MorristownGreen.com, the online site that features news from the Morristown, Morris Township, and Morris Plains, NJ area, reports that a January 31 meeting between the Morris/Sussex/Warren Reentry Task Force and a member of the New Jersey Parole Board produced positive results, with both groups committing to help make the transition back into the community smoother for returning citizens.
The Task Force is comprised of social workers whose clients include substance abusers, people with criminal histories, and individuals who have a mental health issue. Both the Task Force and the Parole Board agree that the money spent on incarcerating a person would be better spent on methods designed to reduce recidivism, or better yet, on programs that aim to keep people from being sent to prison in the first place.
According to MorristownGreen.com, some of the ways New Jersey is planning to promote successful reentry and reduce recidivism include:
Advancing into law a bill that would exclude employers from systematically dismissing an applicant for employment because the applicant has a criminal history
Passing into law a bill that would enable those with a criminal conviction to be employed in a business that serves liquor, with an exception that those with a conviction could not actually serve liquor
Implementing presumptive parole for non-violent substance abuse offenders which would allow them to be released from prison as early as possible, contingent on maintaining good behavior while incarcerated
Educating school children about the correlation between drug use and crime
Mentoring children of incarcerate parents
Helping newly released individuals to write a resume and providing other job-seeking skills
Perhaps one of the most novel approaches to helping those with a criminal conviction is the up-coming event at the God Baptist Church in Atlantic City. In late April those with an outstanding warrant for certain criminal charges, traffic violations or non-compliance with child support orders are invited to come to a special court, to be held at the church, to try to quickly dispose of the warrants. The idea behind this concept is that someone with a pending warrant will come out of hiding, quickly appear before a judge, and move forward with his life. This approach is also designed to save money by eliminating much of the resources associated with tracking down those with warrants, and will decrease the costs associated with numerous court appearances. By searching for alternatives to incarceration for those who choose to take advantage of this unique offer, New Jersey will also save money, as it costs $160 a day to keep a person in prison.
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