dprrt's Blog

On Sat, January 24, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., NC Prisoner Legal Services, Inc. will be hosting its 3rd Free Legal Information Clinic open to Formerly Incarcerated People and Businesses that service Formerly Incarcerated People.

Please forward the attached flyer and hang it in your church, lunch room, community center or library. We will do our best to serve and talk to every single person who walks through the door with a CIVIL legal issue– and if we cannot answer a question right there and then, we will again do our best to route the customer to someone who can.

As we said before, this project will not succeed without your help! So, please pass the word along, and feel free to email or call with any questions.

Thank you for your help and your commitment to serving the community. Happy Holidays!

April M. Giancola, Staff Attorney
North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, Inc.
1110 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, NC 27604
919-856-2256 - direct line
919-856-2223- fax
www.ncpls.org

EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT, ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUBCOMMITTEE
* 2nd Wednesday of each month from 10 - 11 in the Library at Union Baptist Church

FAITH BASED MINISTRY SUBCOMMITTEE
* 4th Monday - time and location TBA

HEALTH SERVICES SUBCOMMITTEE
* Date, time and location TBA

HOUSING SUBCOMMITTEE
* Date, time and location TBA

PREVENTION, FAMILY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SUBCOMMITTEE
* 1st Tuesday - UBC immediately after the DPRRT monthly meeting

DPRRRT MEETINGS will be held from 11:00 - 1:00
11:00 - 11:30 Pot Luck/Networking
11:30 - 12:00 Old Business
12:00 - 12:30 New Business
12:30 - 1:00 Educational Presentation
* An informational table will be provided for brochures to be shared by visitors
* Notes from Meetings will be listed on the Durham Prisoner Resource Round Table Forum

MEETING TOPIC:
January - Restructure of DPRRT
February - Employment
March - Family
April - Faith Based
May - Housing
June - Health Services
July - Juvenile Justice
August - Entrepreneurship
September - Education & Training
October - Prevention
November - Open
December- Open

Reentry Links

The links below connect to many, but not all, organizations that work - directly or indirectly - on issues related to prisoner reentry. It is intended to offer a centralized starting point and reference for policymakers and practitioners interested in reaching more information on reentry. http://www.reentrypolicy.org/resources/links#women

The views expressed by the organizations on this list are not necessarily the views of the Justice Center, and inclusion - or omission - does not indicate an endorsement or sanction. To suggest an organization for inclusion, please contact us at editors@reentrypolicy.org.

The Urban Institute supported three organizations which set out to merge local and state level criminal justice and human services data to learn about children of incarcerated parents in their localities. This report presents findings and lessons learned from three sites. It begins with a discussion of the datasets obtained by each site and how they were linked, followed by a review of the analyses conducted and the sites’ findings on children of incarcerated parents in their jurisdictions. The report closes with a discussion of the possibilities and challenges involved in merging and analyzing administrative data on this population.

Information gathered from the Reentry Policy Council http://www.reentrypolicy.org/publications

This report identifies the needs of children with incarcerated parents and describes the ways in which they are being addressed by the Washington Department of Social and Health Services. The report also contains recommendations for how state agencies can more effectively meet the needs of this population.

Information gathered from the Reentry Policy Council http://www.reentrypolicy.org/publications

This paper examines one dimension of the economic risk faced by children of incarcerated fathers: the reduction in the financial support that they receive. We use a population-based sample of urban children to examine the effects of incarceration on this support.

Information gathered from the Reentry Policy Council http://www.reentrypolicy.org/publications

Presents data from the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities about inmates who were parents and their minor children. This report compares estimates of the number of incarcerated parents and their children under the age of 18, by gender, age, race, and Hispanic origin in state and federal prisons in 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, and 2007. It presents the total number of children who were minors at some time during their parent’s incarceration. The report describes selected background characteristics of parents in prisons, and provides family background of inmate parents. It also includes information on the children's daily care, financial support, current caregivers, and frequency and type of contact with incarcerated parents.

Information gathered from the Reentry Policy Council http://www.reentrypolicy.org/publications

The Office on Violence Against Women created the Safe Return Initiative to help policymakers and practitioners strengthen domestic violence services for African American women and their children when they are facing the return of an intimate partner from prison. Because there has been relatively little discussion about the intersection of domestic violence and prisoner reentry, Safe Return conducted a series of focus groups with women and men who have had direct experience in managing intimate partner conflict and navigating the process of reentry. This report, a summary of lessons from those discussions, provides an important perspective on these critically important issues.

Information gathered from the Reentry Policy Council http://www.reentrypolicy.org/publications

Additional Resources

Toolkit for Connecting Supportive Housing Tenants to Employment

The purpose of this Toolkit is to provide access to tools, case studies, evaluations, sample documents, and other useful resources for connecting supportive housing tenants to employment. In creating this resource, our goal is to help supportive housing organizations, workforce partners, and employers address key challenges in the planning, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of employment-related services and programs.

All of the tools within this Toolkit can be accessed via the Table of Contents, but first-time users of this Toolkit are strongly encouraged to visit the Tool kit’s Introduction and Overview for an overview of the Tool kit’s contents. In addition to the full Table of Contents, users may want to review 25 Essential Tools for Case Managers and Employment Specialists, a document designed specifically to help busy, front line employment and housing staff easily access practical tools that are found throughout the Toolkit.

Individual sections of the Toolkit can be accessed directly via the following links:

Introduction and Overview: http://www.csh.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=4161&nodeID=81

Building Your Team: http://www.csh.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=4282&nodeID=81

Tenant Outreach and Engagement: http://www.csh.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=4132&nodeID=81

Partnership with Employers: http://www.csh.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=4127&nodeID=81

Workforce Resources and Community Partners: http://www.csh.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=4150&nodeID=81

Tenant Vocational Assessment and Career Planning: http://www.csh.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=4139&nodeID=81

Finding Jobs and Advancing Careers: http://www.csh.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=4164&nodeID=81

Acknowledgements: This Toolkit was made possible through the generous support of the MetLife Foundation.
CSH also wishes to acknowledge the contributions of FutureWorks and Workforce Learning Strategies consulting for their work in preparing many of the tools included within this Toolkit.

CSH also gratefully acknowledges the valuable guidance and input from the MetLife Toolkit Advisory Group, as well as all who contributed to earlier documents, tools, and publications upon which many of these tools are based.

Finally, CSH wishes to acknowledge the generosity of all those organizations that provided sample documents for use within this Toolkit.

Mapping Community Data on Children of Prisoners: Strategies and Insights
The Urban Institute (2008)

This policy brief discusses the analysis and mapping of local data on children whose parents are involved in the criminal justice system. The brief begins by highlighting the value of such efforts and then outlines potential data sources and methods for analyzing and mapping information on this population. The report is based on input from the Reentry Mapping Network (RMN) sites about their efforts to map and understand parental incarceration in their communities.

Information gathered from the Re-Entry Policy Council website: http://www.reentrypolicy.org/publications

Sustaining Grassroots Community-Based Programs: A Toolkit for Community- and Faith-Based Service Providers
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (2008)

This toolkit is designed to help grassroots community- and faith-based organizations develop sustainable organizations and program services. The toolkit provides helpful information to guide sustainability planning efforts, samples of tools, and actual fill-in-the-blank “planning templates” and worksheets.

Information gathered from the Re-Entry Policy Council website: http://www.reentrypolicy.org/publications

Effective County Practices in Jail-to-Community Transition Planning for Offenders with Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders
National Association of Counties (2008)

This publication is designed for county elected officials, administrators and staff, social service and community providers, local law enforcement, jail and corrections professionals, and other relevant members of the community who are interested in reentry options for offenders with mental health and substance abuse disorders. In most cases, the county board of commissioners is responsible for the jail operating budget; therefore, these local officials are key policymakers in advancing successful reentry practices.

Information gathered from the Re-Entry Policy Council website: http://www.reentrypolicy.org/publications

Policy Brief: Critical Time Intervention for Prison and Jail Reentry
Center for Behavioral Health Services and Criminal Justice Research (2008)

Critical Time Intervention (CTI), an intervention model for the reentry of people with mental illness, uses three phases to support transitions from institutional settings into community settings. CTI combines several evidence-based tools, including cognitive behavioral therapy, illness management, supported housing, integrated dual disorder treatment, and motivational enhancement. The intervention suits the transitional nature of the reentry process, the complexity of service and treatment needs, and the demand for individualized services.

Information from the Re-Entry Policy Council website: http://www.reentrypolicy.org/publications

Partnering with Faith-based and Community Organizations: A Guide for State and Local Officials Administering Federal Block and Formula Grant Funds
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2008)

This guidebook is intended to provide practical information on developing and enhancing partnerships with effective faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs) to State and local officials, and to tribes and tribal-serving organizations that are administering federal block and formula grant funds. The underlying assumptions of this guidebook are that there are barriers to more active partnership between States and localities and FBCOs and that these barriers can be addressed.

Information obtained from the Re-Entry Policy Council website: http://www.reentrypolicy.org/publications

9/17/2008: Yes! Weekly (NC): Ex-felons find success with re-entry program

Individuals that successfully complete a 12-week pre-release program are eligible to receive services and employment on the outside.

5/18/2008: Wilmington Star-News (NC): New Wilmington police program helps ex-inmates find jobs

This year, the Wilmington Police Department launched a new program to help ex-offenders find jobs and curb recidivism.

12/8/2007: Durham Herald-Sun (NC): Durham Program Helps Those With Criminal Records Find Jobs

Between October 1, 2006, and September 30, 2007, 2,353 people claiming Durham as their residence were released from the custody of the Corrections Department. For some of those released from prison, Durham County's Criminal Justice Resource Center is their first destination. It provides an important bridge between incarceration and re-establishing a life.

10/16/2007: News 14 Carolina (NC): Ex-offender job fair offers bright future

About 300 men and women hoped to get a second chance on Tuesday at the second annual career fair for ex-offenders. Some feel it is harder for them to find jobs because of their past, but they are not letting that dictate their future.

Information gathered from the Re-Entry Policy Council website: http://www.reentrypolicy.org/media?states=NC&keyword=