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.

Click here for more info on the Institute's Reentry Initiative, as well as its other programs and publications: www.njisj.org

New Jersey Prisoner Reentry Fact Sheet

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IN THIS ISSUE

State Parole Board Reports First Year Results of Community Partnering Unit to Acting Governor Codey
New Report from Vera Institute of Justice on Community Supervision: "When Brute Force Fails: Strategic Thinking for Crime Control"
New Study from the Sentencing Project: The Practical Effects of Disenfranchisement in NY, CT, and OH
Juvenile Justice Legislative Roundtable at Georgetown University Law Center on Oct. 15
New Government Accountability Office Study on the Impact of Federal Denial of Benefits to Those Convicted of Drug Offenses
National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws Seeks Comments on Collateral Sanctions Report
NJ Update: Acorn and ACLU-NJ Urge Voter Registration for Ex-Felons by Oct. 11 Deadline

State Parole Board Reports First Year Results of Community Partnering Unit to Acting Governor Codey

According to State Parole Chairman John D'Amico, the early results of the new Community Partnership Unit (CPU) are promising. The Parole Board says that it has been able to, at no cost to the taxpayers, "augment it's efforts to foster the rehabilitation of ex-prisoners by developing effective reentry partnerships with other government agencies, foundations, corporations, labor unions, non-profit organizations, faith based entities, community groups and individual volunteers." The report provided an assessment of the program's first year of operations.

New Report from Vera Institute of Justice on Community Supervision: "When Brute Force Fails: Strategic Thinking for Crime Control"

At a July 2005 roundtable discussion sponsored by the National Institute of Justice, Mark Kleiman, professor of policy studies at the UCLA School of Public Affairs and author of the report, told a group of researchers and prominent community supervision administrators, "If we get [community supervision] right, we could cut incarceration by 50 percent, have less crime rather than more crime, and spend the same amount of money." This paper summarizes the discussion between Kleiman and his audience of researchers and community corrections administrators.

New Study from the Sentencing Project: The Practical Effects of Disenfranchisement in NY, CT, and OH

"Studies of Voting Behavior and Felony Disenfranchisement Among Individuals in the Criminal Justice System in New York, Connecticut, and Ohio" a report by Ernest Drucker and Ricardo Barreras from the Montefiore Medical Center, outlines the findings of research examining voter disenfranchisement following a felony conviction. The research suggests that the effect of disenfranchisement laws extends beyond those who are legally restricted from voting, and generally lowers voting rates in their communities, particularly among African-Americans. The report also suggests that there are high levels of misinformation about voting and the restoration of eligibility.

» Download the report from the Sentencing Project

Juvenile Justice Legislative Roundtable at Georgetown University Law Center on Oct. 15

The Mid-Atlantic Juvenile Defender Center, The Georgetown University Law Center Juvenile Justice Clinic, and the University of Richmond School of Law Juvenile Law and Policy Clinic are hosting a Legislative Roundtable on October 15th, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. Workshops include "Different Models of Legislative Advocacy by Public Defender Offices in the Region," National Resources Available for Legislative Advocacy on Juvenile Issues," and "General Lobbying Techniques." To RSVP contact Melissa Goemann at (804) 287-6468 or mgoemann@richmond.edu.

New Government Accountability Office Study on the Impact of Federal Denial of Benefits to Those Convicted of Drug Offenses

Between 17,000 and 41,000 drug offenders were denied federal student aid each year from 2001 to 2004, according to estimates in a report published by the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress. The report, "Drug Offenders: Various Factors May Limit the Impacts of Federal Laws That Provide for Denial of Selected Benefits," examined the effects of a federal law that bars convicted drug offenders from receiving federal student aid. What is less clear, the report says, is whether the law has actually discouraged drug use.

National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws Seeks Comments on Collateral Sanctions Report

The Drafting Committee of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws Seeks is accepting comments and feedback on its preliminary report "Collateral Sanctions and Disqualification Act." The report provides a draft of an act that could address the creation and imposition of collateral consequences flowing from criminal convictions, and the restoration of rights of those subject to these sanctions. Comments should be in writing and submitted by Oct. 14th to Uniform Law Commissioners, 211 East Ontario Street, Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60611.

NJ Update: Acorn and ACLU-NJ Urge Voter Registration for Ex-Felons by Oct. 11 Deadline

ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) and the ACLU-NJ are reminding citizens - especially those with felony convictions who have completed probation or parole - to register to vote before the deadline of October 11, 2005. Under New Jersey law, people who have completed their prison sentence and probation or parole are eligible to vote, without securing additional clearances, but must register by the deadline in order to do so.

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