Did you know that 70,000 people will return from state prison to their New Jersey communities over the next 5 years? For more facts about reentry in New Jersey,
download the fact sheet
[PDF: 135KB/1Page]
Civil Consequences of
Criminal Convictions in New Jersey:
Fact Sheets
Individuals leaving prison in New Jersey face many legal barriers to successful reintegration. To learn about specific restrictions in various areas, click on the links below.
The New Jersey Institute
For Social Justice, Inc.
IN THIS ISSUE
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ABA Pulls Proposal on Criminal Records>>
- California Program Certifies Prisoners as Drug Counselors>>
- Inmates Sent to Out-of-State Private Prisons>>
- Conference on the Impact of Incarceration>>
- Race Still Matters Conference>>
- New Jersey Update: Proposed Driver's License Suspension Reforms Still Not Passed >> People's March for Peace, Equality, Jobs, and Justice>>
ABA Pulls Proposal on Criminal Records
An American Bar Association proposal that urged sealing records of some criminal convictions and arrests has been pulled from the agenda of the Association’s House of Delegates meeting. Business and media groups had expressed concern about the proposal, which was aimed at making it easier for convicted people who have been incarcerated, and those whose arrests never led to a conviction, to gain employment and housing without the stigma of past records found in online databases and elsewhere.
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California Program Certifies Prisoners as Drug Counselors
A new peer-counseling program at California’s San Quentin State Prison certifies prisoners as drug and alcohol counselors. To secure the certification from the Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, or Caadac, the participating inmates enroll in seven academic courses and complete 4,000 hours of supervised counseling. Outside addiction specialists at local universities and drug and alcohol treatment centers have taught the courses. Earlier this summer, the first group of participating inmates completed the program and took Caadac’s three-hour written exam; 9 of the11 participants passed the test and have since become certified.
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Inmates Sent to Out-of-State Private Prisons
California is sending 700 male inmates to privately owned and operated prisons in Arizona, Tennessee, and Mississippi. The move represents a major shift: until December, the state had not put a medium- or maximum-security prisoner in a private prison since 1852. So far, California has sent 317 prisoners to Arizona, 312 to Mississippi, and 80 to Tennessee. Critics contend that private prisons have been plagued with a range of problems, including more poorly trained guards and a higher rate of escapes and disciplinary actions than state-run institutions.
Conference on the Impact of Incarceration
Centerforce and the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice will hold a conference on the impact of juvenile and adult incarceration on October 22nd and 23rd in San Francisco. “Critical Juncture: Innovative Solutions for Addressing the Impact of Youth and Adult Incarceration in Our Communities” will explore both policy and practice and provide implementation tools. Break-out sessions will cover reforming youth corrections, multi-systemic therapy approaches, community-based reentry partnerships, and sentencing reform.
Click here for more information and registration details
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Race Still Matters Conference
The Race Still Matters Coalition will host a conference on racial justice on October 20th in Newark. The Race Still Matters Conference will bring together community members and leaders to discuss a range of racial justice issues, with workshops on racial profiling, felony disenfranchisement, mandatory minimums, reentry, police practices, and others. The conference is free and open to the public; pre-registration is required.
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NEW JERSEY UPDATE:
Proposed Driver's License Suspension Reforms Still Not Passed
More than a year after a state task force examined driver’s license suspensions and the hardships they pose for motorists, none of the eight bills that would implement the panel’s recommendations has been enacted. The bills seek to mitigate the punitive effects of driver’s license suspensions due to unpaid fines for moving violations or parking tickets as well as for non-driving obligations such as delinquent child support. In 2006, the Motor Vehicles Affordability and Fairness Task Force issued a series of recommendations that would give courts more discretion in levying penalties and collecting payments from motorists facing the loss of their driving privileges. Specifically, the Task Force recommended that municipal judges be allowed to 1) suspend vehicle registrations instead of driver’s licenses, 2) provide installment repayment periods beyond current limits, and 3) be empowered to waive a portion of the fines owed in exchange for alternative penalties such as community service.
People's March for Peace, Equality, Jobs, and Justice
At an August 25th rally sponsored by the New Jersey Peace and Justice Coalition, thousands of activists marched through downtown Newark, calling for an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq, fairness in the criminal justice system, an end to gun violence, and more equal access to jobs and economic opportunity. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich) provided the keynote.
Download the culminating speech
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For more information about news or event sharing contact rgreenberg@njisj.org. To subscribe or unsubscribe to the New Jersey Reentry Digest, visit the subscription page.