To Reduce Repeat Offenses, Governor Markell Releases Re-entry Plan

Press Release

To Reduce Repeat Offenses, Governor Markell Releases Re-entry Plan

Cross-agency coordination critical to preparing inmates for productive future;
New "I-ADAPT" process will start re-entry planning at beginning of sentence

Inmates unprepared to succeed when reintroduced to society are far more likely to commit additional crimes when released. To reduce these repeat offenses and curb the cost of re-incarceration, Governor Jack Markell tasked several Cabinet Secretaries in January to come up with some real solutions to these pressing problems without increasing up-front cost to taxpayers.

Today, the group and the Governor presented the results of their work - a plan that gets state agencies working together to help inmates prior to their release as they tackle problems such as finding a job, housing and combating drug and alcohol addictions. It requires several agencies to coordinate their outreach to inmates; changes how services are delivered to maximize results; and initiates a system for re-entry planning that begins at point of incarceration rather than at release.

Because it requires agencies to work together to be more efficient, effective, responsive and responsible, the plan to reduce repeat offenses should achieve results without additional costs to taxpayers.

"Most of the people in our prisons will someday get out. We can simply turn them out without a plan for success and hope that they will not commit another crime or we can help them find the right path to become productive citizens. The first choice likely ends in more crime and the enormous costs of re-incarceration. The second, which is the path this plan starts us on, helps cut costs and hopefully helps cut crime," Markell said. "Waiting until an inmate is about to be released is far too late to start thinking about re-entry."

While developing the plan, the group's work included eight public forums, four visits to state correctional facilities and input from the business community, community, faith-based organizations and members of the criminal justice community.

"No community can sustain high levels of incarceration and recidivism without comprehensive rehabilitation. It should not be lost on any of us that the Governor, without urging, made fixing a broken system one of his first priorities," said Dr. Tony Allen, chairman of the Hope Commission. "The work of the task force is an incredibly important first step in addressing this problem, but the real responsibility lies with all of us—communities, faith-based organizations, businesses, government and the public. We look forward to working with the Governor, his Cabinet and our community to make this plan a tangible reality."

Recognizing that about 97 percent of the state's inmate population will eventually be released, Gov. Markell stressed the importance of working to keep them from returning to the correctional system. Aside from protecting public safety, the plan is designed to save taxpayer money since housing an inmate costs Delaware taxpayers about $30,000 per year, which is about 20 times the cost of probation. The current prison population is just under 7,000 inmates, with 2,800 expected to be released within the next two years.

The plan was developed by a Cabinet committee representing the Departments of Correction, Labor, Education, Health and Social Services and the Delaware State Housing Authority. It launches a new system for re-entry planning that begins when an inmate is incarcerated and moves into a more rigorous phase six months prior to an offender's release. Working together, the state agencies represented on the Cabinet committee will help offenders who struggle with obstacles that lead them back to criminal activity such as a lack of education and job skills, homelessness, substance abuse issues and problems finding work because of their criminal history.

"The plan is very ambitious and has all the right elements to make a difference in the re-entry process," said Dr. Christine Visher, director of the Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies at the University of Delaware and a nationally recognized expert in offender re-entry. "I am pleased that agencies realize they each have a part to play and have agreed to work in cooperation and coordination with each other. These efforts should substantially improve the program."

Some ideas already established for the agencies to address include: job readiness workshops at correctional work-release facilities, increasing efforts to provide incarcerated offenders with job skills that will help them in the workforce, prioritizing the offenders most in need of vocational training, facilitating offenders' efforts to find affordable housing, identifying offenders with mental health, substance abuse problems or disabilities that require services in anticipation of release and establishing a formal Department of Correction re-entry policy.

The plan provides concrete next steps, including the launch of an executive order that will: adopt the plan, establish a Cabinet committee to oversee its implementation and create an Individual Assessment, Discharge and Planning Team (I-ADAPT) to assist in implementing it. The I-ADAPT team will include representatives from the agencies represented on the Cabinet committee (the Departments of Correction, Labor, Education, Health and Social Services and the Delaware State Housing Authority), as well as representatives from faith-based and community organizations and an ex-offender. Also, the involved state agencies will sign a Memorandum of Agreement on their roles and responsibilities in cooperatively implementing a successful re-entry plan for offenders.

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