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Roundtable Women and Reentry:
Foundations for Success
On Thursday, May 25th, the Crime and Justice Institute hosted the second event in the Reentry Roundtable series entitled Women and Reentry: Foundations for Success. The event brought together policymakers, practitioners, researchers and community members to discuss the distinct issues facing female offenders who are returning to Massachusetts’ communities. In 2003, nearly 9,000 women cycled through the county Houses of Correction and the Massachusetts state prisons; the vast majority of those women returned to the community within one year. Massachusetts has begun a substantial dialogue on the needs of female offenders, and this roundtable was an extension of this dialogue with an emphasis on community-based services.
Our goals were to discuss research and promising practices in women’s reentry, assess the services that are currently being offered in Massachusetts, and develop “next steps” that can be taken to improve services in the state. Brief presentations were interspersed with discussion among the roundtable participants. Presenters included Georgia Lerner from the Women’s Prison Association, Laurie Markoff from the Institute for Health and Recovery, Judith Fox from the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, and Jennifer Sordi from the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department. The roundtable was held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. For more information, please contact Meghan Howe at 617-482-2520 x128, or mhowe@crjustice.org.
To view the Foundations for Success: Meeting the Needs of Female Offenders
Returning to Massachusetts Communities Report click here
Rethinking Justice in Massachusetts:
Public Attitudes Toward Crime and Punishment
The Crime and Justice Institute and The Boston Foundation presented the results of a statewide public opinion survey on a range of criminal justice policy issues, on Thursday, November 3rd, 2005, at the offices of The Boston Foundation. Following the presentation of the report, several distinguished panelists discussed the survey findings and implications for Massachusetts policy, including (photo l-r): John Larivee, Chief Executive Officer, Community Resources for Justice; Senator Jarrett Barrios, Chair, Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee; and Jonathan Blodgett, Essex County District Attorney.
Other panelists included Jack Cinquegrana, President-Elect, Boston Bar Association; Louis DiNatale, Director, Center for Economic and Civic Opinion, University of Massachusetts, Lowell; and Rita Pouissaint Nethersole, Community Co-Chair, Grove Hall Safe Neighborhoods Initiative. Bob Gittens, Vice President for Public Affairs, Northeastern University, served as moderator.
A full report of study results, conducted by the Crime and Justice Institute and Doble Research Associates with funding from The Boston Foundation, is available in pdf format, click here.
CJI is a division of Community Resources for Justice