Alternatives to Incarceration and No Entry Strategies
On March 25, 2009, over 120 participants met to discuss strategic corrections, including alternatives to incarceration and no-entry strategies. Click here to review a detailed agenda. The day began with a well-received presentation by Chief Judge Timothy Evans who provided an overview of pre-trial services in Cook County and its progress since December 2008. A panel of experts followed, with presentations on various diversion and community corrections initiatives, including Alison Shames, Associate Director of the Center on Sentencing and Corrections at the Vera Institute of Justice, who presented a national perspective on alternatives to incarceration; Lieutenant Jeffry Murphy of the Chicago Police Department who informed the group about the efforts of the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) to divert the mentally ill from jail; and Mark Kammerer, with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, who discussed the positive impact that drug courts, drug schools, and mental health courts have on participants' recidivism rates and their ability to lead crime-free lives. The day ended with participation in breakout sessions to develop recommendations around the topic areas of (1) assessment and determining eligibility for alternatives to incarceration, (2) community-based alternatives to incarceration for non-violent drug offenders, and (3) information collection and sharing to expand alternatives to incarceration. Below are links to the background materials that were provided in advance of the meeting and other documents that were handed out at the meeting.
NOTE: The links in bullets 5-8 and again in bullets 10-12 are to external websites and worked when this page was created. If you experience problems with the links, we suggest that you visit the source website indicated and search that site directly for the resource referenced.
Packet Materials-Session Information
Second Chance Act Updates
Council on State Governments Justice Center, A Checklist for States, Local
Governments, and Indian Tribes (March 2009) – Fact sheets with the latest
information on Second Chance Act funding.
http://reentrypolicy.org/government_affairs/second_chance_act
Background Materials: Alternatives to
Incarceration
- Washington State Institute on Public Policy, “Evidence-Based
Adult Corrections Programs: What Works and What Does Not” (January 2006)
The Washington State Institute of Public Policy’s study provides a comprehensive review of evidence-based programs for adult offenders, gauging their effectiveness with cost-benefit analysis. http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/06-01-1201.pdf
- TASC, “No-Entry: Improving Public Safety through Cost-Effective
Alternatives to Incarceration in Illinois” (May 2007)
This report issued in 2007 by the Center for Health and Justice at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC) looks at a systemwide approach to diverting drug-involved offenders to treatment instead of incarceration, estimating a potential cost savings of $223.3 million to the state. http://www.centerforhealthandjustice.org/IllinoisNoEntry_Final.pdf
- Roosevelt University, “Through a Different Lens” (Section III)
(2007)
The Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy and Roosevelt University’s Institute of Metropolitan Affair released this review of “lessons learned” in other states that have enacted legislation dealing with drug offenders, which includes recommendations for Illinois. The report can be accessed at this link; however, the packet included only Section III, which summarizes Illinois’ current diversion infrastructure for drug-involved offenders, as well as other large-scale diversion initiatives across the country. http://www.roosevelt.edu/pdfs/07DifferentLens.pdf
- Redeploy Illinois Annual Report (November 2008)
The report on the third year of this pilot juvenile justice diversion program demonstrates its effectiveness, successfully diverting nearly 400 youth from prison over three years, representing a potential cost avoidance to the state of $18.7 million.
- Pew Center on the States, “1 in 31: The Long Reach of American
Corrections Illinois” (March 2009)
This national report on the explosive growth in the number of people on probation or parole finds that the population of the American corrections system is at more than 7.3 million, or 1 in every 31 U.S. adults. Included are state fact sheets including one for Illinois, where 1 in every 38 adults is under correctional supervision.
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/PSPP_1in31_report_FINAL_WEB_3-26-09.pdf
- Pew Center on the States: “What Works in Community Corrections:
An Interview with Dr. Joan Petersilia” (November 2007)
Dr. Joan Petersilia is one of the nation’s most respected experts on community corrections. She spoke with Pew’s Public Safety Performance Project about what policy makers should know about the research on these critical programs.
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/Petersilia-Community-Corrections-QandA.pdf
- Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers, “Women in
Prison Fact Sheet” (2009)
Includes recent statistics on the number of women in jail and prison in Illinois and the particular challenges they face, often as mothers of young children.
http://www.claim-il.org/thirdcoast//claim-il.org/about.html
DAY-OF MATERIALS:
Presenters and Materials
Rebecca Janowitz, Director of Reentry Policy – Office of the Cook County Sheriff
A Context for Considering Reentry Efforts for Cook County
Mark Kammerer, Director of Treatment Programs, Cook County State's Attorney's Office
Mark has been the Director of Treatment Programs for the Cook County, Illinois, State’s Attorney’s Office for over 8 years. As such, he has responsibility for a large percentage of cases which are disposed of utilizing alternative prosecution/sentencing, including coordinating the States Attorney’s Office’s role in the County’s four drug Courts, serving as coordinator of the County’s three felony Mental Health Courts and the County’s Veterans Court, and is the Director of the SAO’s drug diversion program for both felony and misdemeanor offenders. He also coordinates, in conjunction with the Circuit Court of Cook County, the Chicago Police Department, and Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital, an educational program for high school students related to the practical consequences of illegal activity typically associated with young adults. Prior to assuming his current position, Mark served in the behavioral healthcare field his entire career, in direct service provision, as well as supervisory and administrative positions. He served in various positions at Evanston (Illinois) Hospital in the fifteen years immediately prior to his present position, most recently as the clinical coordinator of ambulatory behavioral healthcare. He earned two undergraduate degrees from Loyola University of Chicago and a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Information on Cook County Drug Treatment Programs
Lieutenant Jeffry Murphy, CIT Coordinator, Chicago Police Department
A 38 year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, Lt. Murphy is currently the CIT Coordinator for the Department. To date, the Chicago Police Department has trained over 1,000 police officers as mental health crisis intervention officers.
Maggie Peck, Program Associate, Vera Institute of Justice, Center on Sentencing and Corrections
Maggie Peck is a Program Associate at the Vera Institute of Justice’s Center on Sentencing and Corrections. Maggie works with Center staff to deliver technical assistance to state and local governments that seek to improve their criminal justice policies and practices. Before joining Vera in June 2007, Maggie worked at the Midtown Community Court. As the director of workforce development, she managed the court’s onsite job training program for individuals with criminal records, and as the community initiatives planner, she served as a liaison between community stakeholders and the court’s operations. Maggie received a B.A. in English literature and language from the University of Michigan and is an M.P.A. candidate at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service.
Alison Shames, Associate Director, Vera Institute of Justice, Center on Sentencing and Corrections
Alison Shames serves as the Associate Director for the Vera Institute of Justice’s Center on Sentencing and Corrections. In this capacity, she oversees the daily operations of the Center’s work and leads technical assistance projects in Alabama and Illinois. Previously, Alison worked in Sydney, Australia, where she served as executive officer to the Committee of Criminal Justice CEOs in the attorney general’s Department of New South Wales. Before that, Alison was the state copyright manager for the state of New South Wales. From 2002 through 2005, Alison was corporate counsel for Fairfax Media, one of Australia’s largest media companies. Alison also worked for several years as a corporate associate with a law firm in San Francisco. Immediately following law school, Alison clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Vance in New Orleans. Alison has a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.
Strategic Corrections –Alternatives to Incarceration: National Context