Mary Hutch is riding a new high these days. A recent graduate of National-Louis University in Chicago, she is the proud mother of two teens, ages 15 and 17, a new homeowner and a supervising case manager at a unique reentry reporting center in Chicago Heights, Ill., where she helps high-risk parolees wind their way through an intensive supervision and treatment program.

Today's high is quite different than highs of past for Hutch. In fact, few would guess today that her past involved years in and out of the criminal justice system and time behind bars, battling criminal behavior including retail theft and forgery convictions and serious substance abuse issues such as teen alcohol abuse and heroin addiction.

"When I was released from the Illinois penitentiary the first time, I had absolutely no idea what to do. I went through a two-week class before being released to parole that supposedly would help ease me into society," she says. "But I remember thinking, 'What do I do now? What do I do next?' As a result, it was 90 days before I caught another case."

After nine more months in prison, Hutch says she went through the same release process, only to commit a new crime and return to prison again after a very brief period. "I tried on my own, and actually thought I'd drink instead of do heroin, not knowing that the alcohol would eventually lead me back to the drugs. I just didn't know," she explains.

After her next - and last time behind bars in 1997 - Hutch was mandated to report to an experimental reentry center opening in her Englewood neighborhood, a community known for its high crime rate, unemployment, and family dissolution issues. Called the BI Southside Spotlight Reentry Center, this prisoner reentry reporting center is funded by the Illinois Department of Corrections Field Services Division and operated by BI Incorporated, a community corrections service provider.

At first, Hutch was not happy to be directed to the reentry center, but like many who go the center, she decided to give it a chance or face a return to jail. "I was thinking I'd done my time, [and] that the staff at the center would treat me the same as on the inside," she says. "But once I got there, it was totally different. Right away, they addressed me as 'Miss Hutch.' That meant a lot to me."

That doesn't mean it wasn't difficult or stressful for her at the BI Spotlight Reentry Center. It involved intensive supervision, especially for the first 30 days, with no-excuse 8 p.m. curfews, mandatory reporting to the center, random drug and alcohol screens, mandatory classes and group meetings.

This approach to reentry has garnered national attention from the likes of respected author Joan Petersilia, who says the center "makes perfect sense" in her latest book, When Prisoners Come Home.

While criminal justice experts are applauding initiatives such as the re-entry center, corrections agencies have also realized the need for this type of intervention.

High-risk parolees are part of the more than 630,000 people released each year from corrections institutions in the United States. Most face a range of obstacles upon returning to the community such as substance abuse addictions, underemployment, a lack of education and life skills that the Spotlight Reentry Centers in Illinois are geared to address. These facts, along with projections that in 2005 an estimated 42,000 offenders will be released from Illinois prisons and that more than half will return prompted state officials to take action.

Since entering office in 2003, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich announced his intention to improve public safety by targeting these high recidivism rates when he unveiled a four-year initiative called the "Operation Spotlight" Parole Reform Plan, which dramatically increases the number of parole agents, tightens supervision of parolees, advances the use of alternative monitoring options and graduated sanctions, and develops a new case management system designed to move offenders away from crime and drugs and toward honest work.

After close examination of the Southside Day Reporting Center, where Hutch was assigned, the Governor directed the Illinois Department of Corrections to expand upon the model and create "Spotlight Reentry Centers" in six more locations across the state.  This program is believed to be one the largest, if not the largest, of its kind in the nation. The Spotlight Reentry Centers are located in the Illinois cities of Aurora, Rockford, Decatur, East St. Louis, Chicago Heights, and West Grand. They oversee almost 700 participants daily.

These Spotlight Reentry Centers follow a highly structured, research-based approach that includes intensive supervision and monitoring, treatment and training that is matched to a risk-needs assessment for each participant, and links to community-based resources that will stabilize the individual in the community and reduce the likelihood of recidivism.

A unique factor for all participants who are directed to these Spotlight Reentry Centers is their background. Participants typically have multiple convictions, and are at high risk for new crime, new convictions, and a return to prison, a costly problem that Illinois has spent time and energy combating.

"With almost half of our prison population filled with repeat offenders, it is critical to stop this 'revolving door syndrome,' " said Tom Hurley, BI Illinois state director. "Focusing on offenders that are in violation of their community supervision or are at high risk of re-offense goes to the heart of those who threaten public safety. If we can impact this population in a positive way, we can all sleep a little better."

Hurley praised Illinois' intensive approach to reentry in terms of its breadth and its structure, which includes being located directly next to parole offices.

"Parole officers know that we are a resource they can draw on immediately if they have a person who needs attention and intervention.  This proactive approach helps us prevent a downward spiral a person might begin and eventual parole failure," he said.

Other treatment and training being delivered at the Illinois Spotlight Reentry Centers include: alcohol and drug abuse treatment, job skills development, domestic violence treatment, victim awareness, anger management, parenting and family groups, and relapse prevention programs. Random drug testing, Breathalyzer tests, daily check-ins, and verification of employment and outside activities, such as AA or NA meetings are mandated as well, depending on the assessed needs of the participant.

Because of her experiences at the state's first re-entry center Hutch has been able to turn her life around.

Today, Hutch oversees programs for 85 parolees daily directed to the Chicago Heights Spotlight Reentry Center. "When this opportunity presented itself, I knew this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I look forward to coming to work. This is more than a job to me. I love working with this population. It is so rewarding to see participants progress."

Hutch points to one program at the reporting center that helped change her life while she was a participant - a cognitive restructuring program geared to break entrenched criminal thinking patterns. "It helped change the way I think about my behavior, how I make decisions," she said.

Another class still impacting Hutch's life today is an educational program in which she completed a GED certification. Once she completed the course, Hutch and a staff member from BI went to enroll her in Chicago State University. She then transferred to National-Louis University, where she graduated this spring with a degree in applied behavioral sciences. She is enrolled in an MBA program this fall. 

Hutch knows firsthand how hard participants at these centers will work, but believes the pay off is rewarding. "I tell people at the orientation classes to be encouraged, follow the rules, and hang in there. Criminals have a problem following rules. If you just follow the rules and let the program work, a change just might happen," she said.

Resources:

BI - http://www.bi.com
Illinois Department of Corrections - http://www.idoc.state.il.us/