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Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Update
July 2008
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Welcome to MPRI eNews for July!
This is the second edition with our new format for MPRI eNews.  We got lots of positive comments about the new look, but are eager to hear your thoughts, too.
 
We heard that many folks accidentally removed themselves from the distribution list.  Our email system takes the "DO NOT MAIL" instruction very seriously, which is why we sent a "Please Subscribe Me" email to some of you recently.  This process should be smoother in the future. 
 
If you would like to invite your colleagues, friends, or family to subscribe to MPRI eNews, send them this link:   http://tinyurl.com/5ue3j5.  You can also send them a copy of this edition only by clicking here. 
 
Thanks for reading!  As always, your comments are appreciated.
 
Jeff Padden and Paul Elam
Public Policy Associates, Inc.
MPRI 2008-09 Budget Passes Legislature
As this is being written, the Fiscal Year 2008-09 budget for the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) has passed the Legislature and is headed to the Governor for her signature.  The MPRI budget is part of that bill, and it is funded at the full level the Governor recommended: $34 million.  Thanks for this accomplishment go to all who testified at a budget hearing or contacted their legislators about the MPRI.
 
In addition to funding for the MPRI sites statewide, the bill also requires that the Special Alternative Incarceration or "bootcamp" program include an MPRI component.  This is consistent with MDOC's ongoing work to implement Phase I of the MPRI in the prisons.

For the bill and analyses, go to:  MDOC budget info.  Look for the Senate Enrolled Bill and analyses of the Conference Committee Report.
New Battle Creek Policy on Employment of Former Prisoners
At least one Michigan community has been wrestling with how to create at least a possibility of employment for former prisoners.  According to the Battle Creek Enquirer, "the Battle Creek City Commission has enacted a new ordinance requiring companies with 15 or more employees bidding on city contracts worth more than $10,000 to prove they have no policy preventing a felon from being considered for employment."  Click here for the Enquirer article.
Federal Policy on Hiring Former Prisoners
 As Battle Creek takes on the issue locally, the U.S. Congress is wading in, too.  Drew Carberry of the National Council on Crime Prevention reports that on June 10 the U.S. House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia held a hearing entitled, "An Examination of Federal Employment Practices/Policies on Hiring Ex-offenders." As the title suggests, it looked at the federal government's approach to hiring - or not hiring - ex-offenders.  Click here for the complete committee testimony.  Click here for an article that summarizes the hearing.
Third Michigan Summit on Homelessness - Hold the Date of October 16 
Finding stable housing for former prisoners is one of the factors critical to successful re-entry. A central part of the MPRI's focus on that issue has been to partner with the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).  Over the past few years, MSHDA has led the Campaign to End Homelessness, which involves community partnerships across the state.  
 
On October 16-17, 2008, MSHDA will host the 3rd Annual Summit on Ending Homelessness at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing.  While plans for the event are still being shaped, it will bring together advocates from across the state who have developed and are implementing regional plans to end homelessness, and virtually all of those plans include services relevant to housing former prisoners.  Details will be posted on the Campaign Web site in mid-July.
2008 Voices for Action Poverty Summit - November 13 in Detroit
In some important ways, crime and poverty are intertwined.  Poor areas almost always have higher crime rates than the wealthy ones, and the prison population mostly comes from poorer parts of our state.  That means those who work on the MPRI have an interest in addressing poverty.
 
On November 13, 2008, the first Michigan Summit on Poverty will be held at Cobo Center in Detroit.  Governor Granholm and Martin Luther King III will speak.  The goal of the session is to mobilize action aimed to eliminate poverty.  For more, click: Poverty Summit information.