin operating.
That uncertainty has inmates and their families waiting and wondering. Mesa resident Brandy Strunk said her 33-year-old husband, Clint, will complete his time on a methamphetamine conviction in May. If Clint is to get out early, Strunk said, she and the couple's two daughters need to make plans.
"Now he's clean," she said, "and I love him very much."
According to legislative summaries, about 4,800 inmates, or 16 percent of the state prison population, could qualify for the program. However, the new law sets a first-year funding cap at $500,000, which means fewer than 200 prisoners will be enrolled during 2004.
The measure requires Corrections Director Dora Schriro to hire a private contractor or non-profit agency to set up at least four offices providing substance-abuse treatment, educational development, housing assistance and employment services for those released.
State Sen. Mark Anderson, R-Mesa, who sponsored SB 1291, said the new program represents a shift in an Arizona penal policy that historically shunned rehabilitation efforts in favor of punishment as deterrence.
Anderson said state prisons overflow with inmates, who spend their time pumping iron and learning how to commit new crimes, at a taxpayer cost of $50 per day. When terms end, many of the convicts get dropped off at homeless shelters with a few dollars and fewer alternatives.
The new program is structured to pay for itself by reducing the number of inmates and charging enrollees a participation fee that is 8 percent of their salaries while they are in the program.
The department will be required to issue annual reports on program expenses and the number of enrollees who re-offend.
"If it's successful, it will lower the recidivism rate and save the taxpayers, you and me, some money," Anderson said. "There are so many people coming out of prison, it's really short-sighted when you still have them in custody not to make an impact on them."
The transition program appears to jibe with a new direction advocated by Corrections' new director. After her appointment last year, Schriro said she believes in preparing inmates for life after confinement.
Anderson noted that Arizona prisons, already short on bed space, face a swelling inmate population. "I just don't think we can keep building more and more prisons," he added. "It's so expensive."