You
are receiving this newsletter because you are a member of the New York
State Reentry Resource Center, a network of more than 1,000
advocates
and direct service providers from all around the state. Each month, we
bring you resource highlights, news, and policy updates from the online
resource center.
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* The City Shelves its Proposal
for a $375 Million Jail in the South Bronx *
The
Bloomberg administration has withdrawn its plan to build
the Oak Point Detention Center
in the Bronx, which has been oppossed by community groups as well as
elected officials. The Department of Corrections has
noted that it will, however, continue to seek a suitable site for a
jail in South
Bronx.
* Study Finds 1 in 100 Americans
are Incarcerated *
A
new report from the Pew Center on the States says 2,319,258
Americans were in jail or prison at the start of 2008 — one
out of every 99.1 adults. Black men between the ages of 20-34
had the highest rate of incarceration with one in nine currently
serving time. 1 in 36 of Hispanic adults are also currently behind
bars. The
reports also notes that prison spending has risen from $11 billion to
more than $49 billion with an average annual cost of $23, 876
per person. Click
here to read the report.
* US Senate Passes the Second
Chance Act *
On Tuesday,
March 11, the U.S. Senate
passed The Second Chance Act of 2007 (HR 1593), legislation designed to
aid former
prisoners coping with the challenges of reentry. The Second
Chance Act
authorizes $362 million to states, local governments and nonprofit
prisoner reentry organizations to help former prisoners obtain job
training, literacy training, substance abuse treatment, counseling,
housing and mentoring services. The legistlation passed the House in
November 2007 and now awaits the signature of
President Bush before it can become law.
*
Advocates Push for Legislative Reforms for Incarcerated Women *
The Coalition
for Women’s Prisoners gathered in Albany on March
4 to advocate policies that protect the rights of
incarcerated women. Hundreds of formerly
incarcerated women, concerned citizens, social service providers,
students, faith leaders, and many others pushed for
legislation that would give foster care agencies greater discretion to
make
fair
decisions about termination of parental rights when a parent is
incarcerated.
The coalition is also supporting legislation that would allow women in
prison as a result of domestic violence to be
eligible
for merit time and early release, and a bill that would require the
state
Department of Health to oversee and monitor HIV and Hepatitis C care in
prisons. Additionally, the group is seeking legislation that
would repeal the state's Rockefeller Drug Laws, and increase funding
for drug
treatment and alternative to incarceration programs. Click
here to learn about the Correctional Association’s Women
In
Prison Project and its work with incarcerated and formerly
incarcerated
women.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
*Resource Highlights*
Understanding
the Experiences and Needs of Children of Incarcerated
Parents: The Urban
Institute partnered with Big Brothers Big
Sisters organizations to obtain a qualitative perspective on the
experiences
and needs of children with incarcerated parents through a series of
focus
groups with adult volunteers mentoring those children. The following
report
describes the results of the focus groups, with particular attention to
differences within this population and to comparisons to similar
children who
do not have a parent involved in the criminal justice system. Click
here (PDF)
to read the report.
A Worker's
Guide to the Transportation Worker Identification
Credential (TWIC) Application, Appeal and Waiver Process: A
guide prepared by the National Employment Law Project (NELP), which
provides
an overview of the Transportation Security Administration's background
check
process for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC),
focusing primarily on the criminal record portion of the background
check. Click
here
(PDF) to access it from the Reentry Net Library.
The Importance
of an
Individualized Assessment: Making the Most of Re-sentencing Under the
Amended
Crack Cocaine Guidelines:
This
document written by Justice Strategies of the Center for Community
Alternatives discusses the hurdles counsel may encounter in using the
recent
amendments to the federal crack cocaine guidelines to obtain a full
re-sentencing of their clients, strategies for overcoming these
hurdles, and
the importance of a full mitigation investigation in taking advantage
of this
re-sentencing opportunity. Click
here (PDF) to read the report.
Remember to
visit Past
Resources of the Week for
highlighted reports, toolkits, and training materials from the past
year.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
*Upcoming
Events & Opportunities*
Race, Crime
and Justice: A Fresh Look at Old
Questions: The
2008 Orison S. Marden Lecture presents Jeremy Travis, president of John
Jay
College of Criminal Justice. For decades, lawyers have been concerned
about
racial profiling by the police and racial disparities in the criminal
justice
system. In today's era of mass incarceration and aggressive quality of
life
policing, a new concern has emerged about the combined effect of law
enforcement and criminal justice activities in communities of color.
The Lecture will explore the phenomenon of the
penetration of the justice system in these communities and is scheduled
for March 19, 2008.
Advocacy
Day to Repeal the Rockefeller Drug Laws: On
March 27, 2008, join the Drop the Rock Coalition for an Advocacy Day in
Albany to speak out for repealing of the Rockefeller Drug Laws. To Sign
up or for more information, visit the Drop the Rock
website or contact
Caitlin Dunklee at 212-254-5700 or cdunklee@correctionalassociation.org
Upcoming
Forum on Pre-Booking Jail Diversion: Come join
people directly
affected, advocates, government officials, academics, and legal
providers as
they engage in an open discussion about the current state of the
criminal
justice system and how pre-booking jail diversion can be implemented to
best
service people with psychiatric disabilities.
This Open Forum organized by
Rights
for Imprisoned People with Psychiatric Disabilities (RIPPD) is
scheduled for
June 4, 2008. Visit www.rippd.org
to register or contact Lisa Ortega (lortega@rippd.org)
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