Spotlight Announcement

8/21/2008: Michigan Governor Creates Statewide Prisoner Reentry Advisory Council

Last month, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm issued Executive Order No. 2008-18, establishing the Michigan Prisoner Reentry Advisory Council. Members of the advisory council represent several state agencies, including the departments of corrections, community health, labor and economic growth, and human services.

The governor's executive order outlines several responsibilities for the reentry advisory council:

• Identify reentry barriers that exist at the state level and develop strategies to overcome them
• Improve the coordination of services and information sharing among state agencies
• Engage local agencies, community-based social service providers, and other stakeholders in developing new policies and programs
• Advise the governor on appropriate policy responses to the identified challenges and suggest improvements to existing policies and laws

The new advisory council will help guide the ongoing efforts of the Michigan Prisoner Reentry Initiative (MPRI), which the governor launched in 2003 to reduce crime and help people to succeed in the community following their release from prison. The MPRI aims to provide individuals with a comprehensive plan of services from the time they enter prison through their release and return to the community. State officials incorporated recommendations from the Justice Center's Report of the Re-Entry Policy Council into the design of the MPRI model, making Michigan the first state to use this report in such a comprehensive manner.

The MPRI model involves three phases. Phase one, or "Getting Ready," is the institutional phase which measures an offender’s risks, needs, and strengths and assigns offenders to risk-reduction programming. The second phase, "Going Home," involves the development of a comprehensive reentry plan that addresses an offender’s housing, employment, and behavioral health needs. Phase three, “Staying Home,” involves providing flexible and firm parole supervision and services in the community and preparing the community to “take over” the case. Phases two and three were pilot-tested at eight sites in 2005 and were implemented in all 83 counties in the state by the end of 2007. State officials plan to complete implementation of the model by 2011, and the legislature has approved $66 million for fiscal years 2008 and 2009 to help the state meet its goals.

Michigan is among several states in which the governor or state legislature has established a statewide reentry advisory council or task force spanning multiple cabinet offices or state agencies. To learn more about what other states have done in this area, see the August 2007 issue of the Reentry Policy Council newsletter: "States Establish Reentry Councils to Oversee Initiatives, Promote Interagency Collaboration."