Governor Granholm created the MPRI Advisory Council on July 17, 2008 with the issuance of Executive Order 2008-18.  This high-level state-government group is comprised of the directors of seven state agencies and is charged with identifying and overcoming barriers to full implementation of the MPRI and improving coordination among the departments of state government.  The Governor directed the Council to consult and collaborate with all relevant MPRI stakeholders in carrying out its work, and she will turn to the Council for recommendations on "how state laws and sentencing guidelines may be improved in order to contribute to the successful transition and reintegration of offenders into society and reduce recidivism."  This group replaces the MPRI State Policy Team and gives it a legal mandate from the Governor. 

 

Other states have created similar prisoner re-entry councils, and the Council of State Governments Justice Center has summarized those efforts.  To see that summary, click here.

For the full text of Governor Granholm's Executive Order, click here.

With the MPRI now operating in all 83 Michigan counties, communities are better prepared to handle the flow of returning MPRI prisoners.  Phase III of the MPRI involves that community capacity, and Phase II is the link between the prisons and communities.  Both of those phases are well-underway.  During the coming year, intensive effort will be focused on accelerating implementation of Phase I.  This involves providing thorough assessments  of each prisoner who arrives at the MDOC Reception & Guidance Centers and developing programming to address the criminogenic needs identified by the assessment.  As this work is completed, the MPRI will be poised to truly reach full-scale operation.   

The JEHT Foundation has awarded MCCD a grant to hire MPRI Specialists.  The Specialists, working in partnership with the MDOC and MPRI stakeholders, bring much needed extra capacity to facilitate and staff the planning and implementation of strategies to fully implement the MPRI Model.  The first Specialists hired by MCCD, Tim Zeller and Nancy Miller, have started collaborating with the MDOC on research and planning in the areas of staff skill development, youthful offender re-entry, the prerelease application process for entitlement benefits, and other essential elements of the MPRI Model.  Just as the JEHT Foundation's support helped build community capacity for local MPRI implementation, these new resources will help to reach full-scale operation of the MPRI.

 

For a summary of the how the Specialists fit into the MPRI Up to Scale strategy, click here.

 

To learn more, click here. 

On November 13, 2008, the first Michigan Summit on Poverty will be held at Cobo Center in Detroit.  The event will include a special focus on the relationship between corrections and poverty.  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.

The design, implementation, and early success of the MPRI are the result, to a large extent, of the support and technical assistance of national partners, including the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) through its Transition from Prison to Community Initiative (TPCI).  The TPCI has provided Michigan with valuable resource materials, training opportunities, and on-site expert consultation. 

 

A Michigan team, along with teams from the other seven participating states, met in Indianapolis on June 22-23 to share accomplishments, challenges, and lessons learned across jurisdictions; to review emerging products of the TPCI, including the TPC Handbook, Case Management Handbook, and TPC e-learning; and to discuss implementation of case management strategies.  The Michigan delegation received positive feedback on MPRI progress, gained valuable insight from the other participants, and returned with many new resources to guide Michigan's efforts.
 
For more information on TPCI, click here.