FriscoLady
04-27-2004, 12:48 AM
Published Monday, April 26, 2004
Release a new chance
By Cait Purinton
The Capital-Journal
Topeka Capital Journal, KS
"Nicole Williams was welcomed to Topeka with open arms on April 16 --
the day she was released from the Topeka Correctional Facility for
women.
She was greeted by her case manager from the Shawnee County Inmate
Reentry Program, and before her release she was greeted by other
community representatives who are helping Williams and other inmates
lead crime-free lives through the program.
Williams said she has more confidence that will she succeed because
of the assistance she has received through the program.
"Before, I wouldn't have even tried. I would have walked out the
front door and said 'I'll be back. Catch me if you can'," Williams
said. "This time I can say I'm not coming back."
Chris Landsberger/The Capital-Journal
Nicole Williams, right, hugs her friend Christina Belland as they see
each other on the day Williams was released from the Topeka
Correctional Facility. Williams is one of 41 members of the Shawnee
County Inmate Reentry Program, which began just more than a year ago.
Williams said she joined the program because she doesn't want to
return to prison.
How it works
A case manager with the Shawnee County Inmate Reentry Program meets
with the offender a year before her release to assess the offender's
risk and needs. Each re-entry plan then is tailored to the offender's
needs and may include a combination of classes in money management,
family transition, social skills, diversity and tolerance, employment
and addiction recovery.
The case manager meets with the offender once a week before her
release from prison. In the six months following the offender's
release from prison, the case manager slowly turns the case over to
the offender's parole officer.
Throughout the course of a year, the offender meets with various
teams made up of a case manager, community police officer, parole
officer, a mentor and key components of the offender's re-entry plan.
Program director Terry Finley said there are more than 50 community
partners who assist offenders with issues such as housing, jobs,
addiction recovery and mental health.
Chris Landsberger/The Capital-Journal
Nicole Williams, left, talks with Viccie Ducksworth, Williams' case
manager, during a recent re-entry transition team meeting at the
Topeka Correctional Facility. Williams is the first female inmate
involved in the new Shawnee County reentry program.Sally Zellers,
director of strategic partnerships at Safe Streets, is one of those
community partners. She said neighborhood groups are primarily
listening, reading information and asking questions about the program
because it is still new.
"I think most people are willing to understand the fact that we can't
build enough prisons," Zellers said. "And, how successful would you
be coming back if you didn't have some preparations and community
support?"
Program eligibility
The program is designed to assist the most serious and violent
offenders. Program participants must be 18 to 34 years old and have a
significant connection to Shawnee County.
In Williams' case, she established a job in Topeka through the
prison's work-release program, enabling her to save money to secure
reliable housing after her release. Williams, of Kansas City, Kan.,
said she has made positive friendships at work to help keep her out
of trouble.
"That is the reason I decided to stay in Topeka, because I know if I
go back home I'll be back," she said. "This is my third time in the
system, and I'm tired."
Become a volunteer
Applications to volunteer with the Shawnee County Inmate Reentry
Program are available by calling (785) 296-4183.
By the numbers
• 95 percent of offenders return to Kansas communities after
serving their prison sentence.
• 71 percent of offenders released in Kansas return to Johnson,
Sedgwick, Shawnee and Wyandotte counties.
• At least 50 percent of offenders are returned to the Kansas
correctional system within three years of release.
Williams, 24, was convicted in 1997 in Wyandotte County of
involuntary manslaughter, and in 2001 in Johnson County of making
false writing. She was incarcerated for those convictions and for
violating parole.
She applied for the program more than a year ago and has completed
courses in life skills, re-entry planning, employment, health and
family transition.
Williams also earned her general equivalency diploma.
Viccie Ducksworth, Williams's case manager, said she has noticed
considerable changes in Williams in the past year.
"She wouldn't say anything to anybody, including me. If she didn't
know you, she wouldn't talk. It was picking teeth, but now she's like
a little chatter box," Ducksworth said. "I appreciate that she's been
one of the strong leaders and hasn't fallen by the wayside."
Future of the program
The U.S. Department of Justice awarded six grants to support re-entry
programs in the country, two of which were given to the Kansas
Department of Corrections and the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority.
KDOC will receive $1 million over a three-year period for the Shawnee
County program.
KDOC Secretary Roger Werholtz said the Shawnee County program is a
pilot program that could be replicated throughout Kansas and the
United States. He said corrections officials then could lobby for a
state budget to support the program.
Chris Landsberger/The Capital-Journal
Nicole Williams stands alone in a pew as she prays during church
services at Asbury-Mount Olive United Methodist Church. Through the
Shawnee County Re-entry program Williams has been able to work with a
mentor that has guided her to church, and helped to keep Williams'
life on track after being release from the Shawnee County
Correctional Facility."Our hope is that if this proves to be as
successful as we think it's going to be, we will build a case for
doing it elsewhere in the state," he said. "We'll build that case to
the Legislature."
The Shawnee County program began in January 2003 and now includes 41
program participants. Of those 41 men and women, two have graduated
from the program, 14 have been released from prison and four have
returned to prison.
"There's actually very few people in the program who are returning to
prison, and given that these are our hardest, toughest cases, that's
really encouraging," Werholtz said. "If they were going back at the
same rate as the average inmate, that would be success, but actually
they're going back lower right now."
Statistics show that 48 percent of offenders in Kansas returned to
prison within a year, 59 percent returned within two years, and 58
percent returned within three years of their release from prison.
Finley said it will take about two years to accurately calculate the
program's success rate.
"There hasn't been anyone yet that we've addressed who wants to stay
in prison for the rest of their life. Most people want to be out in
the community, doing the right thing," she said.""
Good article.
Patti
Release a new chance
By Cait Purinton
The Capital-Journal
Topeka Capital Journal, KS
"Nicole Williams was welcomed to Topeka with open arms on April 16 --
the day she was released from the Topeka Correctional Facility for
women.
She was greeted by her case manager from the Shawnee County Inmate
Reentry Program, and before her release she was greeted by other
community representatives who are helping Williams and other inmates
lead crime-free lives through the program.
Williams said she has more confidence that will she succeed because
of the assistance she has received through the program.
"Before, I wouldn't have even tried. I would have walked out the
front door and said 'I'll be back. Catch me if you can'," Williams
said. "This time I can say I'm not coming back."
Chris Landsberger/The Capital-Journal
Nicole Williams, right, hugs her friend Christina Belland as they see
each other on the day Williams was released from the Topeka
Correctional Facility. Williams is one of 41 members of the Shawnee
County Inmate Reentry Program, which began just more than a year ago.
Williams said she joined the program because she doesn't want to
return to prison.
How it works
A case manager with the Shawnee County Inmate Reentry Program meets
with the offender a year before her release to assess the offender's
risk and needs. Each re-entry plan then is tailored to the offender's
needs and may include a combination of classes in money management,
family transition, social skills, diversity and tolerance, employment
and addiction recovery.
The case manager meets with the offender once a week before her
release from prison. In the six months following the offender's
release from prison, the case manager slowly turns the case over to
the offender's parole officer.
Throughout the course of a year, the offender meets with various
teams made up of a case manager, community police officer, parole
officer, a mentor and key components of the offender's re-entry plan.
Program director Terry Finley said there are more than 50 community
partners who assist offenders with issues such as housing, jobs,
addiction recovery and mental health.
Chris Landsberger/The Capital-Journal
Nicole Williams, left, talks with Viccie Ducksworth, Williams' case
manager, during a recent re-entry transition team meeting at the
Topeka Correctional Facility. Williams is the first female inmate
involved in the new Shawnee County reentry program.Sally Zellers,
director of strategic partnerships at Safe Streets, is one of those
community partners. She said neighborhood groups are primarily
listening, reading information and asking questions about the program
because it is still new.
"I think most people are willing to understand the fact that we can't
build enough prisons," Zellers said. "And, how successful would you
be coming back if you didn't have some preparations and community
support?"
Program eligibility
The program is designed to assist the most serious and violent
offenders. Program participants must be 18 to 34 years old and have a
significant connection to Shawnee County.
In Williams' case, she established a job in Topeka through the
prison's work-release program, enabling her to save money to secure
reliable housing after her release. Williams, of Kansas City, Kan.,
said she has made positive friendships at work to help keep her out
of trouble.
"That is the reason I decided to stay in Topeka, because I know if I
go back home I'll be back," she said. "This is my third time in the
system, and I'm tired."
Become a volunteer
Applications to volunteer with the Shawnee County Inmate Reentry
Program are available by calling (785) 296-4183.
By the numbers
• 95 percent of offenders return to Kansas communities after
serving their prison sentence.
• 71 percent of offenders released in Kansas return to Johnson,
Sedgwick, Shawnee and Wyandotte counties.
• At least 50 percent of offenders are returned to the Kansas
correctional system within three years of release.
Williams, 24, was convicted in 1997 in Wyandotte County of
involuntary manslaughter, and in 2001 in Johnson County of making
false writing. She was incarcerated for those convictions and for
violating parole.
She applied for the program more than a year ago and has completed
courses in life skills, re-entry planning, employment, health and
family transition.
Williams also earned her general equivalency diploma.
Viccie Ducksworth, Williams's case manager, said she has noticed
considerable changes in Williams in the past year.
"She wouldn't say anything to anybody, including me. If she didn't
know you, she wouldn't talk. It was picking teeth, but now she's like
a little chatter box," Ducksworth said. "I appreciate that she's been
one of the strong leaders and hasn't fallen by the wayside."
Future of the program
The U.S. Department of Justice awarded six grants to support re-entry
programs in the country, two of which were given to the Kansas
Department of Corrections and the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority.
KDOC will receive $1 million over a three-year period for the Shawnee
County program.
KDOC Secretary Roger Werholtz said the Shawnee County program is a
pilot program that could be replicated throughout Kansas and the
United States. He said corrections officials then could lobby for a
state budget to support the program.
Chris Landsberger/The Capital-Journal
Nicole Williams stands alone in a pew as she prays during church
services at Asbury-Mount Olive United Methodist Church. Through the
Shawnee County Re-entry program Williams has been able to work with a
mentor that has guided her to church, and helped to keep Williams'
life on track after being release from the Shawnee County
Correctional Facility."Our hope is that if this proves to be as
successful as we think it's going to be, we will build a case for
doing it elsewhere in the state," he said. "We'll build that case to
the Legislature."
The Shawnee County program began in January 2003 and now includes 41
program participants. Of those 41 men and women, two have graduated
from the program, 14 have been released from prison and four have
returned to prison.
"There's actually very few people in the program who are returning to
prison, and given that these are our hardest, toughest cases, that's
really encouraging," Werholtz said. "If they were going back at the
same rate as the average inmate, that would be success, but actually
they're going back lower right now."
Statistics show that 48 percent of offenders in Kansas returned to
prison within a year, 59 percent returned within two years, and 58
percent returned within three years of their release from prison.
Finley said it will take about two years to accurately calculate the
program's success rate.
"There hasn't been anyone yet that we've addressed who wants to stay
in prison for the rest of their life. Most people want to be out in
the community, doing the right thing," she said.""
Good article.
Patti