By Nicole Maharaj
May 10, 2004

The Mayors Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives held its first forum on "Faith-Based Approaches to Societal Re-Integration of Ex-Offenders," in Philadelphia on April 28. Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street serves as Chair for the Center and Miami Mayor Manuel A. Diaz serves as Vice-Chair.

Several Conference of Mayors member mayors, religious leaders, criminal justice experts, federal government faith-based office representatives, researchers and social justice advocates gathered in Philadelphia prior to the official convening of the National Conference of Black Mayors Meeting in Philadelphia to discuss effective faith-based re-integration methods for ex-offenders returning to society.

Panel members included Representative Danny Davis (IL), Representative Chaka Fattah (PA), National Black Conference of Mayors President Jackson (MS) Mayor Harvey Johnson, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley (who co-facilitated the session with Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street), and Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran. Other mayors included Washington (DC) Mayor Anthony Williams, Memphis (TN) Mayor Willie Herenton, Macon (GA) Mayor Jack Ellis, and Irvington (NJ) Mayor Wayne Smith. Other experts in the field who participated in the forum included Marc Mauer, author and Assistant Director of the Sentencing Project, a national organization based in Washington (DC), promoting criminal justice reform and the development of alternatives to incarceration, and Debbie Makamal, Director of the National HIRE Network, established by the Legal Action Center to help individuals with criminal records Re-enter through employment. HIRE is both a national clearinghouse for information and an advocate for policy change.

The number of ex-offenders has increased by almost 50 percent this year to 860,000 who will be released from federal, state and local correctional facilities. This number is expected to total 1.8 million over the next three years. The Justice Department indicates 60 percent of the offenders released from prison are back in prison within three years, either because of a new crime for which they received another sentence, or because of a technical violation of their parole. Moreover, one-third of all corrections departments provide no funds to prisoners upon release. In fact, many of the ex-offenders are homeless upon release. They return to the community with limited financial resources, but many financial needs. Few inmates have marketable employable skills or sufficient literacy to become gainfully employed. One third of all prisoners were unemployed at their most recent arrest, and just 60 percent of inmates have a GED or high school diploma (compared to 85 percent of the U.S. adult population). Upon their return to the community, these individuals have three options: find a job, remain unemployed, or return to crime.

Also, there are several barriers which prevent effective re-integration of ex-offenders into society including the denial of welfare, public housing, student loans, driver's licenses and voting to name a few.

Davis spoke about his current bill before Congress — the Public Safety Ex-Offender Self Sufficiency Act of 2003 (H.R. 2166). This bill would allow community-based residential property to be used to provide both residential and support services to ex-offenders, and would apply to any ex-offender that has been convicted of a felony under state or federal law. Support services offered at these centers would include: employment counseling and placement, job training, drug and alcohol treatment, health care services, including mental health services and general educational assistance. This program provides a crucial on'site link to other services necessary to an ex-offender's successful re-entry, in addition to meeting housing needs. (Contact Caleb Gilchrist in Davis' office for more information.)

In addition, a bipartisan group of Members of Congress from both the Senate and House are currently working on a broad reentry bill to be introduced in both Houses this month. Among the offices working together on the bill are Representatives Ron Portman (OH), Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH), Mark Souder (IN), Danny Davis (IL), and Senators Sam Brownback (KS) and Joseph Biden (DE). Advocates hope the legislation will encourage greater cooperation and coordination among various levels and departments of government, provide greater support to innovative reentry programs, and encourage states to end unreasonable barriers that make it difficult for reentering prisoners to safely and successfully reenter society. (Contact Gene Guerrero at the Open Society Institute Policy Center)

Gene Guerrero of the Open Society Policy Center, who coordinates an informal working group of organizations urging Congress to better address reentry, said that President Bush's inclusion of a strong paragraph on reentry in this year's State of the Union Address provides a real political opening. In the address, President Bush discussed the large number of people leaving prisons each year and said, "We know from long experience that if they can-t find work, or a home, or help, they are much more likely to commit crime and return to prison ... America is the land of second chance. And when the gates of prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life."

Guerrero asked mayors to urge their members of Congress to support these reentry bills.

This discussion is a first of many to be held on this topic in conjunction with other national organizations, such as the National Urban League and Congressional Black Caucus.

"If we could reduce our recidivism rates in this country — in our cities — by finding ways to help our ex-offenders successfully reintegrate back into society, think of the funds we could save. Costs associated with keeping people incarcerated in this country in 1999 alone neared $146 billion. Think of the resources that would become available for education, recreation, housing and medical assistance. Beyond that, if we could find ways to help people who come out of prison stay out of prison, think of the impact that would have on others — particularly their children. We already know children of prisoners have a 70 percent greater chance of following their parents into prison. How do we break this cycle? We have spent far too much time getting people into prisons; now we have to expend some energy and time trying to figure how to keep folks out of prisons," said Street.

Several cities presented their "Re-Entry Programs" at the forum, including Washington (DC), Baltimore, Memphis, Ft. Wayne, and New York. This information will soon be made available on the Mayors Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives website.

Official policy recommendations and outcomes identifying the roles and coordinating efforts of the faith community grappling with this issue will be forwarded to the Conference of Mayors for review and approval during the upcoming Annual Meeting in Boston.

For more information, please contact Nicole Maharaj, Program Director for the Mayors Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at (202) 861-6735.