Slow down the revolving door

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: June 8, 2008

Virginia locks its criminals up, but it rarely throws away the key. Most of the men and women in the state’s prisons will eventually finish their sentence and be released.

Some of them will be returned to prison, either because they commit new crimes or they violate the terms of their parole.

When the revolving door spins, the taxpayers pay. Prisons are, by nature, expensive to build, staff and operate. Some offenders spend a good chunk of their adult lives behind bars. Each new crime committed creates new victims.

There has to be a better way.

In 2003, the National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices set out to help states cut down on prisoner recidivism. Virginia was one of seven states selected to take part in the NGA’s Prisoner Reentry Policy Academy. In 2006, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine established the Virginia Prisoner Reentry Policy Academy through Executive Order 22.

“If we improve their chances of acquiring and maintaining work and housing, it will significantly reduce the probability of offenders returning to a life of crime, which in turn would significantly enhance public safety,” Kaine wrote in the executive order.

Jane B. Brown, the director of the Virginia Department of Social Services’ Office of Community Partnerships, said the big question has been, “How is re-entry working and not working in Virginia?”

The Virginia Prisoner Reentry Policy Academy is made up of representatives from every part of state government. The goal is to create a plan to help prisoners join productive society. Pilot programs will operate in Hampton Roads, Culpeper, Fredericksburg, Albemarle County and Southwest Virginia.

The programs work with inmates before they’re released to learn where they will live and work, their family situation, their education and the financial obligations they’ll face.

That’s a lot more than the $25 cash most ex-cons leave prison with.

“This project has the potential to have a significant impact in Virginia,” Brown said.

One of the biggest issues facing former prison inmates is employment. Some companies simply won’t hire felons — or even misdemeanants. Others have restrictions on how long ex-cons have to wait after they’re released to apply for a job.

But there are some federal tools designed to help them get their foot in the door. One is the federal government’s bonding program for what it calls “at-risk job seekers.”

“Fidelity Bonding is insurance purchased to indemnify employers for loss of money or property sustained through the dishonest acts of their employees,” according to the Web site, http://www.bonds4jobs.com.

Washington also offers the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to employers that hire felons within a year after they leave prison.

Both are good tools to encourage companies that are considering hiring felons.

The Dan River Region would have been a good site for one of the Virginia Prisoner Reentry Policy Academy’s pilot programs. We have a significant population of ex-offenders in our community who need jobs and a growing economy that needs workers.