Reentry Review - Cuyahoga County Office of Reentry

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GREATER CLEVELAND REENTRY STRATEGY
COUNTY
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Cuyahoga County
July 2011 • Volume 2, Issue 7
Reentry Review
COUNTY
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Cuyahoga County Continues to Advance Educational
Opportunities and Personal Advancement for Jail Inmates
By: Debra Matovic and Fred Bolotin
Although GED preparation classes have been available to
incarcerated individuals for over 20 years, Ken Kochevar,
Director of Corrections for Cuyahoga County, is pleased
to announce that inmates in the Cuyahoga County jail
are now able to not only participate in GED preparation
classes, but may also take the GED examination and earn
their high school equivalency diploma while incarcerated.
Along with LIP, the ability to offer the GED exam in the
jail has been a long-term goal of Project: LEARN, the
Cuyahoga County Department of Corrections and other
community-based educational organizations that work
to empower inmates through education and literacy.
Due to the recently implemented Local Incarceration
Program (LIP), approximately 50 inmates were taking the
course and were on schedule to take the actual GED test.
LIP is a collaboration between Cuyahoga County and the
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction as an
available sentencing option encouraged to be used by 34
Common Pleas judges. Those eligible are convicted felony
offenders who require a prison sentence of one year or
less. LIP is an effort to reduce recidivism by increasing
an inmate’s opportunity to maintain and strengthen
positive social supports and family relationships through
educational and training programs and linkages to local
resources in the community that will increase the chances
of an ex-offender obtaining employment after release.
While serving a six month sentence for a probation
violation on attempted robbery charges, LIP participant,
Tevon Rease, 19, is one of the inmates who took and
passed the GED exam while incarcerated. Because he did
not get a chance to finish high school due to his arrest,
Rease states, “I want to better myself a little bit while I am
in jail so I can come out a step ahead than I was when I
went down.”With the attitude and progress that Cuyahoga
County and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and
Corrections greatly anticipate and want to see in those
participating in the LIP program, Rease validates the
promising success, “This (jail) is not the place I want to
come back to. Life is better than this”.
Strong sponsor of both the GED initiative and LIP, Sheriff
Bob Reid is committed to assisting inmates in order to
With the combined efforts of Project: LEARN and the Parma change their lives even before they leave the jail. “Since
and Euclid Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) we’re here and we have what you would call a captive
Program, the Cuyahoga County jail administered the GED audience, give them the tools to take the test and give
exam to 13 inmates on April 25 and 27, 2011.
them the test,” Reid states.
Since July 2010, there have been over 200 offenders who
have participated in the LIP program and have been
able to remain at the County correction facility located
in Downtown Cleveland. Mr. Kochevar is eager to point
out how the Local Incarceration Program (LIP) helps short
term or first time offenders avoid joining prison gangs
and can prevent the damaging experience of being
incarcerated with career criminals.
In This Issue
Page 1...Personal Advancement for Jail Inmates
Page 2...Coalition Goes to Columbus
Page 4...Ultimate Skills for Life Center & “The Awakening”
Given the success rate of the first GED test distribution,
Robert Bivins, Program Manager of Community Based
Programs for Project: LEARN, reports that the goal is to
offer the GED exam in the Jail on an ongoing, quarterly
basis.
For more information about the Local Incarceration
Program (LIP), please contact the Warden’s Office at
216.443.6125.
For more information on Project: LEARN, see
the September 2010 issue-vol.1, issue 8 of the
Reentry Review or visit their website at www.
projectlearn.org
Debra Matovic is the Administrative Assistant and Fred
Bolotin is the Staff Attorney for the Office of Reentry.
2 • Cuyahoga County Reentry Review
County Reentry Coalition Goes to Columbus
On June 17, 2011, William M. Denihan, CEO, ADAMHS
Board of Cuyahoga County and Chair of the Greater
Cleveland Reentry Leadership Coalition, led more than
100 Greater Clevelanders – including leaders of the
Cuyahoga County Reentry Leadership Coalition, local law
enforcement, County and City government, addiction
recovery services, mental health services, along with
ex-offenders and concerned citizens from various
neighborhoods in Northeast Ohio to Columbus in order
to meet with Legislators and Ohio State Department
Directors Gary Mohr of the Ohio Department of
Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC), Tracy Plouck of
the Department of Mental Health (ODMH) and Orman Hall
of the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction
Services (ODADAS) – in an effort to openly address the
dire need for additional funding and resources in order
to effectively tackle the reentry and mental health crisis
in Cuyahoga County.
Along with a desperate call for proper funding for cooccurring mental health, substance abuse and reentry
services in Cuyahoga County, Chief Denihan cited that
diversion programs, along with community-based
reentry services, which include educational, employment
and vocational training, mental health and addiction
treatment, housing assistance, healthcare and case
management reduced recidivism rates from a high of
65 percent to as low as four percent. Additionally, Chief
Denihan went on to point out to the State Department
Directors that this innovative, essential and holistic
approach will reduce government costs, reduce crime
and create new jobs, thus creating new taxpayers.
Concerned citizens arriving in Columbus for special meeting
By: Dani Lachina
Edward Little of Cuyahoga County’s Office of Reentry
explained that the $5,000 cost of effective reentry
services is just a fraction of the $25,000 annual price to
house an inmate, an already costly expenditure that rises
to $35,000 for inmates with co-occurring mental illness
and/or substance abuse problems. Little also discussed
the benefits of using the county’s own community based
correctional facilities and halfway houses as an alternative
to state prison incarceration, and as a result, this kind
of sentencing reform would cut the cost of housing
Cuyahoga County’s current state prison population
of 2,139 F4 and F5 offenders from $53. 6 to just $16.9
million—a savings of $36.7 million.
In response to the Coalition’s presentation, Gary Mohr
(ODRC) assured the Coalition that the future of the ODRC
is in the community. He acknowledged that although
we will always have prisons, the majority of inmates
will eventually return to the community, thus creating
the need to implement historic changes in the State’s
sentencing and reentry system. Additionally during his
address, Director Mohr projected that the reforms that
the Kasich Administration has created will reduce Ohio’s
prison population by over 5,000 inmates in the next two
years. He later concurred with Chief Denihan, pointing
out that that he does believe that there is a crucial need
to invest in prison diversion programs and adequately
fund community-based reentry services organizations.
Before he turned the conversation over to the other State
Department Directors, Mr. Mohr did state that reentry is
the top priority of his department.
Blaine Griffin, Director of Community Relations Board for the
City of Cleveland
Cuyahoga County Reentry Review • 3
Deriving from a state budget background, Tracy Plouck,
now Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health
seemed to be very interested in the possible economic
impacts and cost reduction measures as discussed
by Edward Little. “The challenge”, Plouck stated, “is
how we can be creative with very limited resources”.
Nevertheless, Ms. Plouck went on to reveal that federal
block grant grants do exist with some allotted dollars
for reentry services that have been set aside. Ms. Plouck
then invited the Leadership Coalition to work with her
over the summer to focus a pilot project to take place
in Cuyahoga County. She recognizes that there is not a
large amount of funds, but suggests that if the proposed
reentry programs can demonstrate progress there will be
a case for future investment.
Edward Little from the Cuyahoga County Office of Reentry, Charles See from Community
Re-Entry and William M. Denihan, Chair of the Cuyahoga County Reentry Leadership Coalition
ODADAS Director, Orman Hall announced to the Coalition
that his Department is currently working on a project that
would to link involvement in treatment for reentering
individuals with access to job training and housing
resources, thus greatly encouraging the Coalition to
link these components together, citing overall better
effectiveness to the reentry services and programming.
The Greater Cleveland Reentry Leadership Coalition
appreciated the time and attention of the legislative
aides, department directors and meeting attendees and
will continue to advocate for the resources necessary to
effectively address reentry needs in Cuyahoga County.
Dani Lachina is a Public Policy Fellow for Cuyahoga County’s
Office of Reentry.
Ohio Dept. of Drug and Alcohol Addiction Services Director Orman Hall talks to citizens
A group of community leaders and concerned citizens filled the
Statehouse Atrium in Columbus
4 • Cuyahoga County Reentry Review
The Ultimate Skills for Life
Center & “The Awakening”
By: Debra Matovic
STILL TIME TO REGISTER
FOR CAMP ROCK
Reentry
Advocate • 6
2011 Summer School Recess
The Ultimate Skills for Life Center on Broadway Avenue
Day Camp for Kids Ages 5 – 18
is a new community-based multipurpose facility that has
opened
itsfrom
doors
Education
pg.to
4 job training, youth groups, benefit
Fiscal Crisis from pg. 5
Sponsored by the
screening,
entrepreneurial
And, completion
of a highclasses,
school and most
Davidimportantly,
Koch served two sentencMost
of these
states have
been
Cleveland Eastside
Ex-Offender
Coalition
community reentry programs. It is this last issue that they
education must be demonstrated es for bank fraud. After which, he able
to cut
without
& Zion
Hillcosts
Baptist
Churcheliminatare currently addressing with a new 16 week discussion
through
a series
of Awakening”.
tests, a degree became a certified airline transport ing any programs entirely. Other
series
entitled
“The
The Camp is held at the Zion Hill Church
should not be awarded simply be- pilot and author, writing “Slaying states have made more significant
11115 Kinsman Avenue, Cleveland
“The
been
designedthe
to Dragon…the
be a discussion
causeAwakening”
an individual has
has the
endurance
Journey from the cuts.
series that will motivate, inspire, engage and connect
to make it through the 12th grade.
Dungeon to the Ivory Tower”.
Next Month:
Closing Prisons
Mondays
thru Fridays
from
on a weekly basis to those reentering the community,
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
their allies and their friends and families. This a FREE
until mid-August, 2011
series that will be held every Thursday from 6:00-7:00pm
Citizen
Circles Locations
The
Citizen
Circles
Concept
and started Thursday, May 26 and will go thru Thursday,
(Call
for
meeting
dates and times)
For more information,
call
participation
andV. Ward,
guidance
September 1. The talksCitizen
will be facilitated
by Ricky
Cleveland
Eastside
Ex-Offender
Coalition at
is speaker
essential
forwill
correctional
practices
a popular motivational
who
directly address
The Euclid Avenue Citizen Circle
or the Zion Hill Church at 216-561-8824
the needs of the reentry
population
and theinstitutions.
concerns of The216-426-9012
Congregational Church
inside
and outside
Kathleen Farkas
the neighborhoods where
men and
women will and
Ohio these
Department
of Rehabilitation
9606
Euclid Ave.
be residing. Those who
attend are
asked
to bringthe
their
Correction
has
embraced
needs
2nd Monday of every month at 7:00 pm
questions, concerns, and any solutions or resources they
related to offenders returning home
216.421.0482 ext. 282
may have so that they may be discussed in this forum.
from correctional settings and as such one
East
CEOGC
This
seriesis isthebeing
held in partnership
Hope
strategy
implementation
of Citizen with
Circles.
The4U
focus
Cleveland
Medical Arts Building
Ministries
and
The Mount
Pleasant
Business
Association.
is on eight
dynamic
domain
areas:
employment,
education,
Andrea Graham
Lewis West
1850
Belmore
Ave.
2475
E. 22nd St.
associates/social
interactions,
abuse
For
those who are
interestedfamily/marital,
in attending substance
registration
Last Wednesday of every
(Lower
level)
community
orientation
month at 5:00 pm
isand
need
and can functioning,
be done bypersonal/emotional
calling 216-752-1464
or
2nd Monday of every month at
216.2249.0330
11:30 am
and attitude. Space is limited! The center is located at
216-856-2679.
216.357.2621
They
create partnerships
positive
interaction
8003
Broadway
Avenue (Thethat
old promote
Bud Brady
Ford) and
is
on
the
RTA Route Number
19 line.
Mt. Pleasant
Zion Chapel
and
accountability
for offenders
upon release. Circle members
Murtis
Taylor Center
Rev.
Dennis
Jonel
address risks that contribute to criminal activity by taking
Diane Coats
4234 Lee Rd.
ownership of the solution. It is an opportunity for citizens to 3rd Monday of every month at
13411 Kinsman Ave.
6:00 pm
communicate
for successful reentry and help
1st Tuesday of every month at
COMMENTSexpectations
OR SUGGESTIONS:
216.752.2743
6:00 pm
Cuyahoga
County Office
of Reentry
offenders
recognize
the harm
their behavior has caused others.
216.751.1085
email: ReentryInfo@cuyahogacounty.us
Offenders are able to make amends and demonstrate their
phone: 216.698.2501
Your comments are important to us.
value and potential to the community.
We want to hear from you…
Write to us Toatreceive a copy of
9
GREATER CLEVELAND STRATEGY
GREATER CLEVELAND STRATEGY
IO
OH
COUNTY
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United Way of
of Geauga
County
Greater
Cleveland
United Way of
Greater Cleveland
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Connecting people to services
COUNTY
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Cuyahoga
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Reentry
Advocate
Reentry Review
Comments or suggestions:
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Mansfield B. Frazier, Editor
email: mansfieldF@gmail.com
Cuyahoga County Office of Reentry
or
310
West Lakeside Avenue, Suite 550
Cuyahoga County office of reentry
call First Call for Help
Cleveland, OH 44113
email: reentryinfo@cuyahogacounty.us
at 216.436.2000 or
phone: 216.698.2501 www.reentry.cuyahogacounty.us
ssful
ide
A Gu
cce
for Su
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Reen
go online and download
a copy at www.211cleveland.org/
pdfs/communityreentry.pdf
Reentry
Review isCounty
FundedBoard
by Cuyahoga
County
Funded by
the Cuyahoga
of Commissioners.