Front Page / Issue Briefs / Justice, Crime and Public Safety / Prisoner Re-Entry / USA / New Jersey / Mercer County

Issue Brief

Prisoner Re-Entry - Mercer County, New Jersey

Scope of the Problem  factual statements on the extent of the problem in the past, current, or future

• The New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC) estimates that approximately 12,000 individuals will exit state prison on an annual basis.
• The DOC reported a recidivism rate of 57% for the year 2010 - a 17% increase from 2002.^[1]
• In FY2010, the State of New Jersey spent $2 billion - nearly 10% of its budget - on public safety and criminal justice. The DOC's $1 billion budget makes it the state's single largest operating agency.
• In FY2003, New Jersey spent approximately $46,000 per inmate.
• Housing 
• The Urban Institute found that at least 10% of people entering prison are homeless and, of those leaving prison, at least 10% and sometimes up to 55% find themselves homeless.
• Employment
• Studies have shown that having a criminal record lowers an individual's chances of a call back or job offer by nearly 50%. In New Jersey, only 37% of 2005 releasees found employment within two years.
• Health
• Former prisoners are more likely to have major mental disorders and chronic and infectious diseases but may live in communities with insufficient health care facilities. In New Jersey, 32% of state inmates have at least one diagnosed chronic or communicable physical of mental-health condition.
• Substance Abuse 
• A majority of prisoners have extensive substance abuse histories and most identified drug use as the primary cause of their problems, but less than one-third receive treatment after release. In New Jersey, over 50% of state prisoners are diagnosed or assessed to have a drug or alcohol problem.
• Communities
• A significant number of prisoners return to a small number of communities, many of which are facing high levels of social and economic disadvantage. In New Jersey, $53 million of the DOC's budget is respectively spent incarcerating people from Newark and Camden.

Past Policy & Program Milestones  key legislation and milestones including significant policy and funding shifts, major studies, etc.

Current Policy & Programs  summary of current policies in the form of legislation, programs, and funding

• Governor Christie's Initiative on Reentry: Governor Christie introduced his Initiative on Reentry in November of 2011. The Initiative is a cross-departmental effort to expand the Drug Court Program and improve management, coordination and accountability in order to reduce recidivism and help men and women successfully reenter society.

•  The initiative established the Governor’s Re-entry Task Force and the position of Coordinator for Prisoner Re-entry within the Governor’s Office.
•  Executive Order No. 83 was signed by Governor Christie on November 28, 2011, which established the Governor’s Re-entry Task Force.
•  The New Jersey State Parole Board (SPB) works with more than 15,000 offenders statewide to ensure their return to society as law-abiding citizens. 
•  SPB’s Community Programs Unit partners with government, non-profit and private agencies to connect ex-prisoners with vocational, mental health and related services targeted at breaking the cycle and risk of crime.
• Education
• The Higher Education Act of 1967 eliminated an incarcerated individual’s right to eligibility for Pell Grants. The subsequent Souder Amendment eliminated an incarcerated person’s right to eligibility for all federal financial aid assistance if convicted of possession of a controlled substance. The length of ineligibility depends on the specifics of the conviction and in 2005 the amendment was limited to drug convictions that occurred during enrollment.
• New Jersey law does not directly address the issue, but federal case law suggest the standard for denial or revocation of admission is “reasonableness,” i.e. whether the college’s decision is not arbitrary, unreasonable or capricious.
• Some state schools will no provide State assistance to students who are on probation or parole.
• Employment
• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its guidelines on how employers may use criminal background checks so that  using an individual’s arrest record as ground for exclusion is a violation of Title VII and all employers must provide evidence to validate “criminal conduct exclusion.”
• A report by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD) found that misperceptions and lack of first hand knowledge influence employer perception s of ex-offenders and that barriers exists within many levels of private employment. 
• A 2009 report on employment opportunities for ex-offenders found that a criminal record reduced the likelihood of a callback or job offer by 50%.
• Of individuals released in 2005, only 37% were employed at some point between 200 and 2007, but only 17% were still employed by the final quarter of 2007.
• There are approximately 18 categories of job for which certain criminal convictions are an absolute bar.
• Housing
• New Jersey’s discrimination laws do not protect against discrimination on the basis of criminal convictions in regards to public housing.
• Federal law gives sole discretion to housing providers to determine eligibility for up to three years for individuals with drug-related criminal convictions.
• Child Support
• Studies have shown that incarcerated parents owe an average of $20,000 in child support arrears when they leave prison. 
• The state and/or federal government can suspend an individual’s driver’s license, report debts to credit agencies, intercept federal income tax check, garnish wages up to 65%, seize assets or arrest an individual for being in arrears depending on the amount of debt.
• The Bradley Amendment eliminates a judge’s power to cancel arrears that have accrued before a request for modification of the support.
• Halliwell v. Halliwell ruled that incarcerated can be considered “voluntary unemployment,” which makes a prisoner ineligible for a downward modification of child support obligations.
• Driver’s License
•  There are 400 ways to lose a driver’s license in New Jersey. All restorations require an automatic $100 fee and are subject to additional surcharges if not promptly paid. 

Key Organizations contacts for public and private organizations

• Government
• Federal:
• United State Department Justice
• Bureau of Justice Assistance
• Bureau of Justice Statistics
• National Institute of Corrections
• National Institute of Justice
• Office of Justice Programs
• National Reentry Resource Center
• New Jersey:
• Department of Corrections
• Office of Transitional Services
• Office of Community Programs
• Department of Labor and Workforce Development
• One-Stop Career Centers
• Office of the Attorney General
• Wanda Moore, Assistant Attorney General & Director of Reentry
• Office of the Governor
• Governor’s Re-entry Task Force
• Lisa Puglisi, Coordinator for Reentry
• State Parole Board
• Division of Community Programs
• Mercer County: 
• Mercer County Board of Social Services
• Mercer County Division of Human Services
• Mercer County Reentry Task Force
• Mercer County Division of Youth Services
• Reentry Subcommittee
• Mercer County One-Stop Career Centers
• Mercer County Probation 
• Non-Profit - Service Providing
•  Federal: 
• Corporation for Supportive Housing 
• National H.I.R.E. Network
• New Jersey:
• Legal Services of New Jersey  
• Rutgers Camden School of Law 
• Federal Prisoner Reentry Pro Bono Project  
• Mercer County: 
• A Better Way
• Bonner Center for Civic and Community Engagement at The College of New Jersey
• Catholic Charities
• Crisis Ministry of Princeton and Trenton
• Greater Achievements, Inc.
• Helping Arms 
• Mercer County Community College
• Mercer Street Friends Food Bank 
• Rescue Mission of Trenton
• Trenton Area Soup Kitchen
• UIH Family Partners
• Ujima Family Ministries
• United Way of Greater Mercer County
• Urban Alternative Solutions 
• Non-Profit - Advocacy/Membership/Network
• Federal: 
• Corporation for Supportive Housing  
• Prison Fellowship
• Project Return, Inc. 
• The Urban Institute
• The Reentry Roundtable  
• New Jersey:
• New Jersey for Institute for Social Justice
• Integrated Justice Alliance
• New Jersey Reentry Roundtable
• New Jersey Public Policy Research Institute
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 
• Mercer County: 
• Mercer Alliance to End Homelessness 
• Foundation
• Annie E. Casey Foundation 
• Vera Institute of Justice 
• Joyce Foundation
• Other
• Mercer County:
• Opportunities for All 

Bibliography   web sites, reports, articles, and other reference material

Contributor(s):

Footnotes

1. "State of New Jersey Department of Correction Annual Report 2010." 2010. New Jersey Department of Corrections, http://www.njdoc.gov/pdf/annual_report/2011_annual_report.pdf. ▲