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March 30, 2009
NH To Create Department-Level Agency For Parolees
NH To Create Department-Level Agency For Parolees
March 29th, 2009
New Hampshire Corrections Commissioner William Wrenn, with the support of Gov. John Lynch, is creating a new state division to help keep parolees free even after they have violated their parole agreements, as long as the violations do not involve new crimes.
Wrenn estimates the division, called the Division of Community Corrections, will cost between $1.4 million and $2 million and involve hiring between 10 and 20 case managers at 10 local parole offices around the state. He hopes to have at least some of the programs up and running by summer. “I’d like these positions to work with individuals out in the community, keep (parolees) in their houses and jobs and with their families,” Wrenn said. “If they do step over the line, deal with them there; don’t always bring them back.” The aim is to help parolees succeed and reduce costs, Wrenn said …
According to Wrenn, keeping an inmate in prison costs about $100 a day plus their full medical care, while keeping someone under the direction of field services costs about $2.80 a day. Even if the cost went up to $5 to $10 a day with new programming, he said, that would be a substantial savings …
Veteran probation/parole officer Keith Phelps said the pressure is coming from the top of the Department of Corrections to work with offenders in the community rather than return them to prison when they violate parole. He also said he understands why Commissioner Wrenn is exerting that pressure. “It’s budget-driven. I blame the Legislature for slashing budgets,” Phelps said … Keeping parole violators out of prison without adequate services only increases the likelihood they will commit new crimes, and there are not enough substance-abuse and mental health treatment options available in the community, Phelps said …
Paul Cascio, a corrections lieutenant and president of local 255 of the New England Police Benevolent Association… believes budget dollars, not public safety, are driving changes in the DOC … Cascio said Wrenn’s parole plan won’t work because there aren’t enough treatment programs in the community to support it, especially when some parole and probation officers’ caseloads already are more than double what they should be. “If you’re going to put more people on the street, more supervision is required — more enforcement and more programs,” Cascio said. “There are not enough programs to meet the needs of people getting out of prison already” …
Parole Board Chairman George Khoury said Wrenn promised there would be more substance-abuse counselors at local parole offices. Khoury also expects greater participation from community treatment services working under contract with the state. “Nobody is minimizing how difficult it is to overcome drug and alcohol problems, but we need to give them all the assistance we can,” Khoury said. “Our job is to do the best we can and never at the public risk.” In preparing to open the Division of Community Corrections, according to Wrenn, state officials are working with the National Institute of Corrections on writing policies and procedures.
http://www.correctionsreporter.com/2009/03/29/nh-to-create-department-level-agency-for-parolees/
Posted by lois at March 30, 2009 02:21 PM