The 3Cs: Community, Corrections, and the Courts

Feb.20,2012

If there is one principle generally accepted in prisoner reentry reform, it is that collaboration between criminal justice partners is critical. Certainly, that has ben the finding of researchers evaluating the importance of collaboration in drug courts as well as other problem-solving courts. The research suggest that we leave stakeholders out at our peril.

A recent Harvard Law School article, (“Designing a Prisoner Reentry System; Hardwired to Manage Disputes”,123 Harv. L. Rev. 1339 (2010) makes this very point, in advocating for “Reentry Court” as the better way of dealing with returning prisoners. The truth is that the Courts may be at the table as reforms are designed, but they are largely absent as collaborators in reentry reform itself.

It is suggested by some, that the courts don’t belong in the reentry reform structure; that prisoner reentry is an executive function and not a judicial one, that the courts have little or no jurisdiction or statutory authority to be part of the process, and more pointedly, that involvement of the courts would violate the constitutional separation of powers doctrine. On more practical grounds, they argue that courts are too expensive, involving too many stakeholders, resources, and personnel. Finally, it is argued that there is no need for the courts, as the needed reforms are already being implemented, by the required partners:  Corrections and the larger Community (with its many resources and institutions, including religious and non-profit organizations).

Somehow, those arguments are less than compelling, when considered against the reality of prison recidivism. Corrections have been a disappointment in their attempts to rehabilitate the returning prisoner. According to that same Harvard Law Review article quoted above, “Approximately six out of ten prisoners released from prison this year will be rearrested within two years [2008]”. Even where Community has been included as a partner (with all its resources), there is little reason to expect substantially better results. The  federally funded SVORI project (Serious & Violent Offender Reentry Initiative) was the largest demonstration project of its kind, distributing over $100 million in grants, to 16 sites in 14 states nation-wide, providing comprehensive, coordinated services to prisoners, both pre- and post-release. Evaluation results after the two year demonstration period (2004-2006) are generally characterized as having little impact, showing minor improvement in re-arrest rates, but higher re-incarceration rates.

Given the weakness of existing prison reentry reform models, there is a great deal to gain by bringing the courts into  the evolving collaboration between Corrections and Community. Drug Courts and other Problem-Solving Court have already proven the effectiveness of judicial involvement in collaborative criminal justice systems. Shouldn’t the courts be part of one of the most critical reforms in the history of the criminal justice system — the return of the prisoner to their community?  It’s time to bring the third “C” – Courts – to Prison Reentry Reform.

“Thinking For A Change” in Reentry Court

March 25th/ Part 4

The information found in the previous article is important and can be read in full through their links. They are well-written descriptions of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. (see also; Cognitive Behavioral Treatment: A Review and Discussion for Corrections Professionals, Harvey Milkman, Kenneth Wanberg, NIC 2007 ). In this short description of one “Thinking for a Change” training (T4C), they provide a backdrop for my reentry court team’s four day  training (taught by Juliana Taymans, one of the co-authors of T4C )

I wasn’t one of the trainees, but audited most of the training for twelve San Francisco case managers held in my courtroom.. I can say that it was well worth the time, effort, and resources involved. My impression was that the trainees thoroughly enjoyed the material and mastering the skills involved, which included problem-solving in their own lives. While the curriculum could not be used for everyone (as it appeared to require some level of introspection and sophistication), it certainly could be effective with a large cohort of parolees.
The lessons were formal (often read verbatim from a training manual), emersing participants in role playing, film  and other engaging techniques. It should be noted that the number of trainers required (initially 2 per group), the number of group participants (10-12), the number of sessions required (20-22), and  the length of sessions (1 hour or more) make delivery of this therapy somewhat problematic. But I found the techniques taught  grow on me (surprisingly finding myself using them in my everyday life). We intend to begin at least three group sessions for parole reentry participants in April. We’ll let you know how it  all works out.
Thinking for a Change (T4C) is an integrated, cognitive behavior change program for offenders that includes cognitive restructuring, social skills development, and development of problem solving skills. NIC makes available the T4C offender program materials plus a curriculum for training program facilitators. NIC also can assist agencies in training staff to facilitate the program ( National Institiute of Corrections on Thinking for a Change)

Stanford puts on Reentry Court Conference

Sept. 20

Leaders of the California Administrative Office of the Courts  (AOC) and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, joined with the Federal Judicial Center in putting on a three day training on Reentry Courts at the  Stanford Criminal Justice Center (Sept.13-15). The conference provided Reentry Court technical assistance and training to seven California County Courts and seven Federal District Courts.

Led by Shelley Curran of the AOC and Lee Seale of the CDCR, the seven California pilot courts also worked on developing common protocols, MOUs and procedures that could be implemented among all seven California pilot courts. The California Pilot Program will distribute $10 million over two years to the seven pilot courts and provide the best opportunity to date, to evaluate the Reentry Court model.

BJA Sponsored Reentry Court Focus Group Shines

Sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Boston Reentry Focus Group completed a full day session, with BJA bringing together an extraordinary group of fifteen experts from the Reentry Court and related fields. (Participants). The agenda dealt with topics as diverse as community coalition involvement and  State Jurisdiction for Reentry Courts (Focus Group Agenda). Lunch featured a presentation by Dr. Doug Marlowe, NADCP Director of Science, Policy, and the Law on “How Evidence Based Practices Applies To A Reentry Court Environment” (the powerpoint will be published shortly). A publication on Reentry Courts seen a likely outcome.

EXTRA/Special Reentry Court Training: June 2-4

The Full Day Reentry Court Symposium is being held next week at the NADCP Conference in Boston on Wed., June 2nd at the Sheraton Commonwealth [SB-16] Register Today

I’m pleased to inform website readers that Reentry Court Solutions will be co-sponsoring three days  of Reentry Court training at the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) Annual Conference, being held in Boston, Mass., from June 2- 5, 2010 ( see registration and accomodations information at NADCP Boston Conference )

For the first time ever, there will be three days of intensive reentry court training; at both the day long Symposium on Reentry Courts on Wednesday June 2nd,  and  a reentry court track (made up of six workshops) at the conference,  on Thursday, June 3rd and Friday June 4th. An extraordinary group of reentry court professionals and experts from related fields have put together what I believe will be exceptional “skills-based” trainings and interactive reentry court workshops. Our mission is to get beyond the superficial, to the core issues in establishing the reentry court, through a dynamic format that encourages participants to get to know experienced practitioners in the field and hopefully establish productive post-conference relationships with them. ( if you have questions about the reentry court sessions at the Conference, you can email me at jtauber@reentrycourtsolutions)

Taught by experts from across the nation, the full day  Symposium (June 2) will provide information and tools for  developing a Reentry Court in your jurisdiction and/or your state. (see Symposium Agenda)

The two days of Conference Workshops (June 3 and 4) will also deal with reentry court issues from the perspective of state reentry leaders to those of offenders who have been through reentry courts and come out the other end.

These sessions are designed to  provide you with:

  • A grounding in the conceptual and legal history of Reentry courts
  • A review of existing and planned Reentry court programs nationwide
  • An understanding of the structural framework for Reentry Courts
  • A step-by-step analysis of Reentry court system components, including assessments & screening
  • An understanding of both prison and jail models
  • An ability to adapt existing drug courts, at a minimal cost, to provide a reentry court function
  • An understanding of how  to get state policy makers  to make the commitment to reentry court
  • A conceptual framework for inserting “Evidence Based Practices” into your reentry court

[Disclosure: Although President Emeritus of NADCP, I receive no fees or other income for my work with NADCP in coordinating  reentry court conference presentations or in any other capacity]

EXTRA: A Special Internet Tool To Learn EBP

A new internet tool is now available to teach “Evidence Based Practices” (EBP)  to the criminal justice field. Although specifically targeting lecturers and trainers, this free, interactive “Model Curriculum for Judges”, can be an effective interactive educational tool for anyone.  “Evidence-Based Sentencing To Improve Public Safety & Reduce Recidivism”, was developed by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), in partnership with  the National Judicial College (NJC), and the Crime and Justice Institute (CJI).

Evidence Based Practices (EBP),  originated in the medical field and only recently has been applied in the corrections field.  Evidence-Based Sentencing (EBS), as defined by the National Center for State Courts, are “those practices used in the field of community corrections that are proven by the best research evidence to reduce offender recidivism”. In my opinion, a working knowledge of this science based sentencing approach is critical for every reentry court judge and  related personnel. I’ve spent many  hours acquainting myself with the curriculum ( 6 hours of video , powerpoint and other materials). The NCSC interactive internet courseis the best introductory educational tool available on EBP and should be used extensively by  the reentry court field.

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