Why can't we do this in Cuyahoga County?

Back in 2006, I went to a reentry seminar hosted by Professor Charles Ogletree at Harvard University. The three days had a profound impact on me and I draw on the experience often as I go about my work of trying to assist those returning home from incarceration.

I know that some of my readers feel that I'm involved in this kind of work because of an affinity for the population, since I myself was formerly incarcerated (five times over a 29-year career as a credit card counterfeiter; I speak so openly about it that some even accuse me of being proud of that part of my past -- I’m not.

But I have paid for my crimes with those five incarcerations, so if the fact that I’m a former convict bothers you, you deal with it, that’s not my problem, and I’m not going to allow you to make it mine). The simple fact is, I’m more concerned with keeping my dollars in my wallet. If we don’t do something about the recidivism rate our prisons are going to put us collectively into the poor house. California is already $8 billion in the red over prison costs. But there are real answers out there.

One of the main speakers at the Harvard seminar was the Suffolk County Sheriff, Andrea J. Cabral. Boston is located in Suffolk County. She told us of the innovative things she’d instituted at the jail she ran to reduce recidivism: What was working well, what needed additional refining, and what programs she might do away with all together. She is a very serious-minded public servant and is using tax dollars very wisely.

During that same period we here in Cuyahoga County had Gerald McFaul as sheriff... need I say more?

Below (taken directly from the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department’s website), are three of the programs which have survived, and are positively impacting on recidivism in the Greater Boston area.

The new sheriff in Cuyahoga County could do something similar … if they were willing — and if the public demanded it. Remember, it’s your tax dollars going down that rat hole of failed reentry. It really is past time for change.

The Boston Reentry Initiative

The Boston Reentry Initiative (BRI) is a partnership between the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, the Boston Police Department, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the District Attorney's Office. BRI creates a formal inter-agency support system for inmates before their release from the House of Correction.

The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department releases more than 3,000 inmates from the House of Correction and more than 13,000 detainees from the Nashua Street Jail annually. Research has shown that the first 24-hours after release is critical to offenders leaving the system. This partnership provides a multifaceted approach to help reduce the rate of recidivism for recently released inmates.

The Initiative includes an emphasis on mentoring, information sharing, treating addiction and employment opportunities for inmates after release. This program begins while offenders are still incarcerated at the House of Correction. In the first few months of incarceration, a panel, comprised of the U.S. Attorney's Office, the District Attorney's Office, parole, probation, community agencies and faith-based organizations meets with offenders and discusses issues that may affect a successful transition back into the community.

Community Reentry for Women (C.R.E.W.)

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, the Community Reentry for Women (C.R.E.W.) Program prepares female offenders for re-entry through the delivery of life skills instruction, job placement and health care services. Program partners include the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department; the South End Community Health Center, a comprehensive urban health care provider; and Project Place, a multi-service agency that specializes in providing at-risk populations with education, life skills, job skills and job placement.

Motivated female offenders with sentences of at least three months are eligible to participate in the C.R.E.W. Program. Participants complete an eight-week life skills class during their incarceration while receiving pre and post-release case management to assist them with personal and housing goals, career goals and health care services.

The Common Ground Institute (CGI)

The Common Ground Institute (CGI) is a 10-week instructional program divided into two 5-week modules. Each section is designed to enhance and fortify employment skills that will aid our population in making a successful transition back into society post incarceration. The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department (SCSD) is taking a pro-active approach to reducing recidivism, in part, by placing an emphasis on vocational education.

STRIVE

During the first half of each cycle class participants spend their mornings in STRIVE, a jobs readiness program whose goal is to prepare individuals to become mentally and emotionally work ready. STRIVE emphasizes development of the soft skills that are necessary to obtain and retain employment. Students learn how to speak appropriately for work, how to follow instructions, how to accept criticism and how to function in a team oriented environment. STRIVE stresses accountability, positive self-representation and begins the process of thinking about job advancement and long-term careers.

Academics

CGI students spend their afternoons, during the first cycle, in a classroom situation where they are taught carpentry, custodial maintenance, painting and landscaping. Additionally, class participants will become OSHA certified during the academic module by completing a 10-hour course for general industrial safety & health standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is a Federal agency in the Department of Labor that publishes and enforces safety and health regulations for most businesses and industries in the United States.

Community Works Program

During the second 5 weeks of each cycle class participants utilize their classroom instruction in a very practical way. Working through our Community Works Program (CWP) CGI students apply their knowledge in carpentry, custodial maintenance, painting and landscaping as a means of community restitution. To realize our aim of reducing recidivism the Sheriff's Department has partnered with the Cities of Boston and Revere and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Our CWP crews work in conjunction with the Inspectional Services Department, the Department of Neighborhood Development, the Economic Development Industrial Corporation, the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Massachusetts Highway Authority.

Sheriff Cabral has created the Common Ground Institute with the intention of making our population more attractive to employers and increasing employment opportunities for individuals transitioning back into society. Through this program we address the recidivism issue, teach life and employment skills and help to make Suffolk County a safer place to live.

End Note: What are the chances of such programs being instituted in Cuyahoga County? Well, if we judge by the way judges are selected to run the Drug Court, we’d surely find a way to screw the program up even if we did institute them.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com
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