Anthony WilliamsDenise Hudson,

Sharon Vickerson, Trinette Baldwin,

December 13, 2012Marygrove College

SW 314Professor Diane McMilan,LMSW

Attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, aiming at a more effective penal system

WNPJ Prison Reform Work Group Mission- Advocacy for sustainable, community-

based solutions to crime, that go beyond punishment and incarceration.

Objectives- Objectives:  

Outreach and education on prison injustice. Organize a grassroots campaign to overturn WI

Department of Corrections' ban on prisoners receiving used books from retail bookstores. 

Build a strong alliance with the WI ACLU Restore the Vote campaign to restore the vote to all un-incarcerated individuals. 

Critical Resistance seeks to build an international movement to end the prison industrial complex (PIC) by challenging the belief that caging and controlling people makes us safe. We believe that basic necessities such as food, shelter, and freedom are what really make our communities secure. As such, our work is part of global struggles against inequality and powerlessness. The success of the movement requires that it reflect communities most affected by the PIC. Because we seek to abolish the PIC, we cannot support any work that extends its life or scope.

L'Tzedek and Orthodox Rabbis Support Prison Reform

Mission: To support, empower and unify prisoners’ loved ones and concerned citizens to bring quality humane treatment for all that are incarcerated. To provide accurate information that will encourage education of our fellow citizens, communities and elected officials. Effective accountability will promote safer prisons, safer public and economical cost savings.

Prison Reform Needs social workers!!!!!!

When most of us think about prisons, we tend to imagine them merely as places we send people convicted of crimes. While prisons serve this purpose, they have also become a form of treatment for a significant number of our most troubled, mentally ill, and vulnerable citizens, most of whom are released and returned to their communities. 

Gaps and Flaws with Prison Reform Programs and Services

Gaps in prison reform

Monitoring progress, GPS monitoring of prisoner location, consistent reporting and follow up by parole agents.

Decrease in funding. Lack of communication between

agencies.

Programs for Prison Reform

There are programs established to help reform offenders once the are paroled (Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative, Sex Offender Management)

Let’s take a look at some of the programs and their flaws.

Michigan Prison Re-entry Initiative MPRI program was designed to help the

thousands of offenders released early due to overcrowding.

Offenders are given job search assistance, housing, transportation, and supportive services for mental and physical health.

MPRI Flaws

Transportation assistance funding was delayed.

Case managers were not adequately trained to handle returning citizens.

Returning Citizens had no identification which made applying for additional services difficult.

Agents had caseloads to large therefore, unable to provide monitoring of returning citizens

Sex Offenders

Of released offenders yearly about 2% of them are sex offenders.

Although sex offenders have lengthy sentences and are not regularly released until their earliest release date, there are some that get paroled earlier.

Sex Offenders Continued

Sex offenders are put on GPS systems and assigned agents that specialize in monitoring sex offenders.

There are currently 124 sex offender therapy groups in Michigan.

There are approximately 1,130sex offenders Michigan’s state prisons.

Approximately 86 psychologists lead the groups, and 120 agents that handle sex offenders.

Sex Offender Flaws

Therapy starts one year before they are released instead of during incarceration.

Caseloads are to large to monitor effectively.

Not enough staff available to monitor GPS system daily.

Community agencies are not adequately trained to handle sex offenders.

Mental Health Concerns

MDOC does not segregate mentally ill offenders from other offenders.

Segregation only happens when there is a security risk.

When a mentally ill prisoner experiences an manic episode care is given at one of the hospitals or inpatient facilities.

Mental Health Concerns Continued

Mentally ill offenders are checked daily by a mental health professional.

Brand name drugs are given when available (if not available the generic is given) to minimize episodes.

Mental Health Flaws

There are thousands of mentally ill prisoners in Michigan’s 32 prisons.

The mentally ill are segregated from general population.

Approx. 200 of those inmates are locked up 23 hours a day with only 1 hour of exercise.

They are often denied needed medications.

Mental Health Flaws Continued

This population taken off brand name drugs with no equivalent generic.

Mentally ill prisoners are checked by prison guards who have not been properly trained to handle the mentally ill.

Ways To Correct

Train parole agents, community agencies and prison guards to adequately and effectively handle all populations instead of using cookie cutter practices.

Increase the number of parole agents so that caseloads are not so high.

Reconstruct mental health policies so that the mentally ill can receive effective care.

Social And Cultural Factors That Influence Policy

Detrimental social impact.

• Imprisonment disrupts relationships and weakens social cohesion.

• The maintenance of such cohesion is based on long term relationship between spouses, parents, children.

• Mass imprisonment produces a deep social transformation in families and communities.

Social and Cultural Factors Continued

• Prisons are filled with predominantly minorities.

• Some are poorly educated and from socio-economically deprived sectors of the general population.

Social and Cultural Factors Continued

With minimal access to adequate health services. Health conditions can deteriorate while in prison.

Prison’s are overcrowded, nutrition is poor, sanitation inadequate and access to fresh air was often unavailable

Some prisoners have very serious health issues such as, (e.g., Psychiatric disorders, HIV infection, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, sexually transmitted diseases, and skin diseases.)

Continued

• Long term imprisonment can may be a virtual death sentence.

• Poor food sanitation, and lack of medical care can cause wide spread disease and death in prisons.

• The use of fines, community service, education and substance abuse and mental health treatment could improve prison reform.

• Note that this goal may conflict with other goals for the criminal justice system.

The Political Processes Involved in Prison Reform

Social Groups

Liberal and conservative groups such as the Open Society Institute, The Public Welfare Foundation, the ACLU and non-ideological groups such as Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Justice Fellowship have pressed for reform. The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a conservative group, that has a project called Right On Crime which defends the “lock-em” status quo.

Major forces

Former Gov. Jennifer Granholm and former Department of Corrections Director Pat Caruso developed a program to release non-violent prisoners to ease overcrowding and help reduce the budget.

The program was entitled Michigan Prisoner Reentry Initiative (MPRI)

The Effects

There was such an overwhelming call to balance Michigan’s budget, that sloppy oversight and quick implementation was done to save money.

This caused released prisoners to not be properly supervised or monitored.

The Effects Continued

Michigan’s efforts to cut the deficit and laying off of parole and probation agents put the public at risk.

Due to lack of supervision, some of those released have returned back to prison after committing violent crimes.

SUMMARY In order for the Prison Reform to work

those who are making decisions must come up with a realistic approach to the rising prison population.

The Michigan Department Of Corrections must be willing to be honest about the number of prisoners that they lose contact with.

SUMMARY CONTINUED Michigan must find another way to trim

the deficit . More money must be allocated for

prison reform. The public must demand for safety. Parole and Probation agents must be

better trained and held accountable for not tightening their supervision.