On 7/15/2017, CRESC Board Member Pat Stringer shared the following:
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"Yesterday morning Pam Roberts and I toured SCI Camp Hill with three Deputy Secretaries from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.  The facility houses 3,500 inmates including those transferred from SCI Pittsburgh and the state of Vermont.

We specifically wanted to see the Re-entry area where inmates are "short timers" like we referred to when I was in the United States Army.  These inmates will be released soon after their home plans are approved, etc.

We observed them with a counselor receiving instructions on what to expect when they return home.  The group of about 61 were both young, old, African American, Caucasian and Latino. The counsellor recognized me from CRESC meetings and greeted me warmly.  The staff informed that Larry Washington visits frequently.

One of the inmates from the Lancaster area explained on the computers how they create their resumes, do job searches and look for training opportunities.  This particular man was hoping to get into welding and planned to investigate CareerLink in Lancaster.  I suggested that he look at Thaddeus Stevens in Lancaster also.

Inmates are provided tablets to correspond with family and friends and to keep their resumes.  Upon release they get a "thumb drive" and the tablet is returned to the vendor to be "scrubbed" of all information and recycled for the next inmate.

The staff was a little confused because they referred to training at HACC Middletown Campus and I remarked I did not know they had a campus there. As it turned out they were misinformed and meant the Midtown Campus in Midtown Harrisburg.

We toured the Education Building which consisted of a computer lab with Dell computers. The instructor, Mr. Moran had certificates from Millersville and Villanova Universities.  Mr. Bruce Elliott, a Bishop McDevitt graduate and SCI Camp Hill Principal turned out to be the brother-in-law of Helen Elliott, the President of Coalition on Labor Union Women, one of the four labor organizations of which I am a member and has indicated their interest in mass incarceration as directed by their national office.

The tour included visits to the regular library and the law library.  We also toured the Graphics and Print Shop that was supervised by a Nigerian gentleman.  He readily showed me publications in Spanish, Hebrew and other languages.  They produce posters, maps, calendars and a host of other items.  Due to time restraints, we did not get into the barber shop which gives 80 haircuts a day or the chapel since it was approaching the dinner time.

We walked freely on the grounds among the inmates in brown and blue attire. Those in blue were awaiting classification.  Those in brown just regular inmates.  One said hello and winked at me.  The CO's spoke and said "Have a nice day".  We did not recognize any inmates at the prison that we knew.

I inquired about Eric Frein who is now out at SCI Greene with Jerry Sandusky. SCI thought they were going to get Bill Cosby but that case is far from being resolved!

The Deputy Secretaries inquired if I had ever been there before and I told them that I had visited years ago before the "riot" with my mother.  We attended a boxing match between Camp Hill and Pittsburgh.

We returned to the main gate, thanked our escorts and agreed it had been an interesting tour.  Deputy Executive Secretary Shirley Moore Smeal informed us that tours are welcomed as well as volunteers. If we required any additional information, please let her know and she will get it.

(NDG) We have a problem. Black men are disappearing at alarming rates — and so is their vote. They weren’t abducted. They haven’t gone missing in the woods. They have been sent away. The United States prison population is the largest in the world, at a staggering 2.3 million prisoners. That nearly doubles the population of Dallas. Our incarceration rates are well above those seen in the Gulags of communist Russia. The swell in the American prison population must be addressed. The signals of a failed penal system are numerous. Ex-offenders more likely to end up back in prison than staying free. Five-year recidivism rates sitting at around 76.6 percent. How many more will be caught in the revolving doors of the American penal system? More importantly, what are we doing wrong?

Looking for a solution, I asked Barrett Brown for input. Barrett is a wildly successful journalist, criminal justice reformer, and activist. He writes for The Intercept, D Magazine, and was mentioned in an episode of House of Cards. He believes the discriminations experienced during by ex-offenders during reintegration is just one of the many causes of our rising recidivism rates. Before I continue, I should also note that Barrett has personal experience with living life after prison. Not only is he a famous journalist, activist, and all-around good guy — he also happens to be an ex-felon.

Like most ex-offenders, Barrett had a few hurdles to jump in the months following his release. Freedom isn’t free for ex-offenders. Barrett’s felony record was preventing him from securing housing. Since he preferred to avoid homelessness, Barrett had to get creative. As a journalist, his first instinct was to reach for his pen. He wrote an article detailing exactly how his criminal record was preventing him access to housing.

“I was only able to secure housing because of my connections. I literally wrote an article in D Magazine saying, ‘Hey, someone rent me an apartment’ . . . obviously, that’s not something most ex-offenders can do.” Within a week of the article being published, Barrett had a roof over his head. “My situation is obviously vastly different from that of most inmates insomuch as that I’m generally respected for the things that I went to prison for and receive a great deal of support that’s not available to most.”

Securing housing tends to difficult for many ex-offenders. Housing status has a significant impact on ex-offender success. For example, if an ex-offender can find housing, secure employment, and maintain economic stability, he is significantly less likely to re-offend than an ex-offender who is homeless and unemployed. Barrett Brown understands exactly how difficult the search for housing can be for an ex-offender.

“There are several issues that make things difficult for ex-felons. One of which is the widespread prohibition apartment rentals”. This prohibition is wide enough to include Section 8 housing programs, which often turn away applicants with a felony record.

This is not to imply that we should throw caution to the wind and allow ex-offenders free reign. We should rely on common sense. Don’t allow a man convicted of child abuse to live next to a school. On the other hand, someone convicted of a non-violent property crime should be able to rent an apartment. Similarly, an HOA should not deny a woman the right to purchase a condo because of a decades-old drug conviction.

We should not fear the prospect ex-offenders living next door as much as we should fear “tough on crime” policy-writers. These laws increased sentence terms and established mandatory minimums. We’ve recently discovered that the more time an inmate spends behind bars, the more likely he is to re-offend after release.

There is a solution to the revolving doors of prison, mass incarceration, and rising recidivism rates. Barrett Brown points to Western Europe’s criminal justice model, saying “these countries have less recidivism because they put less constraints on former inmates so that they can actually get back on their feet.”

Criminality is not a permanent characteristic. It is certainly not genetic. Just like being Black doesn’t make you any more likely to commit a crime than someone who is white, one mistake does not denote an individual’s degree of morality. Remember: a little bit of forgiveness goes a long way.

(The Urban Connection) The Program, “It’s About Change,” once known only as The Program for Female Offenders of South Central Pa., has been a guiding light and resource center for female ex-offenders after incarceration.

Since 1979, this nonprofit agency has been recognized for its work in job search and workforce development, life-skills training and mentor support. Most recently, under the leadership of CEO AliceAnne Frost, The Program is fortifying its mission to support women. AliceAnne has renewed the agency with a strong sense of direction, but understands the difficulties ahead. Also serving as York City Controller, she is familiar with the need to match South Central Pa. citizens with available resources. From The Program, “It’s About Change,” she will combine the agency’s history with a fresh perspective on several recidivism prevention strategies, including Family Reunification.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the female jail population has been the fastest growing correctional population, increasing by an average annual rate of 3.4 percent since 2010. Despite the stats, most reentry programs are primarily designed to meet the needs of male ex-offenders; generally addressing the needs of women by extension. The Program specifically works to mitigate the obstacles facing women and women’s issues post incarceration.

Aside from the need to meet basic requirements like finding a job, getting a home plan or staying clean, women are at higher risk for both opioid use and mental health problems. Beyond that, since 7 in 10 incarcerated women are mothers, they tend to focus on reestablishing family life after an incarceration. The Program’s reentry services, especially Family Reunification, works to meet these needs in and around Harrisburg City.

The Family Reunification Program includes components such as: cognitive behavioral parenting classes, playtime for mothers/children (overseen by a licensed therapist), and meals families can easily prepare as a unit. The combination of activities has shown to help mend familial bonds necessary, not only in preventing recidivism in mothers, but assuaging potential patterns of criminality in children. AliceAnne is determined to expand reunification by drawing in much needed funding and community support.

In addition to Family Reunification, AliceAnne strategizes to expand all agency services by aligning The Program with serious, mission-driven, collaborative agencies and identifying diverse means of financial support.
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“We want to serve as many women as possible,” says AliceAnne. “With the right funding, we can expand our programs and services. Not enough families are receiving the help they need.”

CMU Mental Health Case Management services are designed to assist Dauphin County residents, age 3 and older with serious mental health issues, to obtain needed mental health, medical, social, financial, vocational, educational and other necessary supports to maintain maximum independence and community functioning.

We offer two different types of Case Management Services, Blended Case Management and Administration. The type of service one receives is based on their need. Our Blended Case Management service also includes a program for individuals involved in the criminal justice system.

Forensic Blended Case Management services recognize the unique challenges facing individuals with serious mental illness who are also burdened with involvement with the criminal justice system. Forensic ICM services provide the community connectedness and social support necessary to sustain recovery in the community and prevent further involvement with the criminal justice system. Face-to-face contact must occur every other week in the home and/or community. The actual amount of contact and support received is determined by the needs of each individual or. FICM services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To access FICM during on-call hours, calls are directed to Crisis Intervention at 232-7511.

Intakes are available on a walk-in basis, Monday through Thursday from 9:00-3:00. Since intakes are completed on a first-come, first-served basis, there may be a short wait to be seen. If an individual or family is not available during walk-in hours, the CMU will attempt to coordinate alternative arrangements to accommodate their needs. Intakes are free of charge. Our office is located at 1100 S. Cameron St. in Harrisburg, PA. You can reach us at 717-232-8761.
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All intakes in Upper Dauphin are completed at the Elizabethville Human Services Building located at 295 State Drive, Elizabethville PA 17023. Appointments may be scheduled by calling (717)362-1212.