Combined award includes public and privately matched fund to aid reentry programs throughout Newark; City expected to serve over 1,000 returning prisoners over a two-year period
Newark, NJ - September 9, 2008 - Mayor Cory A. Booker was joined today by U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor Brent Orrell, Governor Jon S. Corzine, New Jersey State Attorney General Anne Milgram, local and state dignitaries, private donors, community stakeholders, and Newark residents at a press conference to announce $5 million in new funding to the City’s Prisoner Reentry Initiative.
The announcement is demonstrative of the strong partnership among federal, state, local and private institutions, and their combined commitment to providing jobs, mentoring, and support to hundreds of Newarkers returning home from prison over the next two years. The press conference was held at New Careers Center, a Newark-based facility that offers a variety of transitional services to aid formerly-incarcerated residents in the city.
“For the great city of Newark to rise to its potential, all of our citizens-especially those who have paid their debt to society-need the tools to re-define their lives in ways that give hope and dignity to themselves and their communities,” said Mayor Booker. “This landmark federal award strengthens the City’s commitment to reentry. It is further reinforced by the Governor’s bold Another Chance initiative and the partnership of institutions across the city, state and nation. Together, we are creating new economic opportunities for returning men and women and their children-these are families who can now positively contribute toward making for a safer, vibrant, and proud city,” said the Mayor.
Over the past three years, the U.S. Department of Labor has been the lead agency for implementing the federal government’s Prisoner Reentry Initiative. The department has committed $2 million (as part of the total $5 million) towards the development of programs and services that will help reduce recidivism rates among men and women here in the City of Newark, which currently has the highest per capita number of parolees of all U.S. cities.
“This $2 million grant will enable Newark to build on the success of the President’s Prisoner Re-entry Initiative and provide over 1,200 ex-offenders with basic job skills and other assistance to help them succeed in developing new career paths, ” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.
“The purpose of this project is to determine whether the successful PRI strategy of community-based, mentor-supported and employment-focused re-entry can move beyond helping individuals to helping entire neighborhoods and a city recover from the burden of high rates of criminal recidivism,” said U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor Brent R. Orrell.
Since entering office in July 2006, the Booker Administration has made prisoner reentry a signature issue, having forged relationships with a number of public and private organizations - including Public/Private Ventures, the Nicholson Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (NJISJ), and the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers - in an effort to reduce recidivism, decrease crime, and create opportunities for re-entering residents to rejoin their families and communities.
The goal of the grant is to get and keep people working, help employers find needed workers, and keep families safe by successfully integrating those returning home back into their communities. It does so by providing a comprehensive system of services. These services will be in partnership with faith and community-based organizations, and include case management, mentoring, skills assessment, and referrals to health care providers. State and local agencies will be coordinated to strengthen the city’s network and avoid duplicating efforts. In the end, the goal is to increase funding and add resources to enhance outcomes for ex-offenders and their families.
Among the foundational components of Newark’s reentry efforts are: Opportunity Reconnect, the city’s reentry coordinating agency headquartered at Essex County College; ReLeSe, a network of institutions offering reentry legal services by volunteer attorneys; transitional jobs programs, including partnerships with the Nicholson Foundation, Goodwill, New Jersey Institute of Social Justice’s New Careers project and other partners; and NewarkWorks, the state’s one-stop operator and workforce agency in the City of Newark.
The interwoven programs of the prisoner reentry initiative have received $2 million in matching commitments from the philanthropic community as part of the combined $5 million award. Donors include Joan Ganz Cooney, the Charles Edison Fund/Edison Innovation Foundation, the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, the F.M. Kirby Foundation, the Nicholson Foundation, Victoria Foundation, and the Bodman Foundation.
“This day represents the work of many partners working together toward a common goal. The City is grateful for the work of Wanda Moore, who has led our reentry initiative and will be continuing her leadership at the State level. Mayor Booker has made reentry an integral and high priority part of the City’s overall economic development effort. From our workforce programs
to our land disposition and tax abatement policies, we are creating a system of reentry incentives, services and opportunities that will improve outcomes for ex-offenders, their families, and communities,” said Stefan Pryor, Deputy Mayor of Housing and Economic Development.
“Meaningful collaboration has been the key to our success. Our community partners, our County, State and Federal partners have all been tremendous. By working together we are able to accomplish our objectives. We are grateful for everyone’s support,” said Wanda Moore, City of Newark Director of Prisoner Reentry.
Every year, approximately 14,000 men and women are released from correctional facilities throughout New Jersey, nearly 65 percent of whom are re-arrested within five years. To combat these statistics, Governor Corzine and Attorney General Milgram have each made an unyielding commitment to creating programs that assist with the reintegration process, and have designated Newark as one of three demonstration sites for the State’s Another Chance reentry program.
“Our strategy for safe streets and neighborhoods is based on a comprehensive approach that involves prevention, enforcement and re-entry. Deterring ex-offenders from falling back into a life of crime has to be part of the equation,” Governor Corzine said. “The support the state is receiving today from the federal government is an important signal that, to be successful in our fight against violent crime, we have to attack from all angles and form partnerships at all levels of government and with grassroots organizations. It allows for a full range of services to give ex-offenders the support they need to become productive members of their communities.”
“This collaborative re-entry effort is not only about turning individual lives around, it’s about improving the quality of life throughout entire communities,” said Attorney General Milgram. “The more successful we are at helping offenders to become productive, law-abiding citizens by providing them education, training and hope, the safer our streets and neighborhoods will be.”
“The foundation community is delighted to partner with strong government leadership and the City’s philanthropic liaison, Jeremy Johnson, to address the challenges faced by the growing numbers of men and woman re-entering society,” said William H. Byrnes, Jr., a trustee of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and Program Officer of the F.M. Kirby Foundation.
“We are thrilled to partner with the City of Newark, State of New Jersey, and U.S. Department of Labor on this exciting new project, which makes hard work the cornerstone of our commitment to ensuring that reentering individuals succeed, thereby benefiting our families and neighbors in Newark and beyond,” said Cornell Brooks, Executive Director for the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.
“Manhattan Institute is proud to continue to work daily with Mayor Booker and his team to design, plan, and implement a reentry strategy to assist ex-offenders both in finding and retaining employment and in strengthening their ties to their children and families,” said Manhattan Institute President Lawrence J. Mone.
“We are very pleased to continue our long partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor and to join with the City of Newark, Mayor Booker, the State of New Jersey and other stakeholders to expand the city’s efforts to create opportunities and hope for men and women returning from prison,” said Frederick A. Davie, President of Public/Private Ventures.
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Contacts: Newark Press Information Office - (973) 733-8004
Dan Murphy, US Department of Labor - (202) 693-2958
James Gardner, Office of the Governor - (609) 777-2600
David Wald, Office of the Attorney General - (609) 292-4791
Neal Buccino, NJ State Parole Board - (609) 292-4031
William Zeiser, Manhattan Institute - (212) 599-7000
Ari Kramer, Council of New Jersey Grantmakers - (609) 341-2022
For more information on the City of Newark, please visit our website at www.ci.newark.nj.us
