CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Manhattan DA's office to pump $7M into programs that slow cycle of prison reentry

The New York Daily News - 4/10/2018

April 09--He puts crooks in jail for a living, and now Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance wants to help them when they get out.

Vance announced Monday that his office is spending more than $7 million to help recently released prisoners reenter society, with money going to expand health care, education, housing, and employment opportunities.

"Law enforcement must firmly and finally acknowledge that when we play a role in sending someone to prison, we own some of the responsibility for what happens when they get out," Vance said.

Vance said 42% of people released from New York prisons return within three years.

"This revolving door is not just a tragedy for reentering New Yorkers, their families, and their communities," Vance said. "It's a public safety problem."

The money will go to city advocacy programs that help ex-cons find jobs, health care and places to live.

The announcement follows the recent publication of a Harvard Kennedy School of Government study which shows that early interventions in health care, housing, employment and other social services may help to reduce prison recidivism.

Vance has awarded grants of up to 3 1/2 years totaling $7.2 million.

Award recipients include the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene'sNYC Health Justice Network, which received a little more than $3 million, and the Prisoner Reentry Institute's College Initiative Program, which received about $2 million.

The College and Community Fellowship's Build-Out of Student Services received about $2 million, and the Osborne Association's Kinship Reentry received about $75,000.

Mary Bassett, the city heatlh commissioner, said inmates walk out of jail and prison with much higher rates of substance abuse, diabetes, high blood pressure and other health issues than the population at large.

"The release from prison can be a really risky period in terms of survival," Bassett said.

Their risk of death in the first year of release is 12 times higher, she said.

"The fact is that after release, they have a higher risk of death," she said.

"They have an awful lot to navigate. We hope it serves as an anchor as people begin to rebuild their lives."

Vance said the funding is in line with plans to shut down the embattled city jail.

"It made no sense to send someone to prison without a plan when they get out," Vance said. "It may even help us close Rikers."

___

(c)2018 New York Daily News

Visit New York Daily News at www.nydailynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.