The Coordinated Reentry System Initiative (CRSI)

The CRSI is a demonstration project in operation at Southern State Correctional Facility. One housing unit was converted into a pre-release unit for 130 medium custody inmates who are ineligible for community release. These inmates are reassigned to the pre-release unit approximately 12 months prior to release and receive intense case management and opportunities to demonstrate pro-social and basic living competencies in an environment that facilitates a step down process from institutional living to the community. The pre-release unit is part of a comprehensive reentry program called CRSI. The CRSI program is a four-phased process that begins at intake through release into the community. The four phases are: Assessment and Classification, Institutional Treatment, Pre-release and Transition.

Joint Comprehensive Assessment Plan (J-CAP)

J-CAP is a four-part assessment completed by both social workers and institutional parole officers and counselors to aid in case management and discharge planning practices. The four parts are: Intake Assessment, Progress Review, Pre-release Interview and Discharge Plan. An electronic version of J-CAP was developed that allows both the NJDOC and the State Parole Board (SPB) to enter, update and review inmate information. The implementation of J-CAP across the state will standardize many social service practices and forms and will assist in the coordination of information shared between institutional departments and across state agencies. J-CAP will be implemented in 2006 statewide.

Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI).

SVORI is a federally funded joint initiative between the NJDOC, the State Parole Board (SPB) and the Juvenile Justice Commission designed to target serious and violent offenders. The program provides transitional programming, coordinated and comprehensive discharge planning and aftercare services for serious and violent offenders ages 14-35 returning to Camden County and Essex County. Coordinated case management was established across the department, the SPB and the community through the Greater Newark Safer Cities Initiative and Camden Safer Cities Initiative. A total of 102 inmates received services through SVORI. Rutgers University has begun gathering data for a year-long outcome study of SVORI.

BYRNE Foundation-Discharge Planning Unit (DPU)

The Discharge Planning Unit (DPU) offers comprehensive discharge planning for inmates who will leave custody at their maximum sentence completion date and return to Essex County. The DPU is supported through a federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance grant received from the Bureau of Justice Assistance through the NJ Department of Law and Public Safety. The DPU has operates out of Northern State Prison and East Jersey State Prison. Every inmate in this program receives a copy of the Essex County Smart Book. The Essex County Smart Book is a resource guide for inmates, parolees and social services staff that created in collaboration with the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and Bloomfield College. It's written at an 8th-grade reading level and it offers concrete information about where in Essex County ex-offenders can go for food, shelter, and information on how to obtain their vital documents, where to go for medical and mental health services, where they can go for job training and education. We are currently looking to develop a resource guide for other counties, including Camden County, Mercer County and Atlantic County.

Returning offenders face numerous barriers upon release and those who are chronically mentally ill, elderly and afflicted with major disabilities are especially challenged. Research suggests that having income and medical supports in place prior to release can contribute to positive post-release outcomes for prisoners, including reduced recidivism. Through funds from The Nicholson Foundation, the New Jersey Department of Corrections will hire two social workers to prepare and submit applications six months prior to the offender's release date for Supplemental Security Income/Social Security Disability Insurance (SSI/SSDI), food stamps, and Veterans benefits and will assist with any follow-up requests from SSA and VA during the application process. These two staff members will assist offenders who are principally disabled, chronically mentally ill, and/or elderly. They will work to develop and implement a comprehensive discharge plans for offenders and will focus on successful attachment of the returning offender to needed treatment along with appropriate housing and other necessary support services in the community.

The Essex County Smart Book

A resource guide for social services staff and offenders returning to Essex County was created in collaboration with the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and Bloomfield College. The guide is designed to provide basic information and contacts to facilitate community reentry and serves a dual purpose: 1) to help New Jersey Department of Corrections and State Parole Board staff with pre-release planning for inmates; and 2) to serve as a continuing reference for individuals after their release from prison. The design and printing of the Essex County Smart Book was supported through various federal and state grant sources received from the Departments of Law and Public Safety and Labor and Workforce Development, and the State Parole Board. Forty-five hundred guides were printed and distributed to each institutional social service department and to the State Parole Board through the Office of Transitional Services. Similar guides will be produced for inmates and parolees returning to other areas of the state upon funding availability

The Camden County Smart Book

A resource guide for social services staff and offenders returning to Camden County. The guide is designed to provide basic information and contacts to facilitate community reentry and serves a dual purpose: 1) to help New Jersey Department of Corrections and State Parole Board staff with pre-release planning for inmates; and 2) to serve as a continuing reference for individuals after their release from prison. The design and printing of the Camden County Smart Book was supported through various federal and state grant sources. Five thousand guides were printed and distributed to each institutional social service department and to the State Parole Board through the Office of Transitional Services. Similar guides will be produced for inmates and parolees returning to other areas of the state upon funding availability.