| MPRI eNews
Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Update
September 2008 |
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| Welcome to MPRI eNews for September! |
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This month, we report on progress with MPRI implementation at the state and local level. Equally important, you'll learn about the future of MPRI evaluation. Faith-based organizations have played an important role in the MPRI, and you can read about how that is about to be strengthened. Lots more below, too, so read on!
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As always, we thanks you for reading! Please send us your comments and suggestions.
Jeff Padden and Paul Elam
Public Policy Associates, Inc. |
| COMPAS to Go Live at R&GC on October 1 |
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On October 1, the COMPAS assessment, which reveals dynamic risk factors that predict the likelihood of future criminal behavior, will be part of the "welcoming" process for every new prisoner arriving at the Reception and Guidance Center (R&GC). Dynamic risk factors are those that can change, so the results of the assessment will be used to create Transition Accountability Plans (TAPs) to reduce the risk. This critical element of the MPRI drives all of the steps that follow through the period of incarceration, transition, and return to the community.
All R&GC staff who will be using the COMPAS have been trained, and they will begin administering it to all 11,000 prisoners per year who arrive at the doorstep of the MDOC. For a general description of the COMPAS, click here. Note that the COMPAS has been customized to meet the needs of the MPRI. | |
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| New MPRI Evaluation in Development |
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Following the Peer Review of the MPRI tracking and evaluation process that was conducted on April 29 by a distinguished national Evaluation Advisory Council, the MDOC has been developing a new approach. It is working with members of the Council to create a stronger, more reliable and valid means of assessing progress of the MPRI and to provide insight on how to improve it. The new approach will include data on arrest and conviction as well as returns to prison, and it will provide State and local sites better information on progress and results.
To access the materials from the Peer Review session, click here. |
| Issues of Faith, Justice, and Forgiveness: Strengthening collaboration and trust |
Since the beginning, faith-based organizations have played a key role in the MPRI to help meet the goal of creating safer neighborhoods through improved outcomes for returning prisoners. Many such organizations have a long history of working with prisoners as part of their mission to serve the less fortunate of society. Now, MDOC is working with faith leaders to develop a set of guiding principles to help galvanize and expand current inter-faith efforts with faith and community based partners throughout the state. The Department is also in the process of establishing an ongoing interfaith advisory committee that will report to the MPRI State Advisory Council recently created by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. Details of these efforts will be shared at a state-wide taking action meeting on October 16 in Lansing, Michigan.
MPRI eNews will continue to report on progress with this important work. |
| House Candidates Learn More About the MPRI: You can help them! |
On September 12, all 500 candidates who ran for a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives in the August primary election received a follow-up letter telling them more about the MPRI. This candidate education project, managed by Public Policy Associates and funded by the JEHT Foundation, is critically important this year, since term limits guarantee that at least 45 of the 110 House members will be new.
The recent letter was signed by Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith, a Democrat who chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Corrections, and Rep. John Proos, a Republican who is the co-chair. By lending their good names to this letter, the highly-respected Representatives demonstrate that the MPRI is a genuinely bipartisan initiative.
You can add your voice to theirs by contacting your local candidates to tell them about your perspective on the MPRI. Candidates and legislators pay close attention to the views of constituents. For a copy of the letter, click here. If you don't know what House district you are in, click here. Once you know your district number, click here for a list of all candidates and their contact information. This includes both incumbents and challengers. |
| Legislative Corrections Ombudsman Gets Funding |
The Legislative Corrections Ombudsman office, which was created in the 1970s and de-funded several years ago, has been funded again by the Michigan Legislature effective with the new fiscal year, beginning on October 1. The office operates with a statutory mandate that empowers it to investigate complaints from prisoners or legislators about violations of law or policy by the Michigan Department of Corrections. This external review of the Department's operations is intended to provide a third-party check on whether the MDOC is operating as intended. The Ombudsman Office is overseen by the Legislative Council, which is currently seeking candidates for the position of Ombudsman.
To see the law that governs the Legislative Corrections Ombudsman, click here. |
| Avalon Receives MSHDA Grant |
In an illustration of effective collaboration across agencies, Avalon Housing, the Washtenaw Affordable Housing Corporation, and the Washtenaw County MPRI have joined forces to increase access to housing and jobs for returning prisoners. The housing component includes "first night home" units and rent subsidies for up to six months. Tenants will also have access to transitional employment until they find permanent jobs. This initiative grew out of conversations that MDOC and the Michigan State Housing Devleopment Authority (MSHDA)initiated with local stakeholders following the 2007 Taking Action on Housing session in Lansing. Mary King, the Washtenaw County MPRI Community Coordinator, will present on her housing work at the Summit on Homelessness in October (See article below). MSHDA notified Avalon that it is receiving $60,900 to support this work. The MPRI and the JEHT Foundation are co-funding the project. For more on the grant, click here. |
| Summit on Homelessness - October 16-17 in East Lansing |
| The Third Michigan Summit on Ending Homelessness is approaching rapidly and will be held at the Kellogg Center at Michigan State University in East Lansing. The Summit includes two sessions that focus on the challenges faced by returning prisoners.
For a look at the agenda and session descriptions, click here. The reentry sessions are numbers 13 and 14. The Summit will also provide a terrific opportunity to network with housing professionals from across the state.
To register online and for information on accomodations, click here. |
| Summit on Poverty to Include Corrections Focus - November 13 |
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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.
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