RPC Newsletter - 5/24/2007

Kansas Governor Signs Bipartisan Legislation into Law to Increase Public Safety, Reduce Recidivism, and Avert Spending on Corrections

On May 22, 2007, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, joined by Senator John Vratil, Representative Mike O’Neal, Representative Pat Colloton, and Senator Greta Goodwin, held a bill signing ceremony for Senate Bill 14, “An Act Concerning the Department of Corrections.”

The bill creates a performance-based grant program for community corrections programs to design local strategies to reduce revocations and establishes a 60 day program credit for participants who successfully complete educational, vocational, and treatment programs.

To implement SB14, the legislature appropriated $4.4 million for the community corrections grant program while Governor Sebelius included $2.4 million in her budget to fund the expansion of programs for people in prison and on parole supervision, including behavioral health care programs.

“Kansas is dedicated to smart and tough criminal justice policy,” said Sebelius. “By holding individuals who committed less-serious crimes accountable for completing treatment and vocational programs, we will ensure we have space in our prisons to keep violent offenders behind bars.”

According to an analysis completed by the Kansas Department of Corrections, most people are released from prison without completing programs to reduce their risk to public safety. Seventy-two percent of people in need of vocational education and 52 percent of people in need of substance abuse treatment did not participate in relevant programs prior to their release.

The new initiatives that the law establishes resulted in part from a bipartisan, Joint Task Force on Comprehensive Corrections established by House Speaker Melvin Neufeld and Senate President Stephen Morris. Task Force members worked closely with state officials and national experts from the Council of State Governments Justice Center to pursue a justice reinvestment strategy to help manage the growth of the prison population, save the state money, and increase public safety.

According to a 2006 projection released by the Kansas Sentencing Commission, the prison population was projected to increase by 26 percent over the next 10 years. By implementing SB14, the state is expected to avert building 1,292 beds for ten years, and save $80.2 million over the next five years, although the actual savings will depend on when the state decides to build additional correctional facilities.

“Kansas faced a daunting public safety problem - how to reduce recidivism, help ex-offenders become law-abiding, taxpaying citizens, stave off exploding prison growth, and save taxpayers money,” said Adam Gelb, Project Director of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Public Safety Performance Project. “By tackling the issue with a commitment to data-driven policy, strong bipartisan leadership and a focus on fiscal responsibility, Kansas is leading the way in smart-on-crime public policy.”

The bipartisan focus on improving outcomes for people released from prison in Kansas has attracted the support of a number of national foundations and associations. The Technical assistance to Kansas policymakers over the past year, including analyses of the prison population were made possible by The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Public Safety Performance Project, U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, and the National Institute of Corrections. In January 2007, the JEHT Foundation awarded a $4.67 million multi-year grant to the Kansas Department of Correction to support state and local reentry and risk reduction efforts.

To learn more about the justice reinvestment strategy and the technical assistance the Council of State Governments Justice Center is providing to Kansas and other states around the country, please visit: www.justicereinvestment.org.


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Council of State Governments Justice Center Launches Justice Reinvestment Website

The Council of State Governments Justice Center recently unveiled a new resource for policymakers: a website about its Justice Reinvestment Initiative. Through its Justice Reinvestment Initiative, the Justice Center provides intensive technical assistance to policymakers interested in reducing their state's spending on corrections, increasing public safety, and improving conditions in the neighborhoods to which most people released from prison return.

The new website explains how justice reinvestment works. It also provides reports, policy briefs, and maps that the Justice Center has developed as part of its technical assistance to officials in states where bipartisan groups of policymakers are pursuing a justice reinvestment strategy, including Texas, Kansas, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Nevada, and Arizona. These materials summarize the projected growth of the states' prison populations, identify factors driving that growth, and provide maps illustrating how state expenditures overlap and may be concentrated in a handful of neighborhoods.

The Justice Reinvestment Initiative receives funding support through the Public Safety Performance Project, an operating project of the Pew Charitable Trusts; the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA); and the Open Society Institute.


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Announcements

Job Openings: Council of State Governments Justice Center

The Justice Center is seeking qualified applicants for the following positions:

• Operations Director
• Project Director, Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project
• Project Coordinator, Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project
• Project Coordinator, Reentry Policy Council/Justice Reinvestment Initiative
• Research Associate

The above positions may be assigned to the Justice Center's New York City or Bethesda, MD offices.

For detailed position descriptions and application instructions, please visit: http://justicecenter.csg.org/about_us/job-openings


Call for Presenters: 8th Annual Inside/Out Summit, "Critical Juncture: Innovative Solutions for Addressing the Impact of Youth and Adult Incarceration in Our Communities"
Sponsored by Centerforce and the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
October 22-23, 2007
San Francisco, CA

Centerforce and the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice are seeking dynamic and educational presentations in the form of workshops, panel discussions, or plenary sessions. Submissions should include detailed information on how the presentation will share knowledge and expertise, and specifically meet a community need.

For more information regarding submission requirements, including presentation topics and criteria, click here: http://www.centerforce.org/summit/2007_presenters.pdf

The deadline for proposal submissions is August 2, 2007.

To learn more about the Summit, visit: http://www.centerforce.org/summit


Upcoming Events:

National Alliance on Mental Illness 2007 National Convention
June 20-24, 2007
San Diego, CA
http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?section=convention

State Associations of Addiction Services 2007 National Conference
July 8-11, 2007
Chicago, IL
http://www.saasnet.org

National Commission on Correctional Health Care – "Correctional Mental Health: Bridging the Gap"
July 15-16, 2007
Las Vegas, NV
http://www.ncchc.org/education/mental2007.html


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Funding Opportunities

Sex Offender Management Training and Technical Assistance Program FY 2007 Competitive Grant Announcement

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance is seeking applications for the development and implementation of training and technical assistance under the Comprehensive Approaches to Sex Offender Management (CASOM) Grant Program.

The CASOM Grant Program assists state, local, and tribal jurisdictions in improving their adult and juvenile sex offender management policies and practices by critically examining existing approaches to managing sex offenders in the community. The Sex Offender Management Training and Technical Assistance Program will complement the CASOM Grant Program by providing training and technical assistance to jurisdictions that are developing strategies to address identified gaps and needs. The focus of the training and technical assistance will be twofold: 1) reduction of recidivism for sex offenders and 2) accountability for sex offenders as it relates to community-based supervision.

Application Deadline: June 5, 2007.

For more information on this funding opportunity and its eligibility requirements, click here.


High-Risk Youth Offender Reentry and Family Strengthening Initiatives

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is seeking applications for its High-Risk Youth Offender Reentry and Family Strengthening Initiatives.

The 2006 National Report on Juvenile Offenders and Victims published by OJJDP suggests that substantial proportions of the juvenile reentry population are likely to need extensive supervision and support services when they return to the community. The purpose of the High-Risk Youth Offender Reentry Initiative is to facilitate juveniles' successful transition to their families and communities following confinement in a juvenile residential facility. The Initiative aims to reduce recidivism rates of youth who return to juvenile facilities and provide the critical services, resources, and opportunities that will allow a returning youth to successfully transition to adulthood.

According to a 2005 report of the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, children living in two-parent households fare better than other children on a variety of socioeconomic measures. The purpose of the Family Strengthening Initiative is to foster innovations and advancement in family strengthening strategies, programs, and interventions that focus on improving family economic success, family support systems, and building thriving and nurturing communities in which healthy families can pursue long-term goals.

Application Deadline: June 8, 2007

For more information on this funding opportunity and its eligibility requirements, click here.


Prevention and Support Services for Women Incarcerated or Newly Released Living With or at Risk for HIV-AIDS-STDs

The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Public Health and Science, Office on Women's Health is awarding funding for programs that will increase health-related support services available to currently or recently incarcerated women who are infected with or at risk for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (HIV-AIDS-STDs).

A 2002 report conducted by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care showed that the prevalence of communicable diseases among people in jail and prison is far greater than among other people of comparable ages. The delivery of health care to people who are incarcerated provides a significant opportunity to affect the ongoing health and well-being of people involved in the criminal justice system. However, institutional treatment must serve as a foundation for ongoing care in the community in order to contribute to individuals' successful reentry following their release.

The goals for the grant program are: a) to develop and sustain comprehensive HIV-AIDS-STD prevention and support services to incarcerated and newly released women in collaboration with health care providers, social services, correctional facilities, and criminal justice offices, b) to establish community linkages and networks for ensuring a continuum of care, transitional support, and discharge planning, c) to improve the physical and mental health circumstances as well as quality of life of incarcerated and newly released women living with HIV-AIDS or at risk for infection.

Application Deadline: June 11, 2007

For more information on this funding opportunity and its eligibility requirements, click here.


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Recent Media Coverage of Reentry Issues

• 5/23/2007 - "Transition training for inmates offers a new release on life" (Anchorage Daily News (AK))
  
  More than 70 inmates took part in a one-day job fair Monday at Alaska's Spring Creek Correctional Center. Representatives from more than a dozen businesses, unions, nonprofits, and schools conducted mock interviews and dispensed real advice. This is the third year Spring Creek has held a job fair, which was paid for by federal grants to the prison's Youthful Offender Program.
  
  
• 5/23/2007 - "Crist embraces new prison tack: coaching inmates for life outside" (Palm Beach Post (FL))
  
  Florida Governor Charlie Crist's administration on Tuesday announced a revamp of corrections policies aimed at keeping people released from prisons and jails from winding up back behind bars. The new policy is a marked shift for the Florida Department of Corrections.
  
  
• 5/22/2007 - "OK House passes faith-based prisoner reentry program" (The Oklahoman)
  
  Legislation that encourages churches and other faith-based groups to prepare people for life after prison and reduce the number of repeat offenders was overwhelmingly approved by the Oklahoma House Tuesday.
  
  
• 5/21/2007 - "Sealing of crime pasts up to Ritter" (Denver Post)
  
  Under a proposed law awaiting Colorado Governor Bill Ritter's signature, people convicted of certain nonsexual crimes could petition a judge to seal their criminal records 10 years after completing prison time, probation or parole.
  
  

Click here to see more collected reentry news from the Reentry Policy Council.


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Recent Published Resources on Reentry Issues

• Innovative Employment Approaches and Programs for Low-Income Families (Urban Institute)
  
  
• One Year Out: Experiences of Prisoners Returning to Cleveland (Urban Institute)
  
  
• Short-term Strategies to Improve Reentry of Jail Populations: Expanding and Implementing the APIC Model (American Jails)
  
  
• 2007 Offender Programs Evaluation (KS Dept. of Corrections)

To suggest additional resources for inclusion in the RPC newsletter, please email editors@reentrypolicy.org.


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