Kentucky, the state that led the nation with the highest rate of recidivism last year, has begun to make progress in reducing the number of ex-offenders that return to prison within the first year of their release. Sounds great doesn't it? But there's more to the numbers than may immedately meet the eye. While the 2008 rate of recidivism (29.5 percent) is the lowest since 2000, at least some of this progress, according to a recent statement by Corrections Commissioner LaDonna Thompson, is the result of changes in probation and parole procedures. These changes include decreasing the number of people going back to prison due to certain technical parole violations such as missed curfew or failing to provide an updated address in a timely fashion.
Now I'm all for anything that reduces the cost to incarcerate, and certainly these changes have made big savings ($447 million) there is still a lot of work to be done to insure that ex-offenders both don't commit new crimes AND become productive tax paying citizens. That's where programs such as Mission Behind Bars and Beyond is helping.
Mission Behind Bars and Beyond trains community volunteers to create small Accountability Teams that surround an ex-offender, offering mentoring, goal setting and accountability of goal attainment. Ex-offenders and volunteers work together to identify needs such as housing, transportation, education, and employment, and set goals to address those issues. Team members create a mentoring community, a safe environment of trust that allows an ex-offender to learn skills necessary for successful transition into society.
Mission Behind Bars and Beyond is funded by donations from individuals like you who have an interest in helping the marginalized of society improve their situation. To learn more, be sure to visit http://www.missionbehindbarsandbeyond.org/
Working together with volunteers, prison officials and local and state governments, we all benefit.
