Section 2. Fiscal Year 2001 Programs (continued)

Support for State and Local Justice Systems

In addition to the assistance provided for state and local justice systems through the Byrne Grant Program and the Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program, BJA funds critically needed training, technical assistance, and demonstration programs to improve the operations of criminal courts, prosecution and public defense offices, and corrections, including community corrections.

Criminal Courts, Prosecutors, and Public Defenders

BJA funds for criminal courts, prosecutors, and public defenders support initiatives that foster partnerships among these key players to move courts beyond simply processing cases. Adjudication partnerships are valuable catalysts to solve complex problems in the criminal justice system, such as diverting offenders with substance abuse problems to treatment.

BJA’s FY 2001 funding for adjudication also included a substantial investment in training and technical assistance to keep the operations of pretrial services agencies, prosecutor and indigent defense offices, and criminal courts up to date. A project of the National Center for State Courts, for example, is ensuring that state courts meet their obligations to people with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

BJA-funded initiatives are increasing cooperation between courts and mental health treatment providers, which traditionally have not worked together. In many local justice systems, jails have become ill-equipped surrogates for mental institutions. Mentally ill offenders who receive little or no treatment while in custody often cycle repeatedly through the criminal justice system, consuming precious resources and contributing to overcrowding in the nation’s courts and jails.

A BJA-funded demonstration program in Travis County (Austin), Texas, has addressed this acute problem by establishing a criminal justice/mental health center maintained by a consortium of representatives from law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, victim service organizations, mental health providers, advocacy groups, and local residents. The center’s staff work with these partners to implement real-life treatment strategies that emphasize both treatment and accountability.

A second demonstration program, in Jefferson County, Alabama, uses a special courtroom team to identify and help felony offenders who are mentally ill. For these offenders, the team has moved case processing away from the traditional process toward an expedited system that offers a rigorous treatment program as a condition of charges being resolved. The courtroom team includes the judge, the district attorney, the defense attorney, and the mental health case processing staff. The goal of the project is to identify and refer mentally ill offenders within 24 hours of arrest. Referrals are made by pretrial staff, county jail personnel, attorneys, probate court judges, and family members.

BJA-funded scholarships to the National Judicial College provide judicial training for judges and other court professionals in topics such as genetics and the court, health care and aging, the role of families in the justice system, the needs of children transferred to adult courts, and sovereignty and the tribal court. The college is planning a Native American Faculty Development Workshop to increase the number of tribal judicial educators and a Center for Tribal Court Judicial Education to provide ongoing judicial education for tribal judges.

To develop, train, and support leadership in public defense, the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) established the National Defender Leadership Institute. The institute promotes efficient, accountable indigent defense programs that provide competent services. Approximately 1,800 defender managers have been trained through the institute, which is described in the BJA-funded NLADA publication A Passion for Justice.

BJA also assists prosecutors and courts by funding clearinghouses of information about criminal convictions. The Denial of Federal Benefits Clearinghouse is the official repository of information about convictions in federal and state courts in which drug traffickers or possessors have been denied certain or all federal benefits. The Defense Procurement Fraud Debarment Clearinghouse is the official repository of information provided by U.S. Attorneys or the U.S. Department of Defense regarding individuals convicted of defense contract-related felonies.

Corrections and Reentry

While recognizing the importance of fair and appropriate sentences for those convicted of crimes, BJA also addressed the need to help offenders overcome barriers to reintegration into society after they serve their sentences.

Chattanooga Endeavors continued its efforts to restore ex-offenders to productive roles in society through training, counseling, and education programs that remove barriers to meaningful employment and teach ex-offenders the skills they need to reenter the community and live within the law. The program focuses on substance abuse recovery, education, employment, and conflict resolution—the four most common obstacles to community reintegration.

BJA funded the City of East Palo Alto and its community-based project partner, At Last, to develop a multifaceted, offender reentry program involving local businesses and criminal justice agencies. The First Source Hiring Program links ex-offenders to jobs and manages them as new employees.

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections began work in 2001 to develop a structured community-based reentry program for hard-to-place female prison inmates who have mental health and co-occurring substance abuse disorders. Unlike intensive correctional programs such as therapeutic communities, this project is not designed to change an inmate’s cognition, behavior, or risk of reoffending. Rather, the project will widen parole opportunities for a population of offenders that has traditionally not been successful in achieving parole release.

Byrne funding to the New Jersey Department of Corrections supports innovative drug treatment for nonviolent prison inmates with histories of chronic substance abuse. The NuWay Therapeutic Community Drug Treatment Program offers a continuum of treatment and training to help offenders reenter and live successfully in society. The residential program provides inmates with at least 20 hours a week of treatment and vocational training and every graduate leaves the program with at least a general equivalency diploma (GED). In 2001, 67 percent of the 789 inmates who entered NuWay completed the program and only 2 of the 2,826 drug tests administered to the participants came back positive.

In Wisconsin, Byrne funds support an innovative effort to reduce recidivism and increase the employment potential of county jail inmates. The state’s Office of Justice Assistance awarded Byrne funds to four pilot counties to develop and implement voluntary literacy programs. The programs help inmates build skills in reading, writing, vocabulary, arithmetic, and English as a second language. They also work closely with local technical colleges to prepare inmates for GED testing.

BJA Funding In Focus

Incarcerated Mothers Local Law Enforcement Block Grant funding in Tulsa, Oklahoma, supports a pioneering program for incarcerated mothers designed to reduce recidivism among the women and prevent their children’s involvement in the justice system. A network of agencies that provide critical services to incarcerated women, the Tulsa Parenting Partnership (TPP) promotes self-sufficiency through life-skills and counseling programs, substance abuse support groups, and work reintegration seminars. TPP also addresses one of the most difficult problems for mothers in prison—the lack of healthy, dignified settings in which incarcerated women can spend time with their children—by sponsoring supervised play groups.

Ridge House, a nonprofit organization in Reno, Nevada, operates a series of residential treatment programs for male and female offenders. To expand services throughout the state, Ridge House partnered with two residential treatment providers in southern Nevada to establish the Statewide Ridge House Collaborative (SRHC). SRHC provides various services for its residential clients, including drug and alcohol counseling, conflict resolution, parenting classes, and vocational career preparation. Additionally, Ridge House staff provide training for faith-based organizations and clinicians seeking to establish residential treatment facilities in Nevada.

The Center for Effective Public Policy is establishing a clearinghouse to promote understanding, knowledge, and awareness about programs that reunite women offenders with their children. A national advisory committee is defining and guiding the work of the clearinghouse, compiling a list of existing resources, research, literature, and other materials that serve women offenders and their children; synthesizing lessons learned on the subject; and disseminating information and resources to practitioners and policymakers. The center is working with other organizations such as the Center for Children of Incarcerated Parents, the National Institute of Corrections, and the International Community Association that have efforts under way to address the issues of women offenders and their children.

BJA also supports the Prison Industries Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP), which encourages states and units of local government to establish employment opportunities for prisoners. The program places inmates in realistic work environments, pays them prevailing wages, and gives them a chance to develop marketable skills that will increase their potential for rehabilitation and meaningful employment upon release.

BJA certifies that each PIECP program meets statutory and federal guidelines. Currently, there are 34 state and 4 county correctional industry programs certified in the United States. These programs operate at least 175 business partnerships with private industry. In 2001, PIECP programs generated more that $2.5 million for victims’ programs, $1.7 million for inmate family support, $10 million for correctional institution room and board costs, and $4.5 million in state and federal taxes. A recent field assessment of the program found a high level of regulatory compliance.