Prisoner re-entry legislation not “soft on crime,” Ellison says at town hall forum

BY DENNIS GEISINGER

Congressman Keith Ellison organized and hosted a town meeting forum at Minneapolis Urban League headquarters in North Minneapolis on May 30 to address the issue of successfully bringing ex-offenders who have served their time back into the community. Ellison was seeking support for his “Second Chance Act” legislation that is designed to “reduce recidivism, increase public safety and help states and locales better address the growing population of prisoners returning to their communities,” with a $191 million investment, according to the congressman. In March, Ellison introduced the bill, which has been cleared to be heard by the full House.

Provisions of the bill, dubbed the “Second Chance Act,” “include $65 million for grants to state and local governments for re-entry initiatives and $40 million for drug abuse treatment programs. Job and career training both during and after incarceration would garner $25 million. Another $20 million would go for family based treatment programs for inmates with minor children and for the safety and support of those children while their parent is imprisoned.

Federal re-entry programs, including funds for mentoring, come in at $10 million with the remaining $36 million earmarked for court monitoring, and research and task forces that would develop and implement plans for prisoners’ successful return to productive lives.

“This is thin ice for politicians,” Ellison told the packed room. “I got a memo from across the aisle when I first started talking about my plan. It said something to the effect that, ‘This may be a good idea, but it’s not good politics,’” he said to laughter and applause.

“You know what they say about politicians that support this kind of reform?” Ellison coaxed.

“Soft on crime!” the room returned.

“I think we’re beyond that,” Ellison said. “Slogans like ‘Take a bite out of crime’ don’t solve any problems,” he said. “This is about public safety as it relates to integrating offenders back into the system. It’s not about liberal or conservative,” he said.

Ellison’s words could not have found a more appreciative audience. Most of the crowd were either faith-, community- or local government-based advocates of ex-offenders or ex-offenders themselves who had come to share success stories or shots at the system.

A panel of six experts, local administrators and civic leaders with a combined experience in crime, punishment and recidivism, echoed Ellison’s call for jobs, housing, and family and community support for those coming back from the correctional system to rebuild their lives.

Mary Gaines, president of Federal FORUM (Females Organizing and Restoring Unity for Mothers) of Minnesota, said that support for ex-offenders without support for their families has been a recipe for failure.

A new pilot re-entry program to be rolled out in a three-county area (including Hennepin) that will test services to be offered down the road for the entire state, was announced by Gary Johnson, re-entry services director for the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

Joan Fabian, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, said that Minnesota has a head start on many other states because it already has some of the best resources to identify and treat prisoners with mental illnesses.
Talking to ex-offenders like businesses talk to their consumers—making sure service programs work for the individuals they serve, was suggested by Ira Barbell, senior associate of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a family advocacy group.

Gary Gambill, advocacy coordinator for the Council on Crime and Justice, spoke of new challenges for ex-offenders in adjusting to the information age. Criminal records now follow those trying to reform their lives wherever they go for the rest of their lives. Computerized records offer employers, landlords and others only the negative aspects of a person’s past, he said.

Speaking last was soft-spoken Russ Balenger, program director of Amicus, Inc., which matches volunteer services with state prisoners. “When a returning prisoner’s plans get messy, we’re here to help clear it up,” Balenger said.