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
- Pennsylvania Approves Election Law Bill to Bar Voting for People on Parole
- Joyce Foundation Backs $5.1 Million Initiative for Transitional Jobs
- Chicago Mayoral Task Force Releases Recommendations on Reentry
- Philadelphia Mayor's Office Launches Reentry Website
- Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act Grant Applications to Be Released in March
- Occasional Series on Reentry Research: "Higher Education, Incarceration and Reentry" on February 10
- The Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College Will Host Former Chief Inspector of Prisons for the United Kingdom on March 2
New Jersey Update:
- Legal Services of New Jersey Updates Online Resource: "Clearing Your Record: A Six-Step Guide to Expunging Criminal Records in New Jersey"
- Governor Indicates Support for Needle Exchange Program
- The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice Seeks an Experienced Case Manager for its "New Careers" Project
Pennsylvania Approves Election Law Bill to Bar Voting for People on Parole
The Pennsylvania House has just approved an election law bill that would impose voter ID requirements and bar people on parole from voting. State law already prohibits convicted felons from voting while they are imprisoned, and opponents of the bill said that applying that restriction to probation or parole would amount to an additional punishment. The bill was approved by a 106-95 vote. Last year, the Senate had turned down a similar measure, and Governor Ed Rendell has stated that he is likely to veto the bill if passed due to its ID requirements.
Joyce Foundation Backs $5.1 Million Initiative for Transitional Jobs
The Joyce Foundation will support a three-year, $15-million initiative to help male ex-inmates in the Midwest find transitional jobs when they get out of prison. The Foundation aims to set up temporary jobs in healthy environments and provide education and counseling, and help ex-inmates reconnect to the job market. This program will be a test to see if transitional jobs help reduce recidivism and ensure better lives and stable jobs for released prisoners.
Chicago Mayoral Task Force Releases Recommendations on Reentry
Mayor Richard M. Daley recently announced $900,000 in City grants for programs to help former prisoners learn job skills and become productive members of society. The programs were among the recommendations of the Mayoral Policy Caucus on Prisoner Re-Entry, which released its final report in January. The Caucus spent a year and a half studying issues of prisoner re-entry, and its report calls for: expanded education and job opportunities, including transitional jobs; improved access to health care, including more substance abuse and mental health treatment; more family-friendly policies in the corrections system, including mentoring programs for the children of incarcerated parents; and stronger supports in the community, including local resource centers.
Philadelphia Mayor's Office Launches Reentry Website
Philadelphia's Mayor's Office for the Reentry of People with Criminal Records website has been designed to provide people with criminal records and their families with information regarding agencies, programs, services, employment opportunities and social events that will ultimately assist in the reintegration process. Among other things, it includes information on: job training and placement programs; employment opportunities; medical resources; housing; mental health and substance abuse services; and identification.
Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act Grant Applications to Be Released in March
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) plans to request applications for the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act grant program in early March 2006. The U.S. Department of Justice will award approximately $3 million in grants to states and counties to establish mental health courts, expand prisoners' access to mental health treatment while incarcerated and upon re-entry, provide resources for pre-trial jail diversion programs, and support cross-training for law enforcement officials and mental health personnel dealing with adults and juveniles with mental illness.
Occasional Series on Reentry Research: "Higher Education, Incarceration and Reentry" on February 10
The next lecture in the Occasional Series on Reentry Research will take place on Friday, February 10th from 8:30 am to 10:00 am, and will feature research and a discussion on Higher Education issues. Speakers include Wendy Erisman (Senior Research Analyst, Institute for Higher Education Policy); David Miller (former Superintendent of Eastern and Wallkill Correctional Facilities); Daniel Karpowitz (Director of Policy and Academics, Bard Prison Initiative); Benay Rubenstein (Executive Director and Founder of The College Initiative); and Christopher Vasquez (Sophomore at John Jay College). The event will take place 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.
The Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College Will Host Former Chief Inspector of Prisons for the United Kingdom on March 2
President Jeremy Travis and the Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice invite you to a special presentation by Lord David Rasmbotham, the Former Chief Inspector of Prisons for the United Kingdom, who will present "The Importance of Independent Inspection in the Effective Conduct of Imprisonment: The Lens from the United Kingdom." The event will take place on Thursday, March 2 from 8:30 am to 10:00 am at the BMW Building of John Jay College (555 W. 57th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues, Room 615-616). Please RSVP to Debbie Mukamal (dmukamal@jjay.cuny.edu; 212 484 1327).
New Jersey Update:
Legal Services of New Jersey Updates Online Resource: "Clearing Your Record: A Six-Step Guide to Expunging Criminal Records in New Jersey"
The latest edition of "Clearing Your Record," an online resource for expunging criminal records, can be accessed at the website of Legal Services of New Jersey.
Governor Indicates Support for Needle Exchange Program
According to the Times of Trenton, Gov. Jon Corzine will urge the legislature to pass a law giving intravenous drug users access to clean needles, and would consider using his executive power to do so if lawmakers fail to act.
The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice Seeks an Experienced Case Manager for its "New Careers" Project
NJISJ is seeking an experienced case manager (MSW, LCSW, or graduate degree in human behavior, rehabilitation or human services) with excellent clinical and case management skills for its New Careers Project, a Newark-based demonstration employment initiative for men and women returning to Essex County, NJ from state and federal prisons.
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