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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NJ Reentry Digest:
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IN THIS ISSUE
- U.S. Senate Amends College Financial Aid Ban for People with Drug Convictions
- National HIRE Network Provides New Advocacy Toolkits to Combat Legal Barriers Facing Individuals with Criminal Records
- New Vera Institute of Justice Report: "Smoothing the Path from Prison to Home: A Summary and Roundtable Discussion on the Lessons of Project Greenlight"
- Amicus Briefs Filed in Third Circuit Case Challenging a SEPTA Hiring Policy That Excludes People with Criminal Convictions
- Funding News: Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics will Award Grants under the 2006 Gang Resistance Education and Training Program (GREAT)
New Jersey Update:
- Assembly Bill 878 - Authorizes court to refrain from imposing driver's license suspension on defendant convicted of CDS offense if compelling circumstances exist
- Senate Bill 709 - Creates study commission on the death penalty and imposes moratorium on imposition of death penalty
- State Appeals Court Rules That Prisoners Cannot Earn "Good Time" While in County Jails
- Attorney General Updates Statewide Victim Notification Program
- New Jersey State Parole Board Hosts South Jersey Reentry Conference on Jan. 10
U.S. Senate Amends College Financial Aid Ban for People with Drug Convictions
A law that has barred college students with drug convictions from getting federal education aid has been amended, but not eliminated, by the U.S. Senate under a provision included in Senate Bill 1932 (the budget reconciliation bill). A measure sponsored by Rep. Mark Souder and passed by Congress seven years ago barred students with drug offenses from receiving federal grants, loans, or work-study assistance. The bill approved by the Senate would amend the law to only ban aid to students who commit drug offenses while they are in college.
National HIRE Network Provides New Advocacy Toolkits to Combat Legal Barriers Facing Individuals with Criminal Records
The Legal Action Center and its National H.I.R.E. Network have posted a series of toolkits that organizations and individuals all over the country can use to advocate for removal of unfair roadblocks facing individuals with criminal records. They include: "Prohibit Inquiries About Arrests That Never Led to Conviction", "Standards for Hiring People with Criminal Records", "Certificates of Rehabilitation", and "Sealing/Expunging Arrest and Conviction Records." More toolkits are forthcoming.
New Vera Institute of Justice Report: "Smoothing the Path from Prison to Home: A Summary and Roundtable Discussion on the Lessons of Project Greenlight"
This report presents research findings about Project Greenlight, an ambitious prison-based reentry demonstration project that the Vera Institute of Justice conducted at the Queensboro Correctional Facility in New York, which yielded disappointing recidivism outcomes. The report presents the field of prison reentry with a valuable learning opportunity for future reentry projects, and includes a roundtable transcript analyzing many issues that could have factored into the outcomes.
Amicus Briefs Filed in Third Circuit Case Challenging a SEPTA Hiring Policy That Excludes People with Criminal Convictions
Community Legal Services of Philadelphia and the NAAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund have filed amicus briefs in a Third Circuit case challenging a SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) hiring policy that excludes individuals with conviction records from paratransit driver jobs. The case is currently on appeal after the district court granted summary judgment to SEPTA on the grounds that there was a "business necessity" for this policy.
Funding News: Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics will Award Grants under the 2006 Gang Resistance Education and Training Program (GREAT)
The Federal Bureau of Justice Assistance will award grants of up to $250,000 under its 2006 Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) Program. Applications are due Feb. 2, 2006 for the grants, which support the delivery of the anti-gang involvement, violence prevention and positive life-skills program to middle-school students. Governments and schools may apply for funding.
New Jersey Update:
Assembly Bill 878 - Authorizes court to refrain from imposing driver's license suspension on defendant convicted of CDS offense if compelling circumstances exist
On Monday, January 9th, the full Assembly will vote on A878, a bill that proposes to amend the CDRA (Comprehensive Drug Reform Act) to allow greater judicial discretion concerning driver's license suspension for individuals convicted of drug offenses. Under New Jersey's current law, the court must suspend a driver's license for 6 to 24 months without exception. Federal law permits states to include a "compelling circumstances" exception. The Senate companion bill, S2517, was reported favorably out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with amendments on December 12, 2005.
Senate Bill 709 - Creates study commission on the death penalty and imposes moratorium on imposition of death penalty
On December 15, the Senate passed a bill (30-6) imposing a year-long moratorium on executions until a study commission determines whether capital punishment is just, fair and worth the cost. The bill goes now goes to the State Assembly for a vote.
State Appeals Court Rules That Prisoners Cannot Earn "Good Time" While in County Jails
Inmates cannot earn time off their sentences for good behavior while they are held in county jails before starting their terms in state prison, a state appeals court ruled on December 29. People who remain jailed between arrest and sentencing (including those who cannot make pail or are denied bail) are held in county jails until trial and sentencing.
Attorney General Updates Statewide Victim Notification Program
On Dec 20, the Attorney General announced that a statewide computer-based victim assistance program which provides 24/7 information and notification to crime victims about the custody and status of prisoners will become fully operational in all 21 counties of New Jersey.
New Jersey State Parole Board Hosts South Jersey Reentry Conference on Jan. 10
The New Jersey State Parole Board, City of Vineland, and Cumberland County Community College will host a half-day community reentry conference focused on public safety and re-entry issues in the Vineland area. The event will take place at the George P. Luciano Family Center in Vineland, NJ. All RSVPs are requested by January 6, 2006. Contact Martin Perrotta (609) 292-0155 or at Martin.Perrotta@spb.state.nj.us.
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