By EurekAlert
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - While re-entry and skill-building programs
offered by the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) at its
11 prisons are heavily used and generally viewed favorably by
inmates, many anticipate a difficult return to society due to their
underlying health conditions and concerns about finances and
support systems.
To improve their chances for success in the community, a Rutgers
researcher recommends that NJDOC adopt a policy of universal
re-entry preparedness during each inmate's mandatory minimum term
and a reallocation of funding to increase skill-building capacity
on-site rather than in ultimately more costly halfway house
programs.
Rutgers Professor Nancy Wolff, director of the Center for
Behavioral Health Services and Criminal Justice Research, reaches
those conclusions in a new study, Re-entry Readiness of Men and
Women Leaving New Jersey Prisons. "Approximately 10,000 men and
women leave New Jersey prisons each year. Many of them return to
jail and prison for parole violations or new convictions within
days, months or years post-release," Wolff observed. She added that
the criminal justice system's current emphasis to "stop the
revolving prison door" is on re-entry preparedness, with special
funding under the federal Second Chance Act set aside to improve
re-entry services around the country.
"While re-entry-related funding is flowing into states, its
target efficiency and ultimate effectiveness in terms of public
safety depend on whether it goes to the right people in the right
places and in the right ways," Wolff explained. "For this, it is
critical to know the population - its needs, strengths and
resources."
Wolff conducted a Re-entry Readiness Survey from June through
August 2009 of 4,000 men and women in the state's prisons due for
release within 24 months. Among the findings:
- "A sizable minority" of soon-to-be-released respondents had
chronic health and/or mental health problems or chronic pain that
would require follow-up treatment.
- A majority would be released with drug-related convictions that
will constrain their ability to receive cash assistance, food
stamps and public housing.
- More than one-third had no one helping them find housing or a
job.
- More than one-quarter reported their ability to manage money,
work for a living, be a responsible adult and control drug or
alcohol problems as fair or poor.
Despite these impediments to success upon release, many
respondents viewed favorably and utilized NJDOC re-entry and
skill-building programs:
- Nearly 70 percent reported receiving needed behavioral health
services.
- Nearly 70 percent knew about the STARS (Successful Transition
and Re-entry Series) program; 80 percent of STARS enrollees or
graduates rated the experience good or higher and would encourage a
peer to enroll.
- More than 80 percent admitted to social functioning skill
programs rated instruction and materials good or higher.
- More than 87 percent of participants in educational and
vocational programs rated instruction and materials good or
higher.
To meet the twin goals of effectively preparing
soon-to-be-released prisoners to "make good" and to protect the
public, the department must re-examine how it spends limited funds
dedicated to re-entry-related services, Wolff said. The report
recommends that the skill-preparedness of inmates be maximized
during their mandatory minimum terms.
Currently, NJDOC provides less than half the functioning,
educational and vocational skill-building services needed by the
soon-to-be-released population. To reduce recidivism and chances of
compromising public safety, Wolff recommends creating a Re-entry
Preparedness Checklist at all prisons that would measure key skills
and resources expected upon release and monitor the progress of
individual inmates toward these goals. Results would be posted on
the department's website.
She also advocates for increased funding and skill-building
capacity within NJDOC to the scale of need of prisoners during
their mandatory minimum sentence, and to establish re-entry
preparedness standards to determine if an inmate is eligible for
parole consideration upon completion of his or her mandatory
minimum term.
The research also finds that by keeping more re-entry-related
services on site, rather than outsourced to halfway houses that
provide community-based residential treatment for a minority of
released inmates, NJDOC can accrue considerable savings. The FY
2009 budget allocated about $61 million for residential services
that support an average daily halfway house population of more than
2,600 people.
"While it is often argued that a community-based halfway house
bed is cheaper than a prison bed, this is true only if the services
provided by the halfway house could not be provided by the
Corrections Department while the inmate was serving the mandatory
minimum term," Wolff said. "Adding off-site re-entry preparedness
costs to the back end of a mandatory minimum sentence term adds
$23,000 per year per inmate."
Wolff added that reduced reliance on residential service
providers will free up additional funds for on-site re-entry
preparedness programming and pay for a Re-entry Preparedness
Performance Monitoring System. She also called for a Community
Service Vouchering program that will enable parolees to buy
residential, vocational and treatment services as needed in the
communities to which they are returning.
"Contracting for residential rehabilitation services has
resulted in a concentration of services in such urban areas as
Camden, Newark and Trenton," Wolff said. "A vouchering system is
consistent with community reinvestment strategies and goals to
distribute service capacity more evenly across the state."
SOURCE