"Bail or Jail, Fine or Time"

The bail system is a mystery to most Americans. A recent series on National Public Radio discusses the bail system. Bail is used to ensure that an accused person returns to court for their trial. According to the report, most persons released on their on recognizance return for their trial; Two-thirds of inmates are non-violent and would benefit from pre-trial release programs. However these programs are often under-resourced, in part due to the effective lobbying efforts of the bail bonds industry. Many inmates who can’t make bail stay in jail. They suffer a range of collateral consequences as a result of their jail stay, which can last for over a month as they wait to have their day in court.

To hear the report click here.

For more about pre-trial services visit the National Association of Pre-Trial Services website.

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New York City's Jobless Rate Hits 10.6%

According to an article in today's New York Times, the jobless rate in New York City was 10.6% for December 2009. The rate was the highest in 17 years and exceeds the state's unemployment rate of 9%, and the national rate of 10%. Over 450,000 people seeking employment in New York City could not find a job in December.

Click here to visit the NYS Department of Labor’s labor statistics page.

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"How to Stay Formerly Incarcerated for Life"

Yesterday, at the Community Service Society's monthly Reentry Roundtable, Winston C. Trumpet was introduced to an audience of formerly incarcerated men and women, social service providers, parole officers, and government officials as "Winston Trumpet, a success story." After thanking the moderator for his introduction, Mr. Trumpet, a formerly incarcerated man himself, said: "My path would not have led me to believe those words would ever be said together." But, somehow, despite abuse and a drug addiction that landed him in a jail, Mr. Trumpet is just that: a success and an inspiration. Now the Pastor of the Church With No Walls Ministry in Jersey City, CEO of Strategic Business Associates LLC, and the President of the Hudson County Entrepreneurs Club of America, Mr. Trumpet spoke about how he learned to exploit the "innate entrepreneurial skills" he once used to sell drugs, to become a "legitimate" businessman. To read about his life, click here.

Mr. Trumpet is one of the most dynamic and engaging speakers I have had the opportunity to hear in a very long time. Here are some quotes from his speech:

On marijuana serving as a gateway drug to crack cocaine: " I first started smoking marijuana. They call that the gateway drug. The gate--it just didn't look like it would be that bad."

On being a Trinidadian with a criminal background coming out of prison: "My background and my record raised the level of my challenge to a new degree. But I took that challenge."

On reentry and its challenges: "Reentry should begin the day that you become incarcerated. No one is built to go on without receiving replenishment."

On helping individuals with records direct their talents towards legal endeavors: "Use what you know to get what you want. Find that thing that makes you special. I am an advocate for the formerly incarcerated. Its not secret that we have an innate entrepreneurial skills. We have just used them on the wrong side of the law."

On taking responsibility for criminal behavior: "Responsibility for my reactions is my responsibility to you."

On being rehabilitated: "To say you don't believe in hiring me is saying you don't believe that rehabilitation can work."

You can see Mr. Trumpet in action on Sundays from 5pm-7pm, at 152-154 Martin Luther King Drive in Jersey City.

Call 201-355-7036 for more information.

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Apply for Second Chance Act Mentoring Grants

Today, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), U.S. Department of Justice, released the solicitation for Second Chance Act mentoring grants to nonprofit organizations (Section 211). This funding is available to implement mentoring projects to promote the safe and successful reintegration into the community of adults who have been incarcerated.

You can download the soliciation here.

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New Jersey is rethinking reentry!

65 percent of New Jersey inmates are back behind bars within five years of their release. Yesterday, however, only hours before New Jersey's new Governor, Chris Christie's inaguration, Corzine committed New Jersey to changing these dire statistics by signing three bills aimed at reducing recidivism. Among other reforms, the bills, (A4197, A4201, A4202):

-Lift the ban on food stamps and TANF benefits for individuals with felony drug convictions who have dependent children,
-require the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) to ensure that incarcerated individuals attain the 12th-grade education proficiency level, eliminates the post-release Medicaid enrollment gap,
and
-provide individuals leaving prison with written notification of fines, outstanding warrants, voting rights, and expungement options; a government-issued ID card; birth certificate; a list of prison programs participated in; medical records; Social Security card; medication; a one-day bus or rail pass; and a rap sheet.

The legislation, which the New York Times tauted as “a model for the rest of the nation,” is aimed at saving the state valuable resources by reducing returns to prison and improving the public's safety.

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Celebrate Martin Luther King!

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?" Martin Luther King (1929-68)

Here are some great ways to commemorate this hero and visionary who continues to inspire us.

To view Dr. King's 1967 Vietnam speech at Riverside Church in Upper Manhattan please click here.

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A Community Approach to Reentry: Employment and Public Safety in Harlem

Yesterday, over 70 community members gathered at the Fortune Society's Academy (the "Castle") in Harlem, to participate in the first of four "Harlem Reentry and Public Safety" forums sponsored by The Fortune Society and the Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in partnership with the Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force. The forum, "A Community Approach to Reentry: Employment and Public Safety in Harlem," focused on the obstacles former offenders face when reentering the workforce and begun generating community-driven solutions to breaking down these barriers.

The forum was organized around a panel discussion, which included a group of incisive speakers offering diverse perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing reentrants. The panel was moderated by Reverand Alfonso Wyatt, Vice President of the Fund for the City of New York, and included:

Judy Whiting, Litigation Director at the Community Service Society of New York, who gave an overview of Article 23-A of New York Correction Law, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of having a criminal conviction,

Vanda Seward, Director of Reentry Services for the New York State Division of Parole, who framed the barriers to employment for ex-offenders as a public safety issue,

Karl Williams, owner of Society Coffee and 76 Grove Street in Harlem, who offered an employer's perspective on the benefits and challenges of working with former offenders

and

an ex-offender and participant in the Harlem Reentry Court at the Harlem Community Justice Center who, after many rejections from employers who disregarded his credentials after learning of his conviction, is now thriving in his job in construction.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this forum a huge success! The next forum is Wednesday, March 17, 2010, topic TBA.

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What works for parole violations?: "Swift, predictable, and moderate punishment."

The Sunday times article, Prisoners of Parole, describes some innovative approaches to reducing parole violations and gang violence. One program, Judge Alm's HOPE (Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement) imposes immediate, moderate punishment for technical parole violations instead of allowing parolees to violate their conditions of parole a few times with no consequence followed by a harsh sanction such as jail time. The program's ethos is grounded in classical deterrence theory which offers the wisdom that: "the threat of a mild punishment imposed reliably and immediately has a much greater deterrent effect than the threat of a severe punishment that is delayed and uncertain." Such thinking may also underlie the increasing use of graduated sanctions for parolees who violate the technical conditions of their parole. (Check out Vera Institute for Justice and The Center for Court Innovation).


Why does "swift, predictable, and moderate" punishment work? The New York Times article points to recent studies in behavior economics: " [P]eople are more sensitive to the immediate than the slightly deferred future and focus more on how likely an outcome is than how bad it is," as well as Judge Alm's own revelations: “When the system isn’t consistent and predictable, when people are punished randomly, they think, My probation officer doesn’t like me, or, Someone’s prejudiced against me rather than seeing that everyone who breaks a rule is treated equally, in precisely the same way.”

Judge Alm's statements touch upon the relationship between a parolee's (or any defendant's) perception of procedural fairness and their compliance with a court sanction as well as their overall trust in the law. For more information on this critical and fascinating issue, take a look at Tom Tyler's groundbreaking work and the Red Hook Community Justice Center's Case Study.

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STRIVE'S CAREER TRAINING PROGRAM APPLICATION DEADLINE TOMORROW!

STRIVE, a leader in job readiness and workforce development, is still accepting applicants for its Three Career Track Training Program but the DEADLINE is tomorrow at 2pm!

Three program options are Green Construction, Automotive Mechanics, and Welding. The programs run from 14-16 weeks. Carfare will be provided during the length of the training and a modest stipend will be paid during the hard skills portion of the program (final eight weeks).

Qualified applicants must:
-Be between the ages of 18 and 24
-Have no physical barriers to working in the construction agency (and be able to lift at least 50 lbs)
and
-Achieve a 6th grade reading and math level on the TABE Survey (testing will take place at STRIVE)

Note: All applicants will be carefully assessed and interviewed before being accepted into the program.

Call STRIVE at 212.360-1100 for more information.

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Modeling Reentry

Diana Ortiz's work as a Job Developer at Exodus Transitional Community, a member of the Upper Manhattan Reentry Task Force, was spotlighted last week in The Uptowner, a local Harlem paper. The article,"Helping Ex-Cons Start Over," describes Ms. Ortiz's own journey from incarceration to employment and how her life serves as a model for other ex-offenders as they reenter the community.

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