The following is a set of specific recommendations regarding re-entry of prisoners in New York State, which have been largely inspired by the "Second Chance Act," H.R. 1704, now pending in the U.S. Congress with 99 co-sponsors and the "Re-Entry Policy Council Report" of the Council of State Governments. We suggest that this outline provides a sound guide for developing a comprehensive New York State approach to the re-entry problem.

I. RETRY TASK FORCE.

H.R. 1704 suggests that states should establish a Reentry Task Force or other relevant convening authority to examine ways to establish or pool resources and funding streams for programs and policies to promote lower recidivism rates for returning prisoners and to minimize the harmful effects of incarceration on families and communities. The NYS task force or other authority could be comprised of relevant State legislators, DOCS officials, agencies, service providers, nonprofit organizations, and other stakeholders. A contact person or board in each county should be designated to work with the task force. This task force should guide and assist the executive and legislative branches in achieving the following twenty-three objectives and measurable outcomes.

1. Creating an individualized reentry plan, upon first admission of a person to a correctional facility, which would: (a) specify and prioritize incarcerated-person needs; (b) match determined needs to institutional programming; and (c) set forth goals for each incarcerated-person including, but not limited to: educational goals, vocational training, substance abuse treatment, anger management, sexual addiction therapy, and parenting classes, all in preparation for reentry;
    
2.  Providing incarcerated-persons with education, job training, English as a second language, work experience, self-respect and life skills training, and other skills useful in achieving a successful transition from prison;
    

3. Facilitating collaboration among corrections, community colleges and employment service sectors, so as to equip qualified incarcerated-persons with the post-GED, job-oriented vocational skills needed in today’s technical and semi-professional labor markets;
    

4. Developing programs that facilitate family visitation and maintenance of family relationships by addressing obstacles such as travel, telephone costs, mail restrictions, and restrictive visitation policies;
    

5. Developing systems under which family members of incarcerated-persons are involved in facilitating the successful reentry of those persons into the community, including strengthening the family's capacity to function as a stable living situation during reentry where appropriate, and involving family members in the planning and implementation of the reentry process;
    

6. Developing and implementing procedures to assist relevant authorities in determining when release is appropriate, and in the use of comprehensive risk-assessment tools and data to inform the release decision;
    
7. Providing a descriptive directory of all the public, private, and non-profit organizations and services in each county or cluster of counties, that are available to formerly-incarcerated-persons, and facilitating the flows of supportive county, state, and federal funding-streams both within and across jurisdictions;
    
8. Providing a plan for analysis of existing State statutory, regulatory, rules-based, and practice-based hurdles to a person’s reintegration into the community that:
                      
                            (A) takes particular note of and makes recommendations with respect to laws,
   regulations, rules, and practices that: disqualify formerly-incarcerated-persons from obtaining professional licenses or other requirements necessary for certain types of employment, and that hinder full civic participation; and

                           (B) identifies and makes recommendations with respect to those laws, regulations, rules, or practices that are not directly connected to the crime committed and the risk that the formerly-incarcerated-person presents to the community;
    

9. Establishing pre-release planning procedures for incarcerated-persons to ensure that an identification card and eligibility for Federal or State benefits (including Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and Veterans benefits) are established prior to release, subject to any limitations in law, and ensuring that incarcerated-persons are provided with referrals to appropriate social and health services or are linked to appropriate nonprofit organizations;
   
   
10. Encouraging and supporting the use of community-based mentors in the reentry process; enabling mentors of incarcerated-persons to remain in contact with them during incarceration and after reentry into the community; including programs for mentoring of children of incarcerated-persons;
    
    
11. Providing structured post-release housing and transitional housing, including group homes for recovering substance abusers through which formerly-incarcerated-persons are provided supervision and services immediately following reentry into the community;
    
    

12. Assisting formerly-incarcerated-persons in securing permanent housing upon release or following a stay in transitional housing;
     

13. Providing continuity of health services (including screening, assessment, and aftercare for mental health services, substance abuse treatment, and treatment for contagious diseases) to incarcerated-persons and after reentry into the community;
     

14. Promoting, where appropriate, the employment of people released from prison and jail, through efforts such as educating employers about existing financial incentives and facilitating the creation of job opportunities, including transitional jobs, for this population, that will benefit communities;
     

15. Connecting incarcerated-persons to employment before their release to the community, and identifying labor market needs to ensure that education and training are appropriate;
     

16. Developing programs under which victims are included, where appropriate and on a voluntary basis, in the reentry process; Facilitating victim-impact-panels and community-conferences where needed;
     

17. Identifying and addressing barriers to collaboration with child welfare agencies in the provision of services jointly to incarcerated-persons and to their children;
     

18. Creating or enhancing assessments, policies, and programs (both prior to and after reentry) to help incarcerated-persons who have a history or identified risk of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
     
19.  Establishing' or expanding the use of reentry courts or county reentry boards to:

(A) monitor formerly-incarcerated-persons returning to the community;

(B) provide formerly-incarcerated-persons with

(i) drug and alcohol testing and treatment; and

(ii) mental and medical health assessment and services;

(C) provide and coordinate the delivery of other community services to formerly-incarcerated-persons, including:

(i) housing assistance;

(ii) education;

(iii) employment training;

(iv) children and family support;

(v) conflict resolution skills training;

(vi) family violence intervention programs;

(vii) other appropriate social services; and

(viii) culturally and linguistically competent services where appropriate;

(D) facilitate restorative justice practices and convene family or community impact panels, family impact educational classes, victim impact panels, or victim impact educational classes, as needed;

20. Establishing and implementing graduated sanctions and alternatives to incarceration, with meaningful rehabilitation incentives, so as to maximize the potential for rehabilitation and successful reentry into society;
    
    

21. Reviewing the process by which the State and local governments adjudicate violations of parole or probation or supervised release, and recommending reforms to maximize the use of graduated, community-based sanctions for minor and technical violations of parole or supervised release, so as to increase the possibilities of successful reentry;
     

22. Reviewing the guideline for termination of parole by the Division of Parole to suitably motivate and reward those parolees who can prove years of successful reintegration into the community.
     
23. Reviewing the guidelines for compassionate and economical earlier supervised release and reentry for the elderly and seriously physically ill prisoners, who are no longer a threat to society.

II. Measurable Outcomes Plan

New York State should develop a comprehensive strategic reentry plan that contains measurable annual and 5- to 10-year performance outcomes. The plan should have as a goal to reduce the rate of recidivism of incarcerated persons within the State by 50 percent over a period of 10 years.

The measured and reported performance outcomes should include, with respect to offenders released back into the community :

(A) recommitment rates;

(B) reduction in crime;

(C) employment and education;

(D) violations of conditions of supervised release;

(E) child support;

(F) housing;

(G) drug and alcohol abuse; and

(H) participation in mental health services;