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Date
December 6, 2022
Faculty
• Hon. Stacey Fortes, Chief Justice, District Court Department
• Hon. Lisa Ann Grant- Associate Justice, Dorchester Division, Boston Municipal Court
• Vincent L. Lorenti, Esq.- Director of the Office of Community Corrections
• Kristin Dame, Massachusetts LMHC- Director of Private Social Work Services, Committee for Public Counsel Services
• Myriam E. Feliz, Esq.- Assistant District Attorney, Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office
• Shayla Mombeleur, Esq.- Staff Attorney, Public Defender Division, Committee for Public Counsel Services
• Rachelle Steinberg, Esq.- Assistant Superintendent, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department
• Melina Munoz Turco, Esq.- Co-Founder, JusticeApp
Description
Recidivism- people going back to jail or prison after being released - is an intractable problem in our criminal justice system. The Criminal Justice Reform Acts of 2018 included many policy changes intended to address this issue and reduce recidivism, including increasing access to treatment, decriminalizing certain conduct, increasing restorative justice approaches, focusing on evidence-based practices, and improving data collection are among them.
Another way to attack the problem of recidivism is to support people returning from jail and prison with the resources they need to get on the right track. Chapter 122 of the Acts of 2022, the General Appropriations Act, created the Ralph Gants Reentry Services Program at Community Justice Support Centers so that, across the Commonwealth, every person returning to the community has a place to go for help with a State ID, housing, education, employment, or anything else that is a barrier to successful reintegration. This is one way that criminal justice reform in Massachusetts has culminated in increased resources.
While increased resources after release are necessary, successful reentry does not begin at the end of a prison sentence. In fact, understanding the myriad needs of individuals at the time of sentencing is critical to planning for rehabilitation rather than merely managing a crisis from one institution to another.
This program will provide a voice to those previously incarcerated - informing practitioners about the challenges of returning to the community after being incarcerated. It will also describe resources available in the House of Correction and through the Community Justice Support Centers to support successful reentry and to emphasize how reentry can be shaped before a person is sentenced to a period of incarceration.
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