Senate Subcommittee Conducts Hearing on Federal, State and Local Reentry Initiatives; Witnesses Testify in Support of Continuum of Education, Employment, Housing, and Addiction Treatment Services in Prison, Jail and Community

On Thursday, September 21^st, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Corrections and Rehabilitation held a hearing, “Oversight of Federal Assistance for Prisoner Rehabilitation and Reentry in Our States.”  The hearing was led by Subcommittee Chairman Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Ranking Member Richard Durbin (D-IL); additional Subcommittee members who participated in the hearing were Senators Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Sam Brownback (R-KS).

Witnesses providing testimony to the Subcommittee were: Regina Schofield, Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs; Mason Bishop, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration; Robert Bogart, Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Cheri Nolan, Senior Policy Advisor on Criminal and Juvenile Justice at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA); Roger Werholtz, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Corrections; and Diane Williams, President and CEO of the Safer Foundation, Chicago, IL. 

In general, the Senators in attendance at the hearing expressed their support for programs that aid individuals who are reentering the community from prison or jail.  Senator Coburn emphasized that people who have committed crimes and have paid their debt to society should be encouraged to succeed and stay crime-free.  Noting the high rate of recidivism among formerly incarcerated people, Senator Coburn cited the prevalence of alcohol and other drug use by people in the criminal justice system and lack of drug addiction treatment services in the institutions.  Senator Coburn expressed his strong support for drug addiction treatment, asserting that treatment offers hope and a real chance to people with addiction histories.  In addition, Senator Coburn highlighted the importance of providing education, vocational education, and employment services to people in prison and reentering individuals.  Senator Coburn also raised the issue of legal and policy barriers that people with criminal records face, discussing the critical need for housing for reentering people.  In particular, Senator Coburn expressed that the Department of Housing and Urban Development could change some of their rules and regulations governing public housing for people with criminal records so that people could have a safe place to live once they return home from incarceration.

Senator Durbin began his comments by noting that the number of people incarcerated in the United States continues to rise and that approximately two-thirds of people coming out of the criminal justice system commit additional crimes and end up cycling back through the criminal justice system.  Senator Durbin expressed his support for providing people in prison with educational services, including Pell Grants so that they can obtain the skills and requirements necessary for employment upon release, noting research that people are less likely to commit crimes if they receive educational services.

Senator Durbin voiced his concern with the current policy that precludes people in prison from receiving Pell Grants for educational classes.  Senator Durbin also spoke of the prevalence of untreated drug and alcohol addiction among people in the criminal justice system, and emphasized that people with drug and alcohol problems need treatment.  In addition to discrimination that people with criminal records experience in employment, Senator Durbin also discussed the overrepresentation of people of color in the criminal justice system.  Senator Durbin expressed his strong concern with the disproportionate representation of African American men in the criminal justice system and the impact it has on entire communities; he cited a recent study conducted in New York City which found that African American men without criminal records were less likely to be hired than Caucasian men with criminal records. 

Senator Brownback expressed his strong support for mentoring, and his belief that it eases the isolation that people face while they are incarcerated and are separated from their families and communities.  Noting that most of the two million incarcerated people in the United States will be reentering home, Senator Brownback expressed his strong willingness to work to keep people from recidivating.  Chief sponsor of the Second Chance Act reentry legislation, Senator Brownback expressed his hope that the legislation would pass through the Congress this session.  In his comments, Senator Sessions spoke in strong support for drug courts, emphasizing that drug addiction treatment services in combination with accountability measures are extremely effective. 

Assistant Attorney General Schofield discussed the costs of criminal activity and that reentry programs seek to help people to live crime-free in the community.  Ms. Schofield discussed the SVORI (Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative) program and some of the lessons learned by implementing various aspects of the program.  Citing SVORI as an example, Ms. Schofield highlighted the importance of faith-based and community organizations, neighborhood residents, local police, state and local government officials, corrections staff, probation and parole officers, addiction treatment providers, and others all working together to ensure that efforts to help the reentering individual are comprehensive and coordinated. Ms. Schofield emphasized that providing reentering individuals with mentoring, job training and employment services helped people to reenter successfully.  Ms. Schofield also said that the Department of Justice was taking what they had learned through the SVORI program and applying it to the President’s Prisoner Reentry Initiative, and expressed that she, President Bush and Attorney General Gonzales believe that reentry is one of the most pressing criminal justice issues today.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Bishop of the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration acknowledged the barriers to employment that people with criminal records face, asserting that the fastest growing jobs require degrees and that a high percentage of people with criminal records lack the educational requirements to obtain these jobs.  In addition to supporting educational and vocational education services for incarcerated adults, Mr. Bishop also expressed the need for young people to receive these educational services.  Mr. Bishop also noted the huge number of people who will be retiring from the workforce and the need for additional workers, including formerly incarcerated people, in the American job market. In his recommendations to the Subcommittee, Mr. Bishop cited the importance of providing reentering individuals with comprehensive transitional services, including job development and placement services, and emphasized that employers should also be brought into the process. 

In his testimony to the Subcommittee Robert Bogart, Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, expressed that comprehensive solutions can leading to self-sufficiency and dignity for formerly incarcerated people. Mr. Bogart cited the importance of wrap-around services, as well as mental health and job training services and transitional housing to help the reentering person successfully return to the community.  Mr. Bogart emphasized the need for strong partnerships between state and local agencies and officials with community and faith-based organizations.

Cheri Nolan, Senior Policy Advisor on Criminal and Juvenile Justice at SAMHSA, discussed the costs of crime and the impact of recidivism on communities.  Ms. Nolan asserted that there is a strong connection between achieving public safety by supporting public health efforts, such as mental health and treatment services for addiction to alcohol and other drugs.  Ms. Nolan noted the high number of people who were using illicit drugs at the time of arrest and expressed that SAMHSA sought to help support states and localities with providing treatment to people with addiction histories who have been involved in the criminal justice system.  Ms. Nolan cited the need for and effectiveness of addiction prevention and treatment services and recovery support services; in addition, Ms. Nolan discussed success with jail diversion programs, drug courts and drug treatment courts for helping people to become healthy and crime-free.

Diane Williams, President and CEO of Chicago’s Safer Foundation, began by acknowledging that reentry has often been perceived as a state and local issue, but asserted that the federal government has a vital role to play in helping providers serve people with criminal records.  Emphasizing that state and federal agencies need to be working more closely together, Ms. Williams expressed her support for the Second Chance Act and its provisions for helping to improve planning and coordination of reentry efforts.   Ms. Williams discussed how complex the issue of reentry is and how complicated reentering people’s needs are.  Highlighting the importance of expanding educational services, vocational education, employment options, drug addiction treatment, housing, and case management services for formerly incarcerated people, Ms. Williams argued that reentering people need multi-faceted solutions.  In particular, Ms. Williams cited research that education and employment have the greatest impact on recidivism. 

Among the recommendations Ms. Williams offered to the Subcommittee were: to ensure that federal assistance is comprehensive and directed towards community-based groups that are in a position to provide coordinated services, to focus on hard outcomes such as employment and educational attainment, to reinstate access to Pell Grants during prison, to include a transitional jobs component to the President’s Prisoner Reentry Initiative, to encourage the Department of Labor and Department-funded state agencies that review labor shortage projections to coordinate with prison systems, and to increase the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which provides an incentive for employers to hire, train, and retain job seekers, including “qualified ex-felons,” who often experience barriers to employment, from $2,400 to $10,000.

Roger Werholtz, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Corrections, noted that although spending for the criminal justice system continues to rise, recidivism rates are also increasing.  Mr. Werholtz discussed the importance of collaboration and coordination among federal and state agencies, and spoke in strong support of the federal government’s role of providing technical assistance and training to agencies overseeing and programs serving reentering people. In addition, Mr. Werholtz cited federal grant programs such as SVORI and the Violent Offender Incarceration/Truth In Sentencing (VOI/TIS) program as having significantly influenced state level correctional practice and state sentencing policies.

Additional information about the Subcommittee’s reentry hearing, including full witness testimony and additional member statements, can be found at: http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=2072.  

Legislation Aimed at Slowing the Spread of HIV/AIDS in Prisons

Introduced in the House

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) recently introduced H.R. 6038, legislation seeking to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in federal prisons.  The goals of the bill are to: stop the spread of HIV/AIDS among incarcerated people, protect institutional staff from infection, provide treatment to incarcerated people living with HIV/AIDS, promote HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, and encourage incarcerated individuals to take personal responsibility for their health as well as reducing the risk that they might transmit HIV/AIDS to persons they have contact with in the community upon their release.

H.R. 6038, the “Stop AIDS in Prison Act of 2006,” would:

• Require the Federal Bureau of Prisons to develop a comprehensive plan to coordinate testing, treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS for incarcerated people and individuals reentering the community from the criminal justice system.
• Require the BOP plan to include a mechanism for preventative education and awareness, with a focus on the risk factors for HIV transmission. The plan would be required to include HIV testing and counseling as part of the routine health screening at intake, as well as a program that would allow incarcerated individuals to obtain HIV tests upon request.
• Require BOP to develop procedures for incarcerated individuals to confidentially request and receive HIV/AIDS tests.
• Require that individuals who do test HIV positive receive comprehensive medical treatment and counseling.
•  Allow incarcerated individuals to opt out of the HIV routine testing, and make it clear that their refusal is not considered a violation of any prison rules.

H.R. 6038 also contains provisions aimed at stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS once people reenter the community from the criminal justice system. The legislation would require that incarcerated people who previously tested negative be tested before they are transitioned back into society.  In addition, when people with HIV/AIDS are transitioned into the community from incarceration, the legislation requires that these individuals should receive pre-release counseling on managing their treatment, accessing the appropriate treatment and services in the community, and preventing the spread of HIV in the community. 

H.R. 6038 has fourteen co-sponsors.  Following the bill’s introduction, H.R. 6038 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.  Additional information on the “Stop AIDS in Prison Act” can be found at: http://thomas.loc.gov. 

Press Conference Calls for Action on Paul Wellstone Mental Health

Equitable Treatment Act; Announces Website for Legislative Action

On Thursday, September 21^st, U.S. Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN) in conjunction with Equal Coverage for Addiction Treatment (ECAT) hosted a press conference on Capitol Hill to call for passage of H.R. 1402, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act.

H.R. 1402 would require insurance companies to treat addiction and other mental health disorders on an equal basis with other chronic diseases, such as diabetes or hypertension. The bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN) and has 228 co-sponsors. 

Speakers at the event included:

• U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-RI
• U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-MN
• Douglas Tieman, CEO, Caron Treatment Centers
• Leonard Bade, Vice President of Alumni Services of Betty Ford
• Robert Lindsey, CEO, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
• Steven Treistman, Director, Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute
• Christopher Kennedy Lawford; author, actor and addiction treatment advocate
• John Hiatt, singer and songwriter
• Carrie S., Caron alumni and recovering individual who was denied adequate coverage from her insurance company

Equal Coverage for Addiction Treatment (ECAT) is a partnership of treatment centers and non-profit addiction organizations created to raise awareness for this and other major issues facing those seeking recovery.  Additional information about the ECAT partnership can be found at http://www.ecatnow.org/.