Gloucester VA Links and News: Recidivism

Showing posts with label Recidivism. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Governor McAuliffe Announces Continued Drop in Virginia’s Recidivism Rate

Virginia Department of Corrections (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

RICHMOND – Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced that Virginia’s re-incarceration rate has dropped to 22.8 percent, the state’s lowest rate on record.

“Long-term public safety is critical to Virginia’s future,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe. “This reduction in the recidivism rate means our children are safer, our state is more attractive to businesses, and we are returning offenders to their communities better prepared to be productive, contributing citizens.”

About ninety percent of individuals incarcerated in Virginia will one day be released back into their communities. Like most states, Virginia counts its official recidivism rate as the percentage of offenders who return to incarceration within three years of being released.

“A lower re-incarceration rate means fewer crimes, fewer victims, and less taxpayer money that must be allocated to repeat offenders,” said Virginia Department of Corrections Director Harold Clarke.

Virginia’s recidivism rate has dropped to its lowest on record. Those inmates who were released in fiscal year 2009 had a recidivism rate of 22.8 percent, as measured through 2012. The previous year’s cohort of offenders released in fiscal year 2008 and measured through 2011 had a recidivism rate of 23.4 percent, and the recidivism rate the year before that was 26.1 percent.

“We commend the Department of Corrections’ staff for their hard work, as well as the offenders who are turning their lives around and those employers who give them a second chance,” said Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran.

In Virginia, reentry preparation begins the day the VADOC receives an offender, starting with a risk and needs assessment. From offender training and education programs, work programs, resource fairs, veterans’ programs, and offender savings accounts to a partnership with the Department of Motor Vehicles to get offenders DMV-issued state identification before they leave prison, the VADOC is operating a multitude of successful reentry programs.

More information on the VADOC can be found at www.vadoc.virginia.gov.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Governor McDonnell’s Biennial Budget to Continue Commitment to Improving Virginia’s Prisoner Re-Entry and Restoration of Rights Processes

Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell speaking at CPAC. Please attribute to Gage Skidmore if used elsewhere. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell will recommend substantial new state investments in the areas of prisoner re-entry and restoration of rights when he puts forward his two-year spending plan for the Commonwealth next Monday. The governor has put a focus on the two policy areas over the last four years, establishing Virginia’s first-ever prisoner re-entry statewide plan and appointing the first-ever prisoner re-entry coordinator. Today, the Commonwealth has the nation’s second-lowest recidivism rate at 23.4 percent. The governor has restored the rights of 7,500 individuals, more than any governor in Virginia history and this summer he instituted the state’s first automatic restoration of rights policy for non-violent offenders.

Speaking about the investments, Governor McDonnell remarked, “America is a nation of second chances. I’m a former prosecutor and attorney general. I believe strongly that we are a nation of laws and failure to abide by those laws has consequences. But when someone has met those consequences, we must be there to help them successfully rejoin society. That’s good for the individual, and it’s good for the community. When we help men and women put together a positive plan for life after prison we increase their chances for success going forward, and we lessen the burden on our state from individuals returning to prison. The same thing happens when we make it easier for our fellow Virginians to regain their civil rights. When someone has a stake in their government and community, they are far more likely to contribute, to give back and to help our Commonwealth grow. These new investments will continue the great progress we are making in these critically important public policy efforts.”

The governor’s budget will provide the following funding for prisoner re-entry and restoration of rights efforts:

Re-entry Initiatives:

· Provides funding for emergency housing for offenders upon release. This will enable the Department of Corrections to provided temporary lodging for hard to place offenders to minimize public safety risks and to assist with re-entry. Adds $533,517 the first year and second year of the biennial budget.

· Increases funding for inmate education program. The funds are for the cost of administering GED testing and for additional computers in classrooms, and funding for part-time instructors to enable the Department of Corrections to enhance its re-entry efforts. Adds $331,660 for the first year and $482,773 the second year in general fund support.

· Provides funding for the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment grant match. The Department of Corrections was awarded a federal grant to provide substance abuse treatment services to improve its re-entry services. The grant program serves over 300 inmates and is established in 11 correctional facilities. For FY14 the state match is $342,147; and the state match for the first year is $537,660 and $586,538 for the second year of the new biennial budget.

Restoration of Rights Initiative:

· Appropriates $197,309 in the first year and $243,052 for the second year of the new biennial budget in general fund support for the operations and management of the automatic restoration of civil rights process. This funding is for four new additional staff positions for the biennium.The new funding and positions will provide additional resources that will allow the Commonwealth to respond in a timelier manner to an increased number of applications for the automatic restoration of rights.