Governor McDonnell's Op-Ed on Improving Public Safety Through Prisoner Re-Entry Programs and Signing of Re-Entry Legislation
Under the leadership of Governor McDonnell, the first statewide Prisoner Re-entry Coordinator Banci Tewolde, and the Prisoner and Juvenile Offender Re-Entry Council have prioritized housing as a method of reducing recidivism for people with a criminal history. The governor recently wrote an op-ed on the prisoner re-entry efforts in Virginia which argues that re-entry efforts are far from being soft on crime and are matters of public safety with potential to reduce recidivism. The governor stated that re-entry programs “reflect the idea that America is a nation which believes in second chances.”
On June 21st, 2011 the governor signed seven pieces of legislation to strengthen prisoner re-entry policies in Virginia. Across the literature, research shows that housing is critical to preventing jail and prison recidivism. Ex-offenders have barriers to housing and employment which place them at high risk of homelessness.
Across Virginia, communities are accepting that homelessness is solvable. 1,000 Homes for 1,000 Virginians is a statewide initiative - led by the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness - to house 1,000 of the most vulnerable Virginians experiencing homelessness. Participating communities will use the Vulnerability Index, a tool which captures data on health status, institutional history (jail, prison, hospitals, and military), length of homelessness, patterns of shelter use, and previous housing situations to prioritize the most vulnerable.
Aggregated data from the national campaign as recent as May 2011 reflects that across 33 diverse communities, 30% have been incarcerated in prison and 64%. Further, of those found most vulnerable, 36% had been in prison and 77% in jail.
In order that homeless individuals be housed and remain off the streets, further legislative advocacy efforts and education of private landlords and Housing Authorities are needed to demonstrate that housing for ex-offenders is possible and can in turn strengthen communities by offering hope and decreasing recidivism.
Governor's full Op-Ed: t http://www.riponsociety.org/112bm.htm
Governor's News Release on Re-Entry Legislation: http://www.governor.virginia.gov/News/viewRelease.cfm?id=805
For more information on 1,000 Homes for 1,000 Virginians, see http://www.vceh.org/1000-homes
Governor McDonnell has made prisoner re-entry one of the priorities of his Administration.
The Governor, under Executive Order Number Eleven, has created the Virginia Prisoner and Juvenile Offender Re-Entry Council to establish an integrated system for coordinating the planning and provision of offender transitional and reentry services among state, local, and non-profit agencies in order to prepare offenders for successful transition into their communities upon release from incarceration.
VCEH has been invited to participate in the Veterans Focus Area Committee of the Virginia Prisoner and Juvenile Offender Re-entry Council.
Housing is critical to preventing jail and prison recidivism. Ex-offenders have additional barriers to housing and employment which place them at high risk of homelessness.
Click here for VCEH's Policy Brief on Housing as Critical for Public Safety.
Intersection Between Homelessness and Re-Entry: How Permanent Supportive Housing Can Be Used to Reduce Jail and Prison Recidivism
Click here for the March 16, 2010 Presentation of the Corporation for Supportive Housing at the South Hampton Roads Regional Conference on Ending Homelessness
Housing Can Reduce Recidivism of Ex-Offenders
November 16, 2009:
VCEH participated in "Supportive Housing & Criminal Justice: A National Forum & Dialogue," sponsored by the Corporation for Supportive Housing in Washington, DC, on November 5, 2009. Attended by leading experts on homelessness and re-entry, the Forum profiled re-entry supportive housing programs and policies across the nation.
According to the Pew Center on the States: One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008:
- In 2007, 38,555 people were behind bars in Virginia, representing a 5.1% increase over the previous year.
- Virginia spent $1.136 billion in fiscal year 2007 on corrections.
For every dollar spent on higher education, Virginia spent 60 cents on corrections.
The Virginia Department of Corrections calculated the recidivism rate of offenders released in 1998. Within three years, 29.4 percent had been re-incarcerated in a Virginia prison for new crimes or technical violations of conditions of release. (Urban Institute Policy Justice Center, Prisoner Re-entry in Virginia)
Stable housing has been shown to reduce recidivism. Data has demonstrated that permanent housing with wrap around services has created a
* 76 percent reduction in days spent in jail / prison in Denver
* 57 percent reduction in the rate of prison incarceration and a 30 percent reduction in the rate of jail incarceration among those with mental illness in New York
* decreased recidivism rate from 50 percent to 7 percent in Maryland. (Corporation for Supportive Housing)
