A Comprehensive Anti-Violence Strategy: Reentry, Prevention and Enforcement:

A Comprehensive Anti-Violence Strategy: Reentry, Prevention and Enforcement

October 11th, 2012 Posted by Tracy Russo

On October 10th, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole traveled to Talladega, Ala., where he spoke with members of the Northern Alabama Reentry Council. The Reentry Council was formed in April 2011, with the goal of offering recommendations to create more successful outcomes in the lives of former inmates, as well as improving the security of the communities they return to upon their release. The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, Joyce White Vance, Bureau of Prisons Director Charles Samuels and FCI Talladega Warden John Rathman hosted the Reentry Council meeting which included a group of professionals from across the federal, state and local criminal justice systems.
Each year more than 700,000 individuals exit our state and federal prisons. Currently, two-thirds of all released state prisoners will be rearrested within three years, with half of those returning to prison. Forty percent of former federal prisoners are rearrested or have their supervision revoked within three years after release. The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that more than $74 billion is spent on state, local and federal prisons each year.  The Department of Justice has made a strong commitment to programs that will assist with reentry, along with prevention and enforcement, as part of our comprehensive Anti-Violence Strategy.
As Deputy Attorney General Cole said:

“The members of this Council have recognized that we can no longer afford the societal and budgetary costs incurred when people cycle in and out of our prisons… As we developed our comprehensive Anti-Violence Strategy we realized that we cannot arrest and prosecute our way out of this devastating problem.  While prosecution is important, we also have to prevent the violence from happening in the first place and one important way to do this is to pay attention to the people incarcerated in our prisons and as they prepare to leave those institutions make sure they are ready to reenter our communities as productive, law abiding members.  In this vein, federal prosecutors are encouraged to think comprehensively about the criminal justice process – to critically examine other ways to improve public safety, beyond traditional enforcement and to place an increased reliance on criminal justice stakeholders and community leaders to help guide and inform these efforts.” 

Deputy Attorney General Cole went on to discuss other efforts that are being made at the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Prisons and at the state level. He highlighted, for example, programs taking place in Alabama through the Reentry Council:

“[T]hrough its working groups, this Council has tackled issues for formerly incarcerated individuals involving housing, transportation, healthcare and rehabilitation, education, job training and access, and community support and reintegration.  The working groups have developed and implemented critical initiatives which are providing measurable results — such as working on the development of a memorandum of understanding between municipal judges to assist formerly incarcerated individuals who are attempting to re-acquire their driver’s licenses.”

Under Attorney General Eric Holder, the department has prioritized effective reentry and reinvestment programs for formerly incarcerated individuals. Since October 2009, the department has awarded more than $200 million Second Chance Act grants to more than 370 state, local and tribal prisoner reentry programs. These grants will help the nearly 10 million individuals that are released from jails and state and federal prisons each year successfully return to communities.  Recently, the Office of Justice Programs announced new awards including a grant to the Alabama Department of Corrections for the Jefferson County Reentry Planning Project.
U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance noted the impact of the Reentry Council working with the states to take an active role to find solutions to ensure public safety and security.

“The North Alabama Reentry Council has been a collaborative effort among federal and state judges, prosecutors, probation and prisons officials to achieve better outcomes for formerly incarcerated individuals reentering our communities. Our goal in these efforts is to identify and coordinate resources toward enhancing public safety and saving taxpayer dollars. I have been deeply impressed by all the groups in the community who were operating in isolation but came forward and are now working in specific areas that were the worst barriers to successful re-entry.”

In 2011, Attorney General Holder created the Federal Interagency Reentry Council, bringing together 20 federal agencies to tackle the issue of reentry in a comprehensive way. The Department of Justice recognizes that in order to make our country safer, it is important to make sure that rehabilitation and reentry outcomes are a priority. As Deputy Attorney General Cole said:

“Only by working together can we reduce criminal justice spending, protect individuals and their families, prevent new victimizations, and improve the quality of our communities.”

For more information about the Reentry Council and Second Chance Act, visitwww.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org

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Stop It Now! Now! NEWS - Summer 2012

Now! NEWS                                          Summer 2012  Greetings, While US attention of late has focused on the Penn State-Sandusky case, Stop It Now! has continued actively sharing our expertise globally through conference presentations, joint research, and learning partnerships in emerging countries. Our international work is built on the foundation of our US community based prevention programming, which recognizes the need for adapting prevention initiatives to the specific contexts and interests of communities. Read on for updates and highlights from that work. Global Prevention  Partnering for prevention Since 2009 Stop It Now! has been extending our work globally, with generous support from theOak Foundation (Geneva), a leading foundation funding child abuse prevention work. We have increased our global presence through online channels, and participation in key meetings and networks. We have benefited greatly in so many ways.If you are working on child sexual abuse prevention outside the US, especially in a less-industrialized country, please tell us more about your work. Take Action!    Take our Prevention Programming survey for NGOs in emerging countries.      Read about our partnership with the Centre for Applied Childhood Studies at the Univ. of Huddersfield (UK).     Help us build our database of resources for child sexual abuse prevention.  Contact us to share information about organizations, websites, publications, campaigns or videos we should know about.     Presentation on Culturally Informed Partnerships  This spring, Stop It Now! presented in Accra, Ghana at theSecond International Conference in Africa on Child Sexual Abuse. This conference is organized by the African Movement for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (AMPCAN) and the African Network for the Prevention and Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPCAN). Sarita Hudson, who leads our NGO partnerships in emerging countries, organized the plenary and workshop presentations on Culturally Informed Partnering for Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Across Continents. In addition to providing an introduction to the Stop It Now! approach to child sexual abuse prevention, panelists from Colombia, Kenya and Nigeria shared their work with Stop It Now!, including results from self-study analyses, focus groups, and prevention project interventions. Take Action!    Learn more by viewing our presentation. Read about our International Partnership. Contact us if you are interested in collaborating internationally. Visits from India, Pakistan & Nigeria Our relationships with non-governmental organizations (NGO) who are leaders on child sexual abuse prevention in their respective countries enrich and deepen our work. We are currently hosting Princess Olufemi-Kayode of Media Concern for Women and Children (MediaCon), our NGO partner in Nigeria. This visit is important for our ongoing collaboration, including our Helpline training of their sexual violence helpline. Other recent visitors to the Stop It Now! offices included: Pooja Taparia of Arpan(Mumbai, India) Babar Bashir of Rozan(Pakistan).     Babar, Sarita & Steven of Men's Resources Int'l  Every exchange and working relationship we build teaches us more about the great need and potential to link up innovative child sexual abuse prevention initiatives around the world. Thank you for making Stop It Now! (USA) a stop on your international itinerary! Take Action!  Contact us if you will be in our part of the world - or to find out when we might be in yours. Connect with us at 6th International Child Helpline International Consultation in South Africa (Oct. 17-19).  STOP IT NOW! Helpline in Netherlands This spring a Stop it Now! Netherlands Helpline was established with initial training and technical guidance fromStop it Now! UK and Ireland. With donations from the City of Amsterdam and the Dutch Ministry of Health, the Netherlands Helpline was launched in May and has already received calls. Donald Findlater, Director of Stop it Now! UK and Ireland presented at the launch.   There are now three Helplines (US, UK, Netherlands) where adults can have a safe and confidential conversations with trained professionals who provide balanced information, practical resources and support to keep children safe from sexual abuse.    Take Action! Donate Now! to the Stop It Now! Helpline  Learn more about the Helpline Email the Helpline about a situation involving possible child sexual abuse  Ask Now! question:"red flag" behaviors?  Q: My granddaughter is 12 and just starting to mature physically. Recently in 3 different settings, my husband has taken her by the hand and led her away from the group. I felt concerned immediately because it was a new behavior. Is this a red flag for possible abuse? A: Your husband's behavior could indeed be a warning signthat a child is at-risk. One warning sign does not always mean that a child is at-risk, instead it's important to notice whether there are patterns or repetition, and whether there are additional signs. Read more...  Take action! Visit Ask Now! to view our latest questions.    Submit your question.     Share your feedback on Ask Now!  Stop It Now!® prevents the sexual abuse of children by mobilizing adults, families and communities to take actions that protect children before they are harmed. Trinity Mount Ministries

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Keeping our children safe isn't just a family responsibility:

STOP IT NOW!

Keeping our children safe isn't just a family responsibility - but a community and social concern as well. Parents - know your neighbors, as well as your kids' teachers, coaches, mentors, etc...please do not assume that your children are safe in the presence of an adult.
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A Christian Ministry with a focus on the safe return of missing children worldwide. Offering resources to keep children safe. Administrator - Brett Fletcher.