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| Bill to reduce recidivism |
| By The Capital-Journal |
| Published: 05/29/2007 |
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TOPEKA, KS - The state could avoid having to build an estimated 1,300 additional prison beds over the next 10 years, according to the Department of Corrections, with the implementation of a recently signed bill creating a grant program to reduce recidivism. The $4.4 million bill, signed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius this past week, offers performance-based grants for community corrections to design programs that reduce recidivism by at least 20 percent, an idea modeled after a Shawnee County trial. "By holding individuals who committed less serious crimes accountable for completing treatment and vocational programs, we will ensure we have space in our prisons to keep violent offenders behind bars," Sebelius said. Under the law, counties can apply for the grant after designing programs that aid in the transition to the outside. Programs could include drug treatment, job training and placement, housing, transportation to jobs, mental health services and family counseling for low-level offenders on probation, said Rep. Pat Colloton, R-Leawood, a sponsor of the bill. If a county doesn't reduce its recidivism rate by at least 20 percent, it would be ineligible for future funding. "By improving the outcomes of people released from prison, we are in effect, ensuring the safety of our communities," Colloton said. The state's investment in the program could be recouped by reducing the cost of sending parole and probation violators to prison, Colloton said. And, she said, the state might be able to avoid spending millions of dollars on new prison construction. The Kansas Sentencing Commission projected at the beginning of the year that the state's prison population could increase by 26 percent over the next 10 years if the Legislature didn't act. Marshall Clement, policy analyst for the Council of State Governments Justice Center in New York, said the number of people admitted to prison in Kansas for violating conditions of probation while in community corrections supervision escalated from 1,330 in 2001 to 2,031 in 2006. The new law took its cue from the Shawnee County Re-entry Program, which included educational programs, substance abuse and mental health treatment, and job training. Eight percent of those who completed the program had new violations within a year. Of the program participants who didn't finish the entire course, 16 percent had new violations in the same period. The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Council on State Governments offered help with finance the law. "It's really cutting-edge stuff," said Adam Gelb, director of the Pew Charitable Trusts' Public Safety Performance Project. Added Kathy Damron, consultant for CSG, "On the other hand, it's Kansas common sense to look at the circumstances and say there's got to be a better way to do this." Damron said Shawnee County would be one of the most likely candidates for grant money because of its higher rate of recidivism. Also attached in the bill is an incentive program proposed by Colloton, a lawyer, for prison inmates to successfully complete substance abuse treatment, job training or high school equivalency programs prior to release from prison. The Kansas Department of Corrections would reward inmates convicted of low-level offenses with a potential 60-day sentence reduction if they finish these programs designed to keep them out of trouble upon release. |
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