Press Release  Caccaviello Joins Other DAs in Supporting Re-entry Funds to Fight Recidivism

PITTSFIELD — Mass DA’s Unanimously Support

Re-Entry Funds to Fight Recidivism

The Massachusetts District Attorney’s Association voted to unanimously support the $5 Million budget request (attached) of Community Resources for Justice for community based residential re-entry programs designed to decrease recidivism – the return to jail of the newly freed.  

“The recent study of Massachusetts incarceration done by the Council of State Governments – at the request of all three branches of state government – made very clear that while we do not share in the national crisis of mass incarceration, we do have a challenge of recidivism,” said Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey, the president of the Massachusetts District Attorney’s Association.

According to data published by The Sentencing Project, Massachusetts’s incarceration rate of 179 per 100,000 of population is now 49^th lowest of the 50 states in overall incarceration, just slightly ahead of Maine. The rate in the Commonwealth is less than half the national average of 458 and less than a quarter of the highest state, Louisiana, at 776.

“The low incarceration rate in Massachusetts is not an accident. It is the result of significant hard work by the Legislature, the District Attorneys and other stakeholders in crafting a system that keeps incarceration and crime rates simultaneously low,” ^[i]District Attorney Morrissey said. While those numbers also arguably suggest that the appropriate individuals are being incarcerated, “it is clear that we can do more to reduce recidivism,” Morrissey said.

“In 2012, the District Attorneys led the effort to reform problematic sentencing for many kinds of drug charges while increasing the weights that trigger those charges,” Morrissey said. “At the same time, we were pushing for increased post-sentencing and post-incarceration support and supervision, implementing drug courts and diversion programs and working directly to stop recidivism.”

The MDAA welcomes the advocacy of Community Resources for Justice in this worthy cause. The  Justice Reinvestment in Massachusetts Report ^[ii] (on P. 4) that nearly half of people admitted to county Houses of Corrections and more than a quarter of people admitted to state Department of Corrections facilities are on community supervision at the time of their admission.

“It is pretty clear from those numbers that recidivism is the fire where we should be pouring more of our water,” Morrissey said. “The District Attorneys have been working at this for quite a while. We believe Community Resources for Justice and the defense bar, in advocating here to meaningfully address recidivism, reinforce our position at a critical time; we hope this funding is written into law.”

Berkshire District Attorney Paul J. Caccaviello said, “The importance of this effort cannot be overstated.  The legislation, if approved, is good news for the people of Berkshire County and beyond.  It will help pave the way for those reentering society post incarceration.  This proposal is a proactive step in the right direction toward maintaining the safety and well being of the communities we live in.”  

[i] Massachusetts is 14^th nationally in overall crime rate per https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/crime-and-corrections/public-safety

[ii] The Working Group compiling this report included Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe.

__________________________________

Proposed line item for Community-Based Residential Reentry Services:

For the establishment of a grant program to be administered by the office of the commissioner of probation for community-based residential reentry programs to reduce recidivism by providing transitional housing, workforce development and case management to individuals returning to the community from state and county jails/prisons.  Eligible placements include inmates of state and county jails/prisons approved pursuant to MGL ch. 127, s. 9 and 86F, individuals on parole or on probation.  Provided further that these programs provide supervision and accountability as needed and that the money shall be awarded through a competitive process to qualified nonprofit organizations with a documented history of providing comprehensive, evidence-based community residential reentry services, and applicants shall provide a plan for ensuring that proposed programs shall be implemented with fidelity to a research-based or evidence-based program design and that not less than $1,000,000 shall be spent on women and elderly citizens returning from incarceration.  Provided further that the department of probation will provide an annual report about the outcomes and recidivism rate of the participants …………....…. $5,000,000

###