The Papillon Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity which helps indigent
ex-offenders clean-up their criminal records for free.  It is a
non-partisan, non-profit corporation which is a licensed and bonded legal
document preparation service.

It is 100% web-based and provides free of charge all of the necessary forms
and instructions for the expungement and sealing of criminal records in all
50 States, the District of Columbia and American Territories so ex-offenders
may eliminate this significant barrier to employment, housing and
educational opportunities, thereby reducing recidivism and assisting in
their effective re-entry into society.

If we can assist your organization in furthering its mission, please add our
website at www.papillonfoundation.org as a link on your website or simply
recommend our services to your indigent clients who wish to expunge or seal
their adult or juvenile arrest and conviction records anywhere in the United
States.

Thank you,

Nina Courtney, President
The Papillon Foundation
PO Box 338
Creston, CA 93432-0338
            (805) 712-3378       

The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center announced today the release of a guide for policymakers committed to reducing the likelihood that probationers will reoffend. A Ten-Step Guide to Transforming Probation Departments to Reduce Recidivism provides probation leaders with a roadmap to overhaul the operations of their agencies so they can increase public safety in their communities and improve rates of compliance among people they are supervising.

Click here to download the report.

The first section describes how officials can engage key stakeholders, evaluate agency policies, and develop a strategic plan for implementing reform; the second section provides recommendations for redesigning departmental policies and practices; and the final section includes steps for making the department transformation permanent. The report provides numerous examples of how these steps were used in one probation department in particular (Travis County, Texas). Since transforming its operations between 2005 and 2008, the Travis County probation department has seen felony probation revocations decline by 20 percent and the one-year re-arrest rate for probationers fall by 17 percent (compared with similar probationers before the departmental overhaul).

Geraldine Nagy, Director of Travis County’s adult probation department and one of the authors of the report, said, “Probation leaders across the country share the conviction that probation administrators play a key role in community safety. In Travis County, we’ve made preventing crime and reducing reoffending the focus of our mission statement. Everyone, at all levels of our agency, along with judicial leaders, sees recidivism reduction as our shared and topmost priority. The Ten-Step Guide captures the key lessons we learned in reforming our agency.”

While probation officials in every state are experiencing cuts to their budgets, the number of people they are supervising is increasing. According to a recent study by the Pew Center on the States, more than five million people are currently on probation or parole in the U.S., representing an increase of 59 percent over the past 20 years. Facing high expectations and intense public scrutiny, probation officials should revisit their agency’s goals, processes, and measures for success. The Ten-Step Guide is designed for these community corrections officials and policymakers responsible for funding and overseeing probation.

North Carolina State Representative David Guice (R-Transylvania County), who is a member of the board of the CSG Justice Center and worked as a probation officer for over 30 years, said, "As a member of my state’s General Assembly, I worked diligently with fellow lawmakers to author legislation to overhaul the probation system across North Carolina. I believe it's important to realize how state governments can position probation staff to go beyond 'trailing and nailing' probationers who don't comply with conditions of release, and actually work to change behaviors among this population so they commit fewer crimes. The Ten-Step Guide is a critical tool for any state lawmaker who wants to help accomplish these same goals in their state."

Work on the guide was supported by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, Pew Center on the States Public Safety Performance Project, Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Community Justice Assistance Division, and the Travis County (TX) Community Supervision and Corrections Department.

Download the report for free. It was produced under grant number 2009-DD-BX-K139 of the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Additional resources can be found at www.nationalreentryresourcecenter.org.

This is a National Reentry Resource Center Spotlight Announcement. This announcement is funded in whole or in part through a grant (award number: 2009-CZBX-KO01) from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this announcement (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided).

The Harrisburg Parks and Rec Track Team is headed to the Junior Olympics on August 3rd.  Congratulations to the team, the parents and much thanks to Mayor Thompson for supporting these young people. This program has helped change the life of 35 young people, 15 of which made it to Nationals, and kept them positively involved in a healthy physical activity over the summer. Well with that being said, my daughter is one of those young people, and her and I are headed to New Orleans on Wednesday. All that to say I will not be at the meeting on Thursday morning, I'm sure you all can hold down the fort in my absence, I'm gonna go get me some southern Louisana food for a couple days.  See you all when I return.


Marsha Banks

CRESC held a strategic planning session Friday, Feb. 18, 2011 from 8am to noon at the CMU 1100 South Cameron St.
The session was recorded with a LiveScribe Pen (visual notes and synchronized audio).  You can access the transcription and listen to the audio online.

The Planning Session took place in two parts.  The first part included introductions and group work to identify critical topic areas for the Strategic Plan.   The second part included further group work and report out about priorities and next action steps.

The President's Budget includes $4.8 billion for targeted homeless assistance funding, a 23.4% increase over the previously enacted Fiscal Year 2010 Budget and a 13.3% increase over the President's Fiscal Year 2011 Budget proposal.  The US Interagency Council on Homelessness published a Budget Fact Sheet reflecting past and future funding trends.  Visit the Interagency Council's website www.usich.gov  for more information, including the first-ever Comprehensive Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homeless.