May 22, 2007

VISIONS OF JUSTICE VIII: Implementing Prisoner Reentry
Co-sponosred by DCJ and SURJ, this forum was a follow-up to the September 26, 2006 Reentry Roundtable, and provided the more than 125 attendees with the latest report findings, research recommendations, and specific actions for implementing successful reentry.

While details can be found in the upcoming edition of Commentary, which will be mailed and uploaded on this site in August, here is a synopsis of the forum’s highlights:

Daniel J. O’Connell, Associate Scientist, Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies and Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware, presented the latest research related to the reentering population. Key data include:

• Offenders reentering the community are mostly male, underemployed, under educated, and mostly drug addicted.
• The population is at very high risk for HIV/HCV.
• They are also at high risk of recidivism.
• The majority are African American.
• About 68 per cent of returnees will be rearrested and reincarcerated.

Ron Beard, RAB Consulting, previewed a film project he is producing and directing that put names and faces to the kind of data shared by Daniel O’Connell. The documentary features offenders who have been able to turn their lives around by making something positive of their experiences with incarceration, probation, and parole.

Following the film, featured speaker Carl Danburg, Commissioner of Correction, Delaware Department of Correction, addressed the ongoing tension that exists when it is necessary to rehabilitate offenders and at the same time hold them accountable. He sited that credible and effective reentry programs need to focus on such critical issues as employment, healthcare including medical and mental health, education, and treatment.

A panel of experts who direct reentry programs in Delaware presented information about what is available in the community to support successful reentry. Panelists were:

Cathy McKay, Executive Director, Connections, who spoke about the organization’s statewide services.

Alfred Onuonga, Program Director, DCJ’s Offender Reentry Program, who described transitional case management services and offender health services offered through DCJ.

Tony Neal, Training and Outreach Coordinator, The Way Home, who shared his personal story of reentry back into the community after his incarceration.

Joe DiPinto, Director of Economic Development, City of Wilmington, who spoke about Delancy Street Project, the highly successful reentry program that has a proven track record of lowering recidivism rates for returning offenders.

June 26, 2007

DCJ 87th Annual Meeting and Luncheon
DCJ celebrated its 87th year with more than 100 guests who attended the annual luncheon to hear a provocative keynote speech by Dr. Erwin Chemerinsky and honor Mona Bayard, the 2007 recipient of the William A. Vrooman “Exemplar of Justice” Award.

Dr. Chemerinsky, Alston & Bird Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science, Duke University, addressed the answer to the question, “Can Justice Survive the War on Terror?” He provided an historical overview of U.S. laws and policies as they relate to managing threats to the country’s security while suspending the Constitutional rights of Americans, from WWI through to post-9/11. Based on history, Dr. Chemerinsky forms an opinion of whether it will be possible to protect our rights as citizens in the wake of the current administration’s decisions.

Details of his address and Mona Bayard’s acceptance remarks can be read in the summer edition of Commentary, which will be mailed and posted here in August.