Harlem Parole Reentry Court

Staff of the Harlem Parole Reentry Court discuss how they help ex-offenders make the transition from incarceration to the community. ROBERT V. WOLF: Hi. This is Rob Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation, and welcome to another episode of New Thinking, a podcast produced by the Center for Court Innovation to highlight practitioners, researchers, and others who are experimenting with new approaches to justice. Today I’m in the Harlem Community Justice Center with some people who make the Harlem Reentry Court a reality. The reentry court, which was launched in 2001, is one of many experiments around the United States seeking to address the fact that within three years of their release from state or federal prison, about half of ex-offenders return for either a new crime or parole violation. With me today are Administrative Law Judge Grace Bernstein of the Division of Parole, Senior Parole Officer Alfonso Camacho, Reentry Coordinator Nigel Jackson, and Deputy Project Director of the Harlem Community Justice Center John MeGaw. Welcome everybody. ALL: Hello. WOLF: So let me start off with a straightforward question. What is the Harlem Parole Reentry Court? JOHN MEGAW: Rob, we opened up in 2001 and it was an effort by the Division of Parole, which sort of acknowledged the difficulty of men and women who had gotten out of prison staying out of prison. Nigel and Al Camacho’s staff go into prison prior to the release of the inmate to get a lot of information. Then when they come out on the day that they’re released, they appear here and they appear before Judge Bernstein. And the idea is that they will—they need to be more accountable, and we help them get to jobs, we help them get into treatment programs, and every other week review how things are going. We work with them for six months, but if they successfully make it through their first six months after release, then we have a big graduation ceremony and celebrate their success. WOLF: Generally, how long have they been in prison? Is there a wide range? ALFONSO CAMACHO: Our parolees consist of violent and non-violent offenders that can vary in time of incarceration from a year to five to 10. One individual in particular just spent a significant amount of time in jail for 20 years; and he’s doing well by the way. WOLF: So I would think that someone who’s been in jail that long has a tremendous number of needs, you know, housing, job, I mean just getting reoriented into the community. And John referred to the kinds of services, but, I mean, how do you really get in there and support someone like that? CAMACHO: Well, unlike the traditional services where mostly everything is done by referral, here at the Harlem Reentry all the agencies involved are anticipating this person’s arrival with more or less a coherent plan in store for them with the goal hopefully that this individual, the needs are already known by each inter-dependent agency and therefore to lead to the same basically common result of hopefully providing services this individual may need. GRACE BERNSTEIN: Last year we’ve had a number of individuals who had served a significant amount of time, 20 years I think, some even more. When they come out of prison, they’re very motivated, but they come out of prison sometimes with no place to go. We provide them immediate housing. One guy said he didn’t know anything about a Metrocard when he got out. And he actually went back to school. And these are men in their fifties, these are not young people, some are in their forties. And you know, we give them what they need, and there’s a very supportive environment here. But that, you know, a supportive environment and everything isn’t what does it. What does it is the immediacy of the services; that’s what does it, and parole officers and senior parole officers who really want this to succeed and work very, very hard with the individuals because it’s not always “Oh, he comes in after six months. It’s perfect.” WOLF: And I imagine that there are some people who have been in prison a long time. They’ve been involved with the justice system, and then they’re brought to a courthouse after their release. Do some people, I don’t know, react negatively or have some issues around that, being brought before a judge again when they thought they were done with judges. NIGEL JACKSON: I would say yes. They definitely have a problem with seeing a judge. Ninety nine percent of the people, you know, they have a big problem coming to see a judge as well as a parole officer. Maybe I’d give them a 20-minute talk to everyone that we’re interviewing before individual interviews. There’s a lot of apprehension. So at one point I asked, “Yo, what’s the problem?” And he said, “Every time I see a judge, I go to prison.” So at that point, I changed my whole spiel and I let them know how Judge Bernstein is. She’s their biggest ally and they have to meet here before they judge what type of person she is and what her role is. And I let them know the only person they can violate you first is yourself and your parole officer. And Judge Bernstein is there to help you. And if you need a kick in the butt, she’s going to kick you in the butt. WOLF: So Judge Bernstein, I understand that you spend a good part of your week actually at Rikers—that’s not part of the reentry court—where you are looking at parole violators perhaps. BERNSTEIN: I do parole violators. And if somebody violates from here, then they know if that has to happen, then we tell them this is the whole purpose, for to not send you back to jail. That’s my opening statement: “We’re here not to send you back to jail,” that they know they’re going to come before me. And they know when I tell them it’s not a Chinese menu where you can choose some of your conditions like part of A and not B, that you have to do everything; if there’s a problem, come in and talk to us. We try very hard to work with them as long as they’re working with us. There was one incident yesterday, if I can have a minute, which I think really says a lot about the program. I was in the waiting room where people stand and I’ll talk to them and they’ll tell me their problems; they’re doing well enough; whatever. But this particular individual said his son graduated high school and is in and will be going back to where he lives and to college. And he wanted to bring his son here to meet everybody. And he wasn’t sure—could he come in next week even though it’s not his regular day to meet his parole officer and bring his son? You know, every once in a while there’s something that says everything. I think that says everything. WOLF: Well, let me ask you. Your role is very different when you’re here. Do you feel different as a judge? You’re doing something different; your function is different. BERNSTEIN: Yes. I feel sometimes that it’s at the finish line and I’m coaching, “You can do this just a little bit more; you can do this,” and sometimes to say to them you care, sometimes you make them feel that they can do something, that they can have confidence in themselves when they fall to move forward again. I feel that my purpose here really is to make sure that they do not violate and go back to jail. This is why I’m here; this is why I want to be here. MEGAW: The irony to your earlier point about their reluctance, resistance to see a judge when they first hear about it from Nigel and the parole staff in Queensboro before they’re released, the irony is that when they complete their six months, very few want to return to regular parole supervision. They all want to stay in this program. Unfortunately, we can’t continue because there are new parolees that need to come in. But it’s a complete turnaround in that time because of the attention that they get here. WOLF: Do you find it a challenge sometimes to find them housing or jobs because people are reluctant to house ex-offenders or employ ex-offenders? CAMACHO: We do have agencies that can accommodate at least this particular group of individuals because, again, we have established relationships with other agencies like Palladia that can take our undomiciled offenders. So we do have things in place for that. MEGAW: It’s temporary housing. There’s no question that housing is tight especially for someone who is working a low-level job and doesn’t have the money to be able to afford an apartment in Manhattan. Jobs, actually, the other part, you know, jobs is one of the other stumbling blocks. We have a – the Division of Parole works with and we work with an agency called the Center for Employment Opportunities. So we set up—and again, it’s the immediacy of the services—the parolees begin transitional work right away. And so, they are going each day, getting into a routine of getting up in the morning, getting to a job, working, and they get a paycheck at the end of every day. So they have a little money in their pocket to begin to support themselves and to provide for their families, something they may not have done before for man...