thedarkman
2009-12-27 11:49:21 UTC
A step in the right direction, but try this
http://www.financialreform.info/f_r_pravda_liberate.html
- at least, provided the costs to the system are high enough.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -
http://www.financialreform.info/f_r_pravda_liberate.html
Smart Answers to Recidivism
Published: December 24, 2009
Faced with soaring prison costs, states are finally focusing on
policies that would help former prisoners stay out of jail after they
are released. Some legislatures are reshaping laws that land parolees
back inside for technical violations that should be dealt with on the
outside. More than a dozen cities and counties have taken steps that
make it easier for qualified ex-offenders to land government jobs,
except in education and law enforcement and other sensitive areas from
which people with convictions are normally barred by law.
Still, the nation as a whole needs to do much more about laws that
marginalize former offenders — and often drive them back to jail — by
denying them voting rights, parental rights, drivers licenses and
access to public housing, welfare and food stamps, even in cases where
they have led blameless lives after prison.
New Jersey — a state with a terrible record of marginalizing former
prisoners — could lead the way. Before the State Legislature in
Trenton is a comprehensive package of reforms that would help ex-
offenders rejoin society’s mainstream and lower the chances, and
costs, of recidivism.
New Jersey lawmakers heard some depressing testimony in hearings
leading up to the legislation. Deterred by barriers to jobs, housing
and education, about two-thirds of the people released from prison in
New Jersey end up back inside within three years. Since taxpayers
spend about $48,000 per prison inmate per year, by some estimates, the
state could reap significant savings from even a small decline in the
return-to-prison rate.
The proposed reforms in New Jersey seek to end practices under which
former prisoners are denied employment because of minor convictions,
even in the distant past, and crimes that have nothing at all to do
with the work being sought.
No reasonable person would suggest that a sex offender be given a job
in an elementary school or day-care center. An ex-offender could not
be disqualified for employment unless the offense was directly related
to the job. Job seekers would no longer be required to disclose
convictions on applications for state, county or municipal jobs. The
offenses could still be uncovered in background checks, but they would
no longer automatically rule out an applicant from the start.
The bill would lift the state ban on food stamps and welfare benefits
for people with felony drug convictions and would expand education and
training opportunities for inmates. And it would end an odious
practice under which the prison system earns a profit by overcharging
poor families for the collect calls they receive from relatives inside
a system. The added cost sometimes forces families to choose between
putting food on the table or letting a child speak to an incarcerated
parent.
The New Jersey Legislature has a chance to provide a new lease on life
to thousands of families while offering a model for the rest of the
nation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/25/opinion/25fri1.html?_r=2
"No reasonable person would suggest that a sex offender be given a job
in an elementary school or day-care center. "
But an informed one would, otherwise ... a good, positive, post.
Indeed. Proof if ever that crime always works as a bargaining strategyPublished: December 24, 2009
Faced with soaring prison costs, states are finally focusing on
policies that would help former prisoners stay out of jail after they
are released. Some legislatures are reshaping laws that land parolees
back inside for technical violations that should be dealt with on the
outside. More than a dozen cities and counties have taken steps that
make it easier for qualified ex-offenders to land government jobs,
except in education and law enforcement and other sensitive areas from
which people with convictions are normally barred by law.
Still, the nation as a whole needs to do much more about laws that
marginalize former offenders — and often drive them back to jail — by
denying them voting rights, parental rights, drivers licenses and
access to public housing, welfare and food stamps, even in cases where
they have led blameless lives after prison.
New Jersey — a state with a terrible record of marginalizing former
prisoners — could lead the way. Before the State Legislature in
Trenton is a comprehensive package of reforms that would help ex-
offenders rejoin society’s mainstream and lower the chances, and
costs, of recidivism.
New Jersey lawmakers heard some depressing testimony in hearings
leading up to the legislation. Deterred by barriers to jobs, housing
and education, about two-thirds of the people released from prison in
New Jersey end up back inside within three years. Since taxpayers
spend about $48,000 per prison inmate per year, by some estimates, the
state could reap significant savings from even a small decline in the
return-to-prison rate.
The proposed reforms in New Jersey seek to end practices under which
former prisoners are denied employment because of minor convictions,
even in the distant past, and crimes that have nothing at all to do
with the work being sought.
No reasonable person would suggest that a sex offender be given a job
in an elementary school or day-care center. An ex-offender could not
be disqualified for employment unless the offense was directly related
to the job. Job seekers would no longer be required to disclose
convictions on applications for state, county or municipal jobs. The
offenses could still be uncovered in background checks, but they would
no longer automatically rule out an applicant from the start.
The bill would lift the state ban on food stamps and welfare benefits
for people with felony drug convictions and would expand education and
training opportunities for inmates. And it would end an odious
practice under which the prison system earns a profit by overcharging
poor families for the collect calls they receive from relatives inside
a system. The added cost sometimes forces families to choose between
putting food on the table or letting a child speak to an incarcerated
parent.
The New Jersey Legislature has a chance to provide a new lease on life
to thousands of families while offering a model for the rest of the
nation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/25/opinion/25fri1.html?_r=2
"No reasonable person would suggest that a sex offender be given a job
in an elementary school or day-care center. "
But an informed one would, otherwise ... a good, positive, post.
- at least, provided the costs to the system are high enough.- Hide quoted text -
- Show quoted text -