By Bill Parry
In an effort to keep former prisoners from returning to a life of crime, Gov. Andrew Cuomo will create the borough’s first-ever task force to help individuals transition from incarceration back to their communities.
The new state-supported County Re-entry Task Force in Queens was announced last week to assist more people returning home after serving state prison sentences as part of a $10 million program providing job training and other services.
“These investments play a critical role in ensuring those seeking to turn their lives around have access to the tools and resources needed to succeed,” Cuomo said. “Expanding these services will be able to help more at-risk New Yorkers break the cycle of recidivism and incarceration, helping them to lead more productive lives and increasing the safety of our communities.”
The task force will be co-chaired by representatives from the borough and the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and include law enforcement, social services and mental health professionals, as well as victim advocates and substance abuse treatment providers. The program, which ranges in duration from three months up to a year, include job placement services as well as cognitive behavioral intervention and services to increase job readiness, including transitional employment.
“These programs and services have been proven effective in helping people to have the best possible chance to break the cycle of recidivism and change the course of their lives for the better,” Division of Criminal Justice Services Executive Deputy Commissioner Michael Green said.
During his tenure, Cuomo has worked to remove barriers faced by people with criminal convictions as they seek to reintegrate into society, instituting “fair chance hiring” for state agencies. He has also implemented uniform anti-discrimination guidelines in assessing candidates for occupational licenses—94 percent of qualified applicants with criminal convictions have successfully obtained state-issued occupational licenses as a result.
“I applaud Gov. Cuomo for his visionary leadership in providing the resources to assist offenders along their journey to a successful re-entry into the community,” Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Acting Commissioner Anthony Annucci said. “When an ex-offender obtains lawful employment, not only is the recidivism rate lowered, our communities are safer and the tax base for New York is raised.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
