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
-
Second Chance Campaign of New Jersey Launches>>
- States Establish Reentry Councils>>
- New York State Legislation Eliminates Medicaid Waiting Period Following Release>>
- New Report on Facilitating Successful Reentry with Entrepreneurship>>
- Research Grants on Substance Abuse Treatment for Reentering Individuals>>
- New Jersey Update: Latino Leaders Meet with Attorney General to Respond to New Law Enforcement Directive on Immigration Status>>
Second Chance Campaign of New Jersey Launches
The Second Chance Campaign of New Jersey – a statewide advocacy and reform effort whose mission is to achieve the safe and successful reintegration of adults and juveniles returning home from incarceration by promoting policies that remove barriers to productive citizenship – has officially launched. The Campaign’s agenda includes a range of measures that seek to 1) improve the safety and security of New Jersey’s families and communities, 2) save state and municipal dollars, and 3) promote fairness, equal opportunity, and racial equity. Coordinated by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, the Campaign is a statewide coalition of advocacy organizations, service providers, policymakers, faith-based organizations, community leaders, and interested citizens, including the ACLU of New Jersey, Legal Services of New Jersey, NJ Black Issues Convention, People’s Organization for Progress, The Police Institute, New Jersey Citizen Action, Rutgers Newark School of Criminal Justice, Hispanic Directors Association of New Jersey, Volunteers of America, New Jersey Association on Correction, New Jersey Latino Peace Officers Association, Drug Policy Alliance, Women Who Never Give-up, Jubilee Interfaith, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, and others. The Campaign is currently organizing public education events, direct advocacy with municipal and state legislators, and media outreach, and welcomes the participation of all interested stakeholders.
Visit the Campaign’s webpage and download the Campaign’s mission statement
Learn about the Campaign’s ‘ban the box’ and prison phone surcharge initiatives
_____________________________________________________________
States Establish Reentry Councils
Several states recently established councils that will study, promote, and help implement reentry policies, including Oregon, Oklahoma, Hawaii, and Colorado. Drawing their membership from various government entities as well as community-based organizations, the councils evaluate reentry practices, make recommendations for improvements to policies, and guide the implementation of responses to people released from prisons and jails. The councils follow examples set by other states, most notably Kansas, which last year formed a reentry policy council that includes key cabinet secretaries and legislative officials.
Learn more about reentry council efforts in Oregon, Oklahoma, Hawaii, and Colorado
Read about Kansas' reentry initiatives and recent legislation
_____________________________________________________________
New York State Legislation Eliminates Medicaid Waiting Period Following Release
New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer has signed legislation that will suspend rather than terminate Medicaid benefits for individuals while they are incarcerated, which will eliminate the two- to three-month waiting period following release currently required before Medicaid benefits resume. According to the bill’s sponsors, Assemblyman Keith Wright, D-Manhattan, and Senator Kemp Hannon, R-Nassau County, the majority of New York State inmates are eligible for Medicaid.
New Report on Facilitating Successful Reentry with Entrepreneurship
The Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice has released a new report, “Venturing Beyond the Gates: Facilitating Successful Reentry with Entrepreneurship.” Funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and authored by PRI’s Nicole Lindahl, the report explores the viability of entrepreneurship as an employment strategy during reentry. Highlights include: key statistics, definitions, and historical overviews for the fields of criminal justice, reentry, entrepreneurship, and microenterprise development; a set of five opportunities to facilitate successful reentry with entrepreneurship, including strategies for developing and sustaining a national initiative focused on bridging these fields; profiles of formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs; case studies detailing the experiences of microenterprise programs that are currently collaborating with correctional agencies/reentry programs to customize services to this population; strategies for leveraging funding streams; and contact points for potential partners at the state and local level.
_____________________________________________________________
Research Grants on Substance Abuse Treatment for Reentering Individuals
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is soliciting applications for participation as a Research Center in the second phase of the national Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies. The goal of this research program is to develop and test service models that integrate public health and public safety approaches for adults and adolescents with drug abuse and addictive disorders who are involved in the criminal justice system. Grantees will conduct research on implementing and sustaining improved treatment services for adolescents and adults with substance use disorders who are returning to the community after detention or incarceration. Research will be carried out in prisons, jails, reentry drug courts, and community-based treatment settings in collaboration with other awardees and with NIDA. The application deadlines are September 26 for the letter of intent and October 26 for the full proposal.
Click here for more information and application guidelines
_____________________________________________________________
NEW JERSEY UPDATE:
Latino Leaders Meet with Attorney General to Respond to New Law Enforcement Directive on Immigration Status
On September 8, members of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey met with Attorney General Anne Milgram in East Brunswick to respond to her new directive on immigration status and law enforcement, which specifies that police may ask about immigration status when someone is being arrested for an indictable offense or for driving while intoxicated. “We welcome these guidelines, but we have concerns,” said Martin Perez, President of the Alliance. “We understand the Attorney General has good intentions but we have to make sure there is a mechanism to make changes in the guidelines.” According to the Alliance, the directive, which orders local and state authorities to contact federal officials about people who are suspected of being illegal immigrants, must be refined. “We need more objective criteria for police officers to use in these cases,” Perez said after he and other Alliance members met with Attorney General Milgram. “Right now, the idea that a police officer can report someone if he has a ‘reason to believe’ they may be suspicious, that will create problems. What is a reason to believe? That needs to be defined.”
Read news coverage in the Star-Ledger and Home News Tribune
________________________________________________
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.