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
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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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President Signs Bill to Extend the Work Opportunity Tax Credit>>
- Videoconference to Highlight Interventions for Juvenile Status Offenders >>
- Washington, DC Passes Sealing and Expungement Measures >>
- New Resource Guide on Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions>>
- Council of State Governments Launches Interactive Chart of Reentry Housing Options>>
- Audioconference on City Hiring Initiatives Promoting Reentry of People with Criminal Records>>
- New Reentry Mapping Resource>>
- Funding Announcement: National Poverty Center Grants Program on Incarceration, Criminal Justice Policy, and Poverty>>
- New Jersey Update: Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Acting Corrections Commissioner Hayman>> Death Penalty Study Commission Recommends Abolition of Capital Punishment >> New Report on Reentry and Families >>
President Signs Bill to Extend the Work Opportunity Tax Credit
On December 5, the House of Representatives approved the “Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006,” the Senate approved identical legislation on December 7, and President Bush signed the legislation into law on December 20. The bill, H.R. 6111, includes a provision to extend the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), which provides incentives for employers to hire, train, and retain job seekers, including “qualified ex-felons,” who experience barriers to employment. The WOTC is available to employers who hire people from one of eight targeted groups including “qualified ex-felons,” defined as an individual who (1) has a state or federal felony conviction; (2) is a member of an economically disadvantaged family; and (3) is hired within in one year of release from prison or from date of conviction. The credit can reduce an employer’s federal income tax liability by as much as $2,400 per qualified new worker.
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Videoconference to Highlight Interventions for Juvenile Status Offenders
On Thursday, January 18, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. ET, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), in conjunction with the American Bar Association’s Commission on Youth at Risk and the Family and Youth Services Bureau, will air the national videoconference “Addressing the Needs of Juvenile Status Offenders and Their Families.” This live satellite/Internet videoconference will focus on factors that may lead a status offender to become more deeply involved in serious risk behavior and the juvenile justice system. The broadcast will highlight programs, practices, and policies around the country that have demonstrated promise in intervening with status offenders to prevent future, more serious offending.
Click here for additional information and to register
Washington, DC Passes Sealing and Expungement Measures
On December 20, the Washington, DC City Council’s last day before recess, the Council passed the “Criminal Record Expungement Act of 2006” (B16-0746). The new law – passed in conjunction with an amendment to the Human Rights Act that will bar consideration of criminal records more than ten years old – will make it easier to seal arrests that did not lead to convictions. The measure will also streamline the expungement process for certain types of convictions.
New Resource Guide on Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions
The recently published “Relief from the Collateral Consequences of a Criminal Conviction,” by Margaret Colgate Love, Director of the American Bar Association Commission on Effective Criminal Sanctions, provides a state-by-state survey of U.S. laws and practices and outlines corresponding methods for mitigating the collateral legal consequences of a criminal conviction. The guide includes analytical pieces on executive pardon, judicial expungement and sealing, deferred adjudication and set-aside, certificates of rehabilitation, and laws that limit consideration of conviction in connection with employment and licensing. In addition, the guide provides descriptions of available relief mechanisms and how they operate for each U.S. jurisdiction.
Learn more about collateral consequences of criminal convictions in New Jersey
Council of State Governments Launches Interactive Chart of Reentry Housing Options
With support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Council of State Governments (CSG) has launched an online tool to help users investigate housing options available for individuals released from prison or jail. The chart compares housing types across several dimensions, including potential funding sources, level of availability in the community, typical length of stay, and potential barriers to access. The publication also includes descriptions of programs that have successfully housed returning individuals and provides links to the programs’ websites when available.
Click here for more information on reentry and housing
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Audioconference on City Hiring Initiatives Promoting Reentry of People with Criminal Records
On Thursday, January 18, at 2:00pm ET, the National League of Cities, in partnership with the National Employment Law Project and the National HIRE Network, will host an audioconference, “Banning the Box: Facilitating the Reentry of Jobseekers with Criminal Records into the Workforce and Community.” The free, hour-long audioconference will feature four speakers: Angie Nalezny, Human Resource Director, City of St. Paul; Angela Rudolph, Assistant to the Mayor, City of Chicago; Chuck Turner, Councilmember, City of Boston, which designed a model ordinance on municipal hiring practices; and Dorsey Nunn, Director, All of Us or None, the lead group representing people with criminal records that successfully advocated for hiring reforms in several California cities. Advance registration is required by close of business on Tuesday, January 16; separate registration is needed for each phone line that will be used to listen to the call.
Download registration information
Click here to learn more about city hiring policies
New Reentry Mapping Resource
The Urban Institute has released a new report, “Mapping Prisoner Reentry: An Action Research Guidebook,” which provides information on how to understand and address prisoner reentry by mapping and analyzing neighborhood-level data. The report, authored by Nancy G. La Vigne, Jake Cowan, and Diana Brazzell, demonstrates how mapping data on the concentration of released prisoners can help policymakers, service providers, and formerly incarcerated individuals shape local policy, service delivery, and community responses related to reentry. The publication includes three sections: 1) “Why Map Prisoner Reentry?”; 2) “Creating Reentry Maps;” and 3) “Using Reentry Mapping to Promote Community Well-Being.”
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Funding Announcement: National Poverty Center Grants Program on Incarceration, Criminal Justice Policy, and Poverty
According to its recent funding announcement, the National Poverty Center (NPC) is seeking to fund research that will examine the relationship between incarceration, criminal justice policy, and poverty. The NPC anticipates funding four proposals, up to a maximum amount of $17,500 per award. The focus of the grants program is the impact of rising incarceration rates, and the effects of criminal justice policies more generally, on poverty. The application deadline is February 1.
Click here for application guidelines
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NEW JERSEY UPDATE:
Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Acting Corrections Commissioner Hayman
On December 15, acting Corrections Commissioner George Hayman gained the approval of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 6-4 vote. Hayman’s nomination will be considered by the full Senate later this month.
Death Penalty Study Commission Recommends Abolition of Capital Punishment
On January 2, a legislative commission recommended that New Jersey become the first state to abolish the death penalty since states began reinstating their capital punishment laws 35 years ago. The 13-member New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission’s report found “no compelling evidence” that capital punishment serves a legitimate purpose and increasing evidence that it “is inconsistent with evolving standards of decency.” Governor Corzine supports the Commission’s findings, saying, “As someone who has long opposed the death penalty, I look forward to working with the Legislature to carry out the recommendations.” Eight states have suspended executions in recent years, most due to court decisions.
New Report on Reentry and Families
The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, in partnership with Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice, has released a new report, “Bringing Families In: Recommendations of the Incarceration, Reentry & the Family Roundtables.” The report synthesizes findings from a series of roundtables that brought together policy leaders, academics, community activists, service providers, and formerly incarcerated individuals and their family members to talk about both the impact on families of incarceration and reentry and the critical role that family members can and do play when adults and juveniles come home.
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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.