The ComAlert Re-Entry Petition for Dutchess County
Sign Now
Do you think that Brooklyn's cost-saving ComAlert (Community and Law Enforcement Resources Together) re-entry program should be tried here in Dutchess County to reduce recidivism and address overcrowding at our County Jail?
[see editorial from New York Times November 29th just below on this]
If you do, sign on to this petition, contact [email protected], and pass it along to all you know; today I submitted a resolution for our County Legislature to formally request that our county's Criminal Justice Council evaluate the feasibility of the ComAlert program for Dutchess (see text of resolution at bottom of this petition; thanks to Fred Bunnell for his support on this initiative as well).
Joel Tyner
County Legislator
324 Browns Pond Road
Staatsburg, NY 12580
[email protected]
(845) 876-2488
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
From http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/opinion/29thu3.html?ref=opinion ...
New York Times editorial November 29th:
"The Right Way to Handle Former Inmates"
To control recidivism, and thus have a shot at controlling prison crowding and costs, the states and localities need to develop comprehensive programs that help former inmates find jobs, housing, training, drug treatment and mental health care. A promising model has emerged in Brooklyn, where District Attorney Charles Hynes started his re-entry program long before other jurisdictions even realized they were necessary.
Created in 1999 in Brooklyn, ComAlert was recently the subject of a state-funded study carried out by the district attorneys office in collaboration with Bruce Western of Harvard, a sociologist and criminal justice expert. The program is still evolving and is far from perfect. But the study shows that former inmates are more likely to get jobs and keep jobs and more likely to remain out of jail if they undergo a rigorous regime of counseling and drug treatment while participating in a companion program that offers them immediate work experience and job training.
Drug treatment, counseling and drug testing are cornerstones of the ComAlert program. In addition to being counseled and tested, participants are also encouraged to sign up with Ready, Willing & Able, a highly regarded work and training program offered by the Doe Fund, a nonprofit organization in New York.
Many of those who join the program have little or no experience with the world of work. They begin to get that experience by working full time in low-skill jobs like street cleaning, which pays between $7.40 and $8.15 per hour. Most participants are eventually moved into vocational programs where they are trained in one of several areas, including food preparation, pest control, office services and building management. They are often referred to jobs at companies that have longstanding relationships with the program.
According to the report, ComAlert graduates are less likely be re-arrested after leaving prison and much more likely to be employed than either program dropouts or members of the control group. Participants who complete the Doe Fund work-training component do even better. They have an employment rate of about 90 percent, somewhat higher than the ComAlert graduates generally and several times higher than the control group.
These results are quite promising, but more research will be needed to bear them out fully. Beyond that, the ComAlert team will need to find ways to lower the combined dropout and failure rate, which is nearly 46 percent. These issues aside, the program is clearly headed in the right direction and deserves to be expanded and emulated elsewhere. It represents an impressive start toward the goal of helping newly released inmates forge viable lives on the outside.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
From http://www.brooklynda.org/comalert/comalert.htm ...
ComAlert
(Community and Law Enforcement Resources Together)
The ComALERT (Community and Law Enforcement Resources Together) program was designed to act as a bridge between prison and the community for returning parolees. ComALERT assists formerly incarcerated individuals to make a successful transition from prison to home by providing drug treatment and counseling, mental health treatment and counseling, GED, and transitional housing and employment. ComALERT also provides permanent job placement assistance to those parolees who have marketable skills upon their release. ComALERT services begin almost immediately upon release from prison, increasing the success rate for its clients compared to the non-treated re-entry population.
A newly released inmate is required to report to the Division of Parole within 24 to 48 hours of release from prison. Based on a pre-release assessment need for treatment, a referral may be made by the parole officer to Paroles ACCESS center. At this center, a ComALERT CASAC (certified alcohol and substance abuse counselor) interviews the parolee about his past activities and future goals. This psychosocial assessment forms the basis for any future re-entry planning and treatment in ComALERT. After the assessment, the eligible client is directed to report to the ComALERT Counseling Service EDNY Center at 210 Joralemon Street in downtown Brooklyn, for a program orientation and assignment to a social worker who will work with the client to help him comply with his conditional release requirements that include substance abuse treatment and employment.
Most ComALERT clients have substance abuse issues, and many are actively abusing illegal drugs and alcohol. This abuse places them in direct contradiction of standard conditional release mandates and increases the likelihood that they will engage in illegal behaviors and return to prison. Thus, substance abuse treatment and counseling form the basic framework for ComALERTs initial three-month enrollment. Though the typical period at ComALERT is one to two years depending on personal progress, the first three months have been identified as crucial to the clients ultimate success. If not engaged in the re-entry process during that time, it is likely that the client will not make a successful transition from prison to the community.
In addition to drug counseling and treatment, most clients will receive a referral to and preferential placement in, the ComALERT Ready, Willing, & Able Day Program, which provides transitional employment through the Doe Funds Ready, Willing, and Able employment programs. In addition to receiving meals and a weekly stipend of $200 cash for manual labor jobs for up to nine consecutive months, the Day program provides the group support and reinforcement needed by the clients to maintain their sobriety. ComALERT provides weekly individual and group counseling, as well as random drug testing, to reinforce Ready, Willing, & Able Days zero-tolerance policy.
Working closely with the Division of Parole, ComALERT monitors its clients to ensure public safety. A failure to cooperate or a violation of any program condition is brought to the immediate attention of the clients parole officer. A law enforcement sanctionup to and including parole revocationcan be employed at the discretion of the parole officer. Lesser sanctions, such as more frequent drug testing, can also be used for less serious infractions.
ComALERTs goal is to reduce criminal recidivism by providing the formerly incarcerated with the tools and support they need to remain drug-free, crime-free, and employed.
For more information about these programs, contact:
Vanda Seward Executive Director
John R.Chaney Deputy Executive Director
Erin Jacobs Research Director
Norma Fernandes Community Coordinator
ComALERT Offices: 718-250-5557
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
From http://www.brooklynda.org/press_releases/pr_sep_07.htm#009 ...
CALLS FOR PASSING OF THE SECOND CHANCE ACT
AT BROOKLYN PRISONER REENTRY CONFERENCE
COMALERT PROGRAM SHOWS LOW RECIDIVISM AMONG GRADUATES FROM 2006
Brooklyn, September 18, 2007 Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today called for Congress to pass the Second Chance Act in a keynote address at the second annual Prisoner Reentry Conference.
District Attorney Hynes said, With bipartisan support in the new Congress, there is a real possibility that as early as this fall, the Second Chance Act may finally be enacted into law. If so, it would be the first piece of comprehensive legislation specifically designed to reduce recidivism.
The bill authorizes up to $65 million in grants to state and local governments to develop prisoner re-entry initiatives and a $15 million re-entry program for community and faith-based organizations to deliver mentoring and transitional services for people returning from prison or jail, said DA Hynes.
The Brooklyn DAs ComALERT (Community and Law Enforcement Resources Together) program acts as a bridge between prison and the community for returning parolees. ComALERT assists formerly incarcerated individuals to make a successful transition from prison to a home by providing mental health treatment and counseling, drug treatment and counseling and help with earning a GED as well as transitional housing and employment.
District Attorney Hynes said, A recent DCJS (Division of Criminal Justice Services)-funded study of our program shows that of ComALERT 2006 graduates who have been released for at least 1 year, less than 12\% have been re-arrested with less than 5\% being convicted for a new crime, as opposed to 44.1\% rearrests and 10.4\% new convictions nationally.
Our plans are to service 1200 of the nearly 3500 parolees expected to return from prison to Brooklyn this year, said DA Hynes.
The subject of this years conference was Where are We and Where are We Going and the keynote speakers included DA Hynes and Lieutenant Governor David A. Paterson. Important programs like ComAlert deserve everyone's support and I salute District Attorney Hynes and all of those involved from the Brooklyn Community for its success. These initiatives benefit society by helping parolees become productive members of the community, said Lieutenant Governor Paterson.
The first session named, Moving Beyond the Label, was moderated by Debbie A. Mukamal, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Prisoner Reentry Institute. The workshop addressed how a criminal record affects access to housing, employment and other civil liberties. The practicalities of record expungement and effective individual and programmatic modalities for neutralizing reentry barriers were explored.
Other workshops included: Conceptualizing Reentry Through Research, Harnessing Spirituality to Enhance Reentry and Managing the Transition of High Risk/Special Needs Individuals.
The conference was co-sponsored by the DAs ComALERT program, and theAmerican Bar Associations Commission on Effective Sanctions and its Criminal Justice Sections Reentry Committee.
The conference took place today at the Klitgord Auditorium of the New York City College of Technology, 285 Jay Street, from 8 AM to 4 PM.
For details about the workshops: http://www.brooklynda.org/newsroom/flyers/Prisoner_Reentry_Conf.pdf
Contact: Maira Kraljevic
718-250-2300
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[here below is the text of the resolution submitted on this]
WHEREAS, to control recidivism, and thus have a shot at controlling Dutchess County Jail overcrowding and costs, Dutchess County needs to develop more comprehensive programs that help former inmates find jobs, housing, training, drug treatment and mental health care; a promising model has emerged in Brooklyn, where District Attorney Charles Hynes started his re-entry program long before other jurisdictions even realized they were necessary, and
WHEREAS, created in 1999 in Brooklyn, ComAlert was recently the subject of a state-funded study carried out by the district attorney's office in collaboration with Bruce Western of Harvard, a sociologist and criminal justice expert; the program is still evolving and is far from perfect, but the study shows that former inmates are more likely to get jobs and keep jobs, and more likely to remain out of jail, if they undergo a rigorous regime of counseling and drug treatment while participating in a companion program that offers them immediate work experience and job training, and
WHEREAS, drug treatment, counseling and drug testing are cornerstones of the ComAlert program; in addition to being counseled and tested, participants are also encouraged to sign up with Ready, Willing & Able, a highly regarded work and training program offered by the Doe Fund, a nonprofit organization in New York, and
WHEREAS, many of those who join the program have little or no experience with the world of work; they begin to get that experience by working full time in low-skill jobs like street cleaning, which pays between $7.40 and $8.15 per hour; most participants are eventually moved into vocational programs where they are trained in one of several areas, including food preparation, pest control, office services and building management; they are often referred to jobs at companies that have longstanding relationships with the program, and
WHEREAS, the Charles Hynes/Bruce Western report recently found that ComAlert graduates are less likely be re-arrested after leaving prison and much more likely to be employed than either program dropouts or members of the control group; participants who complete the Doe Fund work-training component do even better; they have an employment rate of about 90 percent, somewhat higher than the ComAlert graduates generally and several times higher than the control group, and therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature requests that our county's Criminal Justice Council evaluate the feasibility of a program similar to Brooklyn's ComAlert program here and report back to the County Legislature in three months, and be it further
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to Dutchess County Criminal Justice Council Chair Gary Christensen.
[see editorial from New York Times November 29th just below on this]
If you do, sign on to this petition, contact [email protected], and pass it along to all you know; today I submitted a resolution for our County Legislature to formally request that our county's Criminal Justice Council evaluate the feasibility of the ComAlert program for Dutchess (see text of resolution at bottom of this petition; thanks to Fred Bunnell for his support on this initiative as well).
Joel Tyner
County Legislator
324 Browns Pond Road
Staatsburg, NY 12580
[email protected]
(845) 876-2488
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
From http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/29/opinion/29thu3.html?ref=opinion ...
New York Times editorial November 29th:
"The Right Way to Handle Former Inmates"
To control recidivism, and thus have a shot at controlling prison crowding and costs, the states and localities need to develop comprehensive programs that help former inmates find jobs, housing, training, drug treatment and mental health care. A promising model has emerged in Brooklyn, where District Attorney Charles Hynes started his re-entry program long before other jurisdictions even realized they were necessary.
Created in 1999 in Brooklyn, ComAlert was recently the subject of a state-funded study carried out by the district attorneys office in collaboration with Bruce Western of Harvard, a sociologist and criminal justice expert. The program is still evolving and is far from perfect. But the study shows that former inmates are more likely to get jobs and keep jobs and more likely to remain out of jail if they undergo a rigorous regime of counseling and drug treatment while participating in a companion program that offers them immediate work experience and job training.
Drug treatment, counseling and drug testing are cornerstones of the ComAlert program. In addition to being counseled and tested, participants are also encouraged to sign up with Ready, Willing & Able, a highly regarded work and training program offered by the Doe Fund, a nonprofit organization in New York.
Many of those who join the program have little or no experience with the world of work. They begin to get that experience by working full time in low-skill jobs like street cleaning, which pays between $7.40 and $8.15 per hour. Most participants are eventually moved into vocational programs where they are trained in one of several areas, including food preparation, pest control, office services and building management. They are often referred to jobs at companies that have longstanding relationships with the program.
According to the report, ComAlert graduates are less likely be re-arrested after leaving prison and much more likely to be employed than either program dropouts or members of the control group. Participants who complete the Doe Fund work-training component do even better. They have an employment rate of about 90 percent, somewhat higher than the ComAlert graduates generally and several times higher than the control group.
These results are quite promising, but more research will be needed to bear them out fully. Beyond that, the ComAlert team will need to find ways to lower the combined dropout and failure rate, which is nearly 46 percent. These issues aside, the program is clearly headed in the right direction and deserves to be expanded and emulated elsewhere. It represents an impressive start toward the goal of helping newly released inmates forge viable lives on the outside.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
From http://www.brooklynda.org/comalert/comalert.htm ...
ComAlert
(Community and Law Enforcement Resources Together)
The ComALERT (Community and Law Enforcement Resources Together) program was designed to act as a bridge between prison and the community for returning parolees. ComALERT assists formerly incarcerated individuals to make a successful transition from prison to home by providing drug treatment and counseling, mental health treatment and counseling, GED, and transitional housing and employment. ComALERT also provides permanent job placement assistance to those parolees who have marketable skills upon their release. ComALERT services begin almost immediately upon release from prison, increasing the success rate for its clients compared to the non-treated re-entry population.
A newly released inmate is required to report to the Division of Parole within 24 to 48 hours of release from prison. Based on a pre-release assessment need for treatment, a referral may be made by the parole officer to Paroles ACCESS center. At this center, a ComALERT CASAC (certified alcohol and substance abuse counselor) interviews the parolee about his past activities and future goals. This psychosocial assessment forms the basis for any future re-entry planning and treatment in ComALERT. After the assessment, the eligible client is directed to report to the ComALERT Counseling Service EDNY Center at 210 Joralemon Street in downtown Brooklyn, for a program orientation and assignment to a social worker who will work with the client to help him comply with his conditional release requirements that include substance abuse treatment and employment.
Most ComALERT clients have substance abuse issues, and many are actively abusing illegal drugs and alcohol. This abuse places them in direct contradiction of standard conditional release mandates and increases the likelihood that they will engage in illegal behaviors and return to prison. Thus, substance abuse treatment and counseling form the basic framework for ComALERTs initial three-month enrollment. Though the typical period at ComALERT is one to two years depending on personal progress, the first three months have been identified as crucial to the clients ultimate success. If not engaged in the re-entry process during that time, it is likely that the client will not make a successful transition from prison to the community.
In addition to drug counseling and treatment, most clients will receive a referral to and preferential placement in, the ComALERT Ready, Willing, & Able Day Program, which provides transitional employment through the Doe Funds Ready, Willing, and Able employment programs. In addition to receiving meals and a weekly stipend of $200 cash for manual labor jobs for up to nine consecutive months, the Day program provides the group support and reinforcement needed by the clients to maintain their sobriety. ComALERT provides weekly individual and group counseling, as well as random drug testing, to reinforce Ready, Willing, & Able Days zero-tolerance policy.
Working closely with the Division of Parole, ComALERT monitors its clients to ensure public safety. A failure to cooperate or a violation of any program condition is brought to the immediate attention of the clients parole officer. A law enforcement sanctionup to and including parole revocationcan be employed at the discretion of the parole officer. Lesser sanctions, such as more frequent drug testing, can also be used for less serious infractions.
ComALERTs goal is to reduce criminal recidivism by providing the formerly incarcerated with the tools and support they need to remain drug-free, crime-free, and employed.
For more information about these programs, contact:
Vanda Seward Executive Director
John R.Chaney Deputy Executive Director
Erin Jacobs Research Director
Norma Fernandes Community Coordinator
ComALERT Offices: 718-250-5557
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
From http://www.brooklynda.org/press_releases/pr_sep_07.htm#009 ...
CALLS FOR PASSING OF THE SECOND CHANCE ACT
AT BROOKLYN PRISONER REENTRY CONFERENCE
COMALERT PROGRAM SHOWS LOW RECIDIVISM AMONG GRADUATES FROM 2006
Brooklyn, September 18, 2007 Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes today called for Congress to pass the Second Chance Act in a keynote address at the second annual Prisoner Reentry Conference.
District Attorney Hynes said, With bipartisan support in the new Congress, there is a real possibility that as early as this fall, the Second Chance Act may finally be enacted into law. If so, it would be the first piece of comprehensive legislation specifically designed to reduce recidivism.
The bill authorizes up to $65 million in grants to state and local governments to develop prisoner re-entry initiatives and a $15 million re-entry program for community and faith-based organizations to deliver mentoring and transitional services for people returning from prison or jail, said DA Hynes.
The Brooklyn DAs ComALERT (Community and Law Enforcement Resources Together) program acts as a bridge between prison and the community for returning parolees. ComALERT assists formerly incarcerated individuals to make a successful transition from prison to a home by providing mental health treatment and counseling, drug treatment and counseling and help with earning a GED as well as transitional housing and employment.
District Attorney Hynes said, A recent DCJS (Division of Criminal Justice Services)-funded study of our program shows that of ComALERT 2006 graduates who have been released for at least 1 year, less than 12\% have been re-arrested with less than 5\% being convicted for a new crime, as opposed to 44.1\% rearrests and 10.4\% new convictions nationally.
Our plans are to service 1200 of the nearly 3500 parolees expected to return from prison to Brooklyn this year, said DA Hynes.
The subject of this years conference was Where are We and Where are We Going and the keynote speakers included DA Hynes and Lieutenant Governor David A. Paterson. Important programs like ComAlert deserve everyone's support and I salute District Attorney Hynes and all of those involved from the Brooklyn Community for its success. These initiatives benefit society by helping parolees become productive members of the community, said Lieutenant Governor Paterson.
The first session named, Moving Beyond the Label, was moderated by Debbie A. Mukamal, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Prisoner Reentry Institute. The workshop addressed how a criminal record affects access to housing, employment and other civil liberties. The practicalities of record expungement and effective individual and programmatic modalities for neutralizing reentry barriers were explored.
Other workshops included: Conceptualizing Reentry Through Research, Harnessing Spirituality to Enhance Reentry and Managing the Transition of High Risk/Special Needs Individuals.
The conference was co-sponsored by the DAs ComALERT program, and theAmerican Bar Associations Commission on Effective Sanctions and its Criminal Justice Sections Reentry Committee.
The conference took place today at the Klitgord Auditorium of the New York City College of Technology, 285 Jay Street, from 8 AM to 4 PM.
For details about the workshops: http://www.brooklynda.org/newsroom/flyers/Prisoner_Reentry_Conf.pdf
Contact: Maira Kraljevic
718-250-2300
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[here below is the text of the resolution submitted on this]
WHEREAS, to control recidivism, and thus have a shot at controlling Dutchess County Jail overcrowding and costs, Dutchess County needs to develop more comprehensive programs that help former inmates find jobs, housing, training, drug treatment and mental health care; a promising model has emerged in Brooklyn, where District Attorney Charles Hynes started his re-entry program long before other jurisdictions even realized they were necessary, and
WHEREAS, created in 1999 in Brooklyn, ComAlert was recently the subject of a state-funded study carried out by the district attorney's office in collaboration with Bruce Western of Harvard, a sociologist and criminal justice expert; the program is still evolving and is far from perfect, but the study shows that former inmates are more likely to get jobs and keep jobs, and more likely to remain out of jail, if they undergo a rigorous regime of counseling and drug treatment while participating in a companion program that offers them immediate work experience and job training, and
WHEREAS, drug treatment, counseling and drug testing are cornerstones of the ComAlert program; in addition to being counseled and tested, participants are also encouraged to sign up with Ready, Willing & Able, a highly regarded work and training program offered by the Doe Fund, a nonprofit organization in New York, and
WHEREAS, many of those who join the program have little or no experience with the world of work; they begin to get that experience by working full time in low-skill jobs like street cleaning, which pays between $7.40 and $8.15 per hour; most participants are eventually moved into vocational programs where they are trained in one of several areas, including food preparation, pest control, office services and building management; they are often referred to jobs at companies that have longstanding relationships with the program, and
WHEREAS, the Charles Hynes/Bruce Western report recently found that ComAlert graduates are less likely be re-arrested after leaving prison and much more likely to be employed than either program dropouts or members of the control group; participants who complete the Doe Fund work-training component do even better; they have an employment rate of about 90 percent, somewhat higher than the ComAlert graduates generally and several times higher than the control group, and therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Dutchess County Legislature requests that our county's Criminal Justice Council evaluate the feasibility of a program similar to Brooklyn's ComAlert program here and report back to the County Legislature in three months, and be it further
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be sent to Dutchess County Criminal Justice Council Chair Gary Christensen.
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