New Haven Prison Reentry Initiative

Launched in 2008, the Prison Reentry Initiative works with community partners, state agencies and other reentry stakeholders to support the reintegration of formerly incarcerated residents into the New Haven community. The Prison Reentry Initiative's successes include helping to pass a "Ban the Box" ordinance, which removes from all City job applications the “box” or query relating to an applicant’s conviction history. The Prison Reentry Initiative also publishes a regularly-updated New Haven Reentry Resource Guide for formerly incarcerated individuals.

Quick Facts:

Focus of initiative/program:
  • Children and Families
  • Education
  • Employment/Job Training
  • Housing
  • Police
  • Mental Health
  • Mentoring
  • Physical Health
  • Substance Abuse
  • Task Force / Coalitions
    • Inititative/program name:
    New Haven Prison Reentry Initiative
    Year Established:
    2008
    Lead agency/organization name:
    Mayor's Office, City of New Haven
    Population served by initiative/program:
  • Returning from local detention facilities
  • Returning from local jails
  • Returning from prison
  • Not under community corrections supervision
  • Under community corrections supervision (parole or probation)
  • Adults
  • Juveniles
  • Men
  • Women
  • People convicted of a violent offense
  • People convicted of a non-violent offense
  • Elderly
  • Sex offenders

    • New Haven Prison Reentry Initiative

    Contact:

    Amy Meek
    Reentry Coordinator
    Office of the Mayor, City of New Haven
    Phone: (203) 946-7658
    165 Church Street
    New Haven, Connecticut 06511
    ameek@newhavenct.net

    www.cityofnewhaven.com/Mayor/PrisonReentry.asp

    New Haven Prison Reentry Initiative

    Initiatives and Programs

    Focus of initiative/program:
  • Children and Families
  • Education
  • Employment/Job Training
  • Housing
  • Police
  • Mental Health
  • Mentoring
  • Physical Health
  • Substance Abuse
  • Task Force / Coalitions
    • Inititative/program name:
    New Haven Prison Reentry Initiative
    Lead agency/organization name:
    Mayor's Office, City of New Haven

    Funding

    Funding sources for initiative/program:
    Federal Funding

    Partners in the reentry initiative/program

    Informal Agreement Formal Agreement
    (e.g., a written contract or an MOU) with this partner.
    Community- and faith-based services providers:
    X
    Education and training providers (e.g., local public school officials, vocational instructors):
    X
    Health, mental health, and substance abuse treatment providers:
    X
    Housing officials:
    X
    Institutional corrections (e.g., DOC, jail, prison):
    X
    Law enforcement agencies (e.g., police, sheriff's office):
    X
    Members of the community (e.g., people who have been incarcerated, their families or neighbors):
    X
    Other criminal justice agencies (e.g., prosecutors, judges):
    X
    Transportation providers:
    X
    Victim advocates:
    X
    Work force development and employment agencies (e.g. business associations, unions):
    X

    Participants

    Population served by initiative/program:
  • Returning from local detention facilities
  • Returning from local jails
  • Returning from prison
  • Not under community corrections supervision
  • Under community corrections supervision (parole or probation)
  • Adults
  • Juveniles
  • Men
  • Women
  • People convicted of a violent offense
  • People convicted of a non-violent offense
  • Elderly
  • Sex offenders

    • Data Collection

    Does your organization collect demographic data on participants?
    No
    Does your organization collect data about the process of your initiative/program?
    Yes
    If "yes", what kind of data? And what results has this data yielded?
    The New Haven Reentry Initiative has collected data on policy and organizational contacts since 2008, and began collecting more detailed individual-level data about referrals and services in 2010.
    Does your organization measure and/or track the outcome of participation?
    Yes
    If "yes", what kind of data? And what results has this data yielded?
    The Reentry Initiative will begin tracking outcomes of referrals in 2010.

    Activities

    What, if any, activities does your initiative/program include for people while they are incarcerated and how do these activities differ from those offered to the general population?
    The Reentry Initiative provides New Haven Reentry Resource Guides and other information about reentry services free of charge to Department of Correction counselors, as well as to individual inmates upon request. The Reentry Initiative also partners with volunteer members of the New Haven Reentry Roundtable to sponsor "reach-in" activities for incarcerated individuals.
    What activities does your organization engage in post-release and how do these activities differ from those offered to the general population?
    The Reentry Initiative helps individuals returning from incarceration to obtain proper identification and locate benefits as well as with placements in employment, housing, training programs, and other services. The Initiative has also partnered with the Housing Authority of New Haven on a pilot housing program for individuals who would otherwise be excluded from public housing based on their criminal records.
    How are people placed into your program?
    Referral
    Explore the Justice Center’s Websites
    CSG Justice Center Criminal Justice / Mental Health Consensus Project Justice Reinvestment National Reentry Resource Center Reentry Policy Council