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
- New Jersey Dept. of Corrections and State Parole Board Take Steps To Inform People of Voting Rights
- U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Review Florida Voting Case
- New Report from the Sentencing Project Documents Felony Voting Laws
- Logon to Reentry.net/ny Online Resource Center for Free Membership
- New Book: "All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated"
- $5 Million Approved for Mentally Ill Offender Treatment/Crime Reduction Act
- New Report from Public/Private Ventures: "When the Gates Open: Ready4Work-A National Response to the Prisoner Reentry Crisis"
- CSS Will Host a Roundtable Discussion on Prisoner Reentry Issues on Dec. 10
- New Bureau of Justice Report: Probation and Parole in the United States, 2004
- Reminder! Occasional Series on Reentry Research: "Families and Reentry" on Thurs., Dec. 8
New Jersey Department of Corrections and State Parole Board Take Steps to Inform People of Voting Rights
NJ Department of Corrections now provides materials to inform people in prison of their voting rights. These include a video, "Ex-Offender Voting Rights," and a "Did You Know?" brochure that describes voting qualifications and registration procedures for people with felony convictions. The Department is showing the video in all state prisons as part of its process of preparing people for return to the community. The State Parole Board had previously issued a directive requiring that all parolees be provided with a voter registration form and instructions upon the completion of parole.
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Review Florida Voting Case
On November 14, the Supreme Court refused to review Florida's lifetime ban on voting rights for convicted felons. The 1868 Florida law was contested in 2000 on behalf of people who had completed their sentences, including probation and parole. The court's decision, Johnson v. Bush, leaves in place an 11th Circuit decision that foreclosed a challenge to the law under the Voting Rights Act and upheld the constitutionality of Florida's voting ban.
- » Read the Associated Press article
- » Download the briefs and more information on the case at the Brennan Center
- » Download "Liberal and Republican Arguments against the Disenfranchisement of Felons"
New Report from the Sentencing Project Documents Felony Voting Laws
A new report by The Sentencing Project finds widespread confusion and errors in the implementation of felony disenfranchisement laws. "A 'Crazy-Quilt' of Tiny Pieces: State and Local Administration of American Criminal Disenfranchisement Laws," reports on the findings of a national study of elections officials conducted by political scientist Alec Ewald. Among the report's key findings are: more than one-third of local elections officials interviewed misunderstand state eligibility law; in at least five states a misdemeanor conviction also results in the loss of voting rights; disenfranchisement laws result in contradictory policies even within the same state; and, there is significant variation in how states respond to persons with felony convictions from other states.
Logon to Reentry.net/ny Online Resource Center for Free Membership
The Bronx Defenders and Pro Bono Net have officially launched Reentry Net/NY - the first free information clearinghouse for criminal defense, legal services, social services, and policy advocates of materials on reentry and the consequences of criminal proceedings. The online resource center offers: interactive news and calendar tools, program directories with referral information; national research and policy materials; and hundreds of practice materials for advocates and clients, selected by experts.
New Book: "All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated"
It is estimated that 2.4 million American children have a parent in jail ? that's one out of every thirty-three kids. Journalist Nell Bernstein describes the impact of the criminal justice system through the eyes of children who have parents in prison. In addition, Bernstein generates awareness of the problems of caregivers, explores policy implications, and provides a checklist for what needs to be done to address these issues.
$5 Million Approved for Mentally Ill Offender Treatment/Crime Reduction Act
On November 4, Congress approved a $5 million appropriation for the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction. Signed into law in 2004, the Act (S. 1194) authorizes a $50 million federal grant program for states and counties to establish more mental health courts, expand prisoners' access to mental health treatment while incarcerated and upon re-entry into the community, provide additional resources for pre-trial jail diversion programs and related initiatives, and fund cross-training for law enforcement officials and mental health personnel dealing with adult and juvenile offenders with mental illness.
New Report from Public/Private Ventures: "When the Gates Open:
Ready4Work-A National Response to the Prisoner Reentry Crisis"
"When the Gates Open" describes the emergence of Ready4Work, a 17-site, national ex-prisoner reentry initiative developed by Public/Private Ventures (P/PV). The report outlines the initiative's basic goals and design, and examines how it is confronting the nation's reentry crisis by drawing on local faith- and community-based organizations to provide job training, mentoring, case management and job placement services.
CSS will Host a Roundtable Discussion on Prisoner Reentry Issues on Dec. 10
The Community Service Society of New York will host a Roundtable Discussion on Prison Re-Entry Issues on Dec. 10, featuring guest speaker Peter Wagner of the Prison Policy Initiative. The roundtable will be held between 12 noon and 3:00 p.m. at 105 East 22nd Street (at Park Avenue South in New York City). Lunch will be provided. For more information or to RSVP, contact Gabriel Torres-Rivera at grivera@cssny.org.
New Bureau of Justice Report: Probation and Parole in the United States, 2004
The number of adult men and women in the United States who were being supervised on probation or parole at the end of 2004 reach a new high of 4,916,480. This report lists the states with the largest and smallest parole and probation populations, identifies the States with the largest increases, describes the race and gender of these populations, and reports the percentages of parolees and probationers completing community supervision successfully (or failing because of a rule violation or a new offense). In 2004 New Jersey experienced a 10% increase in probationers, and a nearly 20% decrease in parole revocations between 2003 and 2004.
Reminder: Occasional Series on Reentry Research: "Families and Reentry" on Thurs., Dec. 8
The series is designed to serve as a vehicle for disseminating emerging research and generating conversation to improve policy and practice within the field of prisoner reentry. Johnna Christian, Assistant Professor at Rutgers University School of Criminal Justice, will present her research focused on the impact of incarceration. Discussants will be Jeffrion Aubry, New York Assemblyman from the 35th Assembly District and the Chair of the Corrections Committee, and Elizabeth Gaynes, the Executive Director of the Osborne Association, a community-based organization in New York City serving individuals affected by incarceration. This series will take at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, located at 899 Tenth Ave (between 58th and 59th Sts.) in Room 630.RSVP to 212-484-1327 or write to dmukamal@jjay.cuny.edu.
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