The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice is a non-partisan urban research and advocacy organization founded in 1999 by the Amy and Alan V. Lowenstein Foundation. Based in Newark, the Institute promotes the development of economically healthy and vibrant urban communities and challenges practices and policies that prevent urban New Jersey from achieving its full potential.
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New Jersey Prisoner Reentry Fact Sheet
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IN THIS ISSUE
- Princeton Study Shows Black Men Receive Fewer Job Offers Than White Men with Identical Criminal Records
- New Book: "Civil Penalties, Social Consequences"
- Iowa Governor Restores Voting Rights to Convicted Felons
- Mapping the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track: An "Action Kit" Released by the Advancement Project
- Training-By-Telephone Available for People working with Incarcerated Parents
- New Jersey Legislative Update: Bill Requiring Inmates to Pay the Cost of Their Incarceration Moves to Assembly Budget Committee
Princeton Study Shows Black Men Receive Fewer Job Offers Than White Men with Identical Criminal Records
White men with prison records receive far more offers for entry-level jobs in New York City than black men with identical backgrounds, and are offered jobs just as often as black men who have never been arrested, according to a new study by two Princeton professors. The authors of the study, Devah Pager and Bruce Western, said they took pains to minimize all the applicant's nonracial differences - in personality, interpersonal skills, education levels, work history and the neighborhoods where they said they lived. According to the study, for every 10 white men without convictions who got a job offer or call back, more than 7 white men with prison records did. The difference grew far larger for black applicants: For every 10 black men without criminal convictions, only about 3 with criminal records got offers or callbacks.
New Book: "Civil Penalties, Social Consequences"
Legal restrictions stemming from criminal convictions have proliferated in recent years since the advent of the "wars" on drugs and terror. According to the contributors to Civil Penalties, Social Consequences, these penalties - including sanctions on certain types of employment, housing, education, welfare eligibility, parental rights and protections from deportation - have come to significantly hinder the life chances for a large number of disadvantaged individuals, their families and communities in the poorest sections of U.S. cities. Edited by Christopher Mele and Teresa A Cooper.
Iowa Governor Restores Voting Rights to Convicted Felons
Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, joined by a bi-partisan group of legislators, issued an executive order that restores voter eligibility to all convicted felons who have completed their sentences (including accompanying probation, parole or supervised release.) Previously Iowa was among only a handful of states that permanently disenfranchised people with felony convictions. The executive order will have the greatest impact among the state's African Americans, who make up only 2% of the population, but are nearly 25% of the state's disenfranchised citizens. The order will go into effect on July 4, 2005.
Mapping the Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track: An "Action Kit" released by the Advancement Project
The Advancement Project has released a new toolkit aimed at helping advocates organize campaigns against the over-use of zero tolerance school discipline, and the growing reliance on police and juvenile courts as disciplinarians. This kit provides guidance on dissecting the "schoolhouse to jailhouse track" by collecting information and data about school discipline policies and practices, and analyzing and organizing the data.
Training-By-Telephone Available for People working with Incarcerated Parents
Family and Corrections Network (FCN) now offers a series of training-by-telephone conference calls. No travel is required to participate. Handouts are made available prior to the call by web site link, and presentations include lively discussion and interaction with participants. CD recordings can be ordered for those who cannot make the call. Trainings include; "Ages and Stages," a multi-session on working with the children of incarcerated parents at different ages, and "Incarcerated Mothers," a look at custody issues and keeping in touch.
New Jersey Legislative Update: Bill Requiring Inmates to Pay the Cost of Their Incarceration Moves to Assembly Budget Committee
A2951, an Assembly bill requiring inmates to pay the cost of their incarceration, was transferred to the Assembly Budget Committee, where a legislative fiscal summary was issued on June 23, 2005. A2951 would require the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections to establish and collect a fee each year from inmates in State Correctional facilities, halfway houses or similar private nonprofit community based residential treatment centers to pay for the cost of their incarceration. The bill exempts inmates whose "assets are equal to or below the State median household income level." It also provides the commissioner discretion to waive the fee under certain circumstances; and authorizes the use of property liens satisfy payment. The average annual cost of incarceration is $28,025.
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