MPRI eNews
Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Update
October 2009: MPRI Receives Full Funding
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| Data Points |
Total MPRI Releases through 9/2009: 19,105
Expected number of returns: 6,491
Actual number of returns: 4,408
Improvement: 2,083
Note: While these results for MPRI parolees are precisely what was hoped for, it is still too early to say that MPRI activities alone caused the changes. For much more information, click here. |
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| Welcome to the October 2009 MPRI eNews! |
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It's been an eventful month for the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative, to say the least. Lawmakers wrapped up the state budget, and despite a process that took longer than anyone wanted, provided broad bipartisan support for the MPRI.
And while some criticism of the MPRI continues, including a misguided lawsuit, supporters are offering swift, strong, and persuasive defenses. We appreciate your efforts, and ask you to continue to respond to misinformation about the MPRI.
The MPRI continues to attract national attention -- in fact the Council of State Governments tapped our own Le'Ann Duran to head a new national reentry center.
As always, we're eager to spread the word about the MPRI. Please send an e-mail to your list of colleagues, friends, or family who might have an interest in the MPRI eNews and suggest they check it out. Cut and paste this link into your e-mail, so they can subscribe:
Thanks for your help. And, as always, we thank you for reading! Please send us your comments and suggestions.
Jeff Padden and Paul Elam
Public Policy Associates, Inc. |
Lawmakers Finally Finalize 2009-10 Budget
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 Michigan lawmakers once again went down to the wire -- and beyond -- but finally approved the state budget on Oct. 1. The Department of Corrections budget totalled $1.93 billion, and included full funding for the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative. The MPRI will be funded at $56.6 million. Last year, it was funded at $33.1 million, with an additional $20 million approved over the summer to support its expansion. To see a Senate Fiscal Agency analysis of the Corrections budget, click here. |
Michigan Works CEO Stresses Importance of the MPRI to Public Safety
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Capital Area Michigan Works! CEO Douglas Stites would tell you that he doesn't have a ton of sympathy for returning prisoners, but he is deeply concerned with public safety. And that's why he's a strong supporter of the MPRI. He recently wrote a column in the Lansing State Journal clearly explaining the benefits to Michigan residents as taxpayers and as citizens who care about the safety of their neighborhoods. To see the column, click here. | |
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Le'Ann Duran Takes National Reentry Post
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The resource center will provide support to state and local governments as well as community-based and faith-based groups committed to helping ex-offenders successfully return to their communities. Ms. Duran became a nationally recognized expert in those areas through her work with the MPRI. To read an interview with Ms. Duran, click here. To see the Justice Center's announcement on her appointment, click here. |
| MDOC Makes Progress in Effort to Provide Information to Prosecutors |
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The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) is committed to working with county prosecutors to make the best possible parole decisions. Despite a lawsuit by a single prosecutor that hampered those efforts, MDOC has had constructive, cordial discussions with the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan's Board of Directors. Department officials are proposing to create a new data and information system needed to provide timely information to prosecutors about parole decisions. They also would like more prosecutors to become fully engaged in the MPRI by joining local MPRI steering teams.
Meanwhile, the lawsuit brought by Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper, which has only served to slow the process, proceeds. To see MDOC Public Information Officer Russell Marlan's response to the lawsuit in the Detroit Free Press, click here. |
MSHDA Housing Policies Help Returning Prisoners |
Securing stable, affordable housing is one of the key issues for parolees returning to their communities. The Michigan State Housing Development Authority is working to become part of the solution by changing some of its eligibility standards for returning prisoners to get on waiting lists for MSHDA housing. It's by no means a cure-all, but it's a start. And the new policies don't apply to other public housing authorities. MSHDA deserves credit for serving by example. To see a summary of the new screening policy, click here. |
| Programming Reduces Recidivism, But Employment Remains a Challenge |
A recently released study underscores the challenges of ex-offenders in finding steady employment. The New York City-based Center for Employment Opportunities, an employment program for ex-offenders, found that a group of former prisoners who received an array of services and eight-week transitional employment was no more likely to be employed after a year than a control group. However, the report also found that the recidivism rate was lower for the group that received services and transitional jobs.
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| MPRI Community Coordinator Ernie Stacy Honored |
 In west Michigan, the great work of MPRI community coordinator Ernie Stacy is getting noticed. Mr. Stacy recently was honored by Muskegon's Westshore Dispute Resolution and Brian P. Mattson Restorative Justice Center with the Neil G. Mullally Award. The award recognizes outstanding leadership in moving forward the concepts and practices of restorative justice in Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, and Manistee Counties.
To read more about Stacy's achievements, click here. |
| Flint Gets Stimulus Money to Help Former Prisoners |
 Between 75 and 125 former prisoners will be put to work in Flint improving local neighborhoods, thanks to a $1.6 million award by the U.S. Department of Justice using federal stimulus money. The money, which goes to the Flint Downtown District Weed and Seed site, will help returning prisoners find transitional employment, reduce crime, and help clean up neighborhoods, said U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee, who requested the funds. To see the Flint Journal article, click here. |
| Faith Based and Community Resource Conference |
Faith-based and community organizations provide enormous energy and resources to the MPRI. On November 12, 2009, the Governor's Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will sponsor its third Statewide Faith Based and Community Resource Conference. The Conference will be held in Lansing, Michigan at the Lansing Center, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, click here.
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University of Michigan Students Give the MPRI a Boost
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 University of Michigan students are helping get the word out about the value of the MPRI in helping parolees succeed and reducing crime. About 10 students work as MPRI interns each semester, and some return as volunteers. They speak to community groups and provide direct assistance with such things as helping prisoners complete job applications and resumes.
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