Obama Plans Support for Ex-Offenders

President Barack Obama

Taking off at a blinding pace to overturn many of the antiquated policies of the Bush administration, President Barack Obama set forth his current agenda including many new policies aimed at improving our criminal justice system. "

The teenagers and college students who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry and cleaning somebody else's kitchen -- they didn't brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether their vote would be counted; whether their civil rights would be protected by their government; whether justice would be equal and opportunity would be theirs.... We have more work to do."

-- Barack Obama, Speech at Howard University, September 28, 2007

President Barack Obama has spent much of his career fighting to strengthen civil rights as a civil rights attorney, community organizer, Illinois State Senator, U.S. Senator, and now as President. Whether promoting economic opportunity, working to improve our nation's education and health system, or protecting the right to vote, President Obama has been a powerful advocate for our civil rights. Included in his agenda are the following:

Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: President Obama and Vice President Biden will strengthen federal hate crimes legislation, expand hate crimes protection by passing the Matthew Shepard Act, and reinvigorate enforcement at the Department of Justice's Criminal Section.

End Deceptive Voting Practices: President Obama will sign into law his legislation that establishes harsh penalties for those who have engaged in voter fraud and provides voters who have been misinformed with accurate and full information so they can vote.

End Racial Profiling: President Obama and Vice President Biden will ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies and provide federal incentives to state and local police departments to prohibit the practice.

Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Support: President Obama and Vice President Biden will provide job training, substance abuse and mental health counseling to ex-offenders, so that they are successfully re-integrated into society. Obama and Biden will also create a prison-to-work incentive program to improve ex-offender employment and job retention rates.

Eliminate Sentencing Disparities: President Obama and Vice President Biden believe the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine is wrong and should be completely eliminated.

Expand Use of Drug Courts: President Obama and Vice President Biden will give first-time, non-violent offenders a chance to serve their sentence, where appropriate, in the type of drug rehabilitation programs that have proven to work better than a prison term in changing bad behavior.

Click to read his entire Agenda on Civil Rights

Posted By: The Candid Blogger
visit our Job Search Blog at: The-Job-Specialist Blog

Correctional Officer Imprisoned for Assaulting Inmate

A former jail guard has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for violating the civil rights of a man in custody, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

On June 25, 2006, Jarrod Anthony Yates, while working for the Sequoyah County Jail in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, reportedly kneed, stomped and punched arrestee Donald Gene Allen resulting in serious injuries including a fractured eye socket and severe lacerations that required facial surgery. Yates was suspended while the FBI's Oklahoma City Field Office investigated the case. He was indicted on April 17, 2008, later to plead guilty on October 2, 2008. He faced a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The case was prosecuted by First Assistant US Attorney Doug Horn and Trial Attorneys Roy Conn and Michael Khoury from the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department.

"While we all appreciate corrections officers have dangerous jobs, that doesn't give them license to abuse their authority with this kind of physical violence," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Grace Chung Becker on Wednesday. "The vast majority exercise appropriate restraint, and because the rule of law is paramount in our society, we have an obligation to prosecute those who clearly don't."

SOURCE: RAWSTORY.COM

Posted By: The Candid Blogger
visit our Job Search Blog at: The-Job-Specialist Blog

Out of Jail -- Nobody is Hiring

Ex-Felons Can't Get Jobs After Convictions Years Ago.

Today I came across a very disturbing article related to prisoner re-entry programs and the hurdles they face in returning former prisoners to the job market.

"It took Vikki Hankins 18 years to get out of prison. It's her bad luck she got out during a recession. For an ex-felon in Florida to find a job these days is tough — nearly impossible.

"Basically, nobody will hire you," said Stephanie Porta, spokeswoman for Orlando ACORN, a community-based advocacy organization that works with ex-felons looking for employment. "Even people with little felonies are not finding jobs."

Hankins, 40, released eight months ago from a federal prison in Florida, is living in an International Drive motel paid for by Advocate4Justice, a group that promotes prison reform. She has been turned down for jobs at Denny's, McDonald's, Golden Corral, Walmart, Home Depot, Ramada Inn, Hess and 7-Eleven.

Hankins was sentenced to 23 years for possession of 22 grams of cocaine, but the mark of her conviction is something she will carry the rest of her life.

"There are people who paid the penalty for their mistakes. Inside the soul and the heart, they have changed completely," said Hankins, who was convicted under the alias Vanessa Wade. "For those people, do you continue to punish them by holding them to the fire for the rest of their lives?"

"Florida, home to more than 600,000 released felons, should follow the lead of other states that offer employers tax incentives to hire them", said state Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando. "And it needs to revisit a bill that stalled in the Florida Senate", he said. "That legislation would have made it easier for released felons to have their criminal records expunged", Siplin said. "Such a move would allow them to legally say on an application form that they have not been convicted of a felony".

"A person who hasn't committed a crime in 10 or 15 years, they should be able to resume their lives," Siplin said.

The bill to make it easier for records to be expunged died after opposition from employers who said they need to know the criminal backgrounds of job applicants. Others say criminal records might continue to exist in various databases, even after their official removal.

source: SunSentine.com
CLICK TO READ COMPLETE ARTICLE.


Posted By: The Candid Blogger
visit our Job Search Blog at: The-Job-Specialist Blog

Senator Jim Webb Calls for Prison Reform

Outlook Best in Years for True Prison Reform

This country puts too many people behind bars for too long. Most elected officials, afraid of being tarred as soft on crime, ignore these problems. Sen. Jim Webb, a Democrat of Virginia, is now courageously stepping into the void, calling for a national commission to re-assess criminal justice policy. Other members of Congress should show the same courage and rally to the cause.

The United States has the world’s highest reported incarceration rate. Although it has less than 5 percent of the world’s population, it has almost one-quarter of the world’s prisoners. And for the first time in history, more than 1 in 100 American adults are behind bars.

Many inmates are serving long sentences for nonviolent crimes, including minor drug offenses. It also is extraordinarily expensive. Billions of dollars now being spent on prisons each year could be used in far more socially productive ways.

Senator Webb — a former Marine and secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration — is in many ways an unlikely person to champion criminal justice reform. But his background makes him an especially effective advocate for a cause that has often been associated with liberals and academics.

In his two years in the Senate, Mr. Webb has held hearings on the cost of mass incarceration and on the criminal justice system’s response to the problems of illegal drugs. He also has called attention to the challenges of prisoner re-entry and of the need to provide released inmates, who have paid their debts to society, more help getting jobs and resuming productive lives.

Mr. Webb says he intends to introduce legislation to create a national commission to investigate these issues. With Barack Obama in the White House, and strong Democratic majorities in Congress, the political climate should be more favorable than it has been in years. And the economic downturn should make both federal and state lawmakers receptive to the idea of reforming a prison system that is as wasteful as it is inhumane.

SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES

Who is Jim Webb?

# Senator from Virginia
# Former Secretary of the Navy
# Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs
# Platoon leader with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Vietnam
# Awarded the Navy Cross
# Awarded a Silver Star
# Awarded two Bronze Stars
# Awarded two Purple Hearts
# Emmy Award winning war reporter
# Author of six best selling novels

Posted By: The Candid Blogger
visit our Job Search Blog at: The-Job-Specialist Blog

The Importance of Validation

After reading Don's post on "You Matter", it is only natural that I follow up with this landmark short film called "Validation". An amazing and inspiring short film about the importance of acknowledging and validating people, this film is much needed pick-me-up that will inspire you during the holiday season and afterward.

This 16 minute short film shows the magic of looking for the best in people. Validation, has played at 34 film festivals worldwide and won 17 awards. A list of the awards that this inspiring short film has won:

1. Winner - Best Narrative Short, Cleveland Int'l Film Festival
2. Winner - Jury Award, Gen Art Chicago Film Festival
3. Winner - Audience Award, Hawaii Int'l Film Festival
4. Winner - Best Short Comedy, Breckenridge Festival of Film
5. Winner - Crystal Heart Award
6. Best Short Film & Audience Award, Heartland Film Festival
7. Winner - Christopher & Dana Reeve Audience Award
8. Williamstown Film Festival, Winner - Best Comedy
9. Dam Short Film Festival, Winner - Best Short Film
10. Sedona Int'l Film Festival

Posted by: The Candid Blogger

Job Search Assistance

Gary Mialocq, Ph.D., Connector

As a retired vocational rehab counselor and long-time friend and associate of Don Kirchner, I am here to help those who are seeking a job or a career, or who just need to make extra money. My skill is being able to match things. If I introduce two people, they get married. I spent 25 years helping people find jobs, repair broken marriages, overcome physical and emotional pain , so this will be fun. My website, the Job Specialist, is devoted to getting you on the inside track. It is loaded with tools to help you simplify and streamline your job search.

I'll repeat what I said in an earlier post. I often tell people I've counseled to consider trading incarceration for "freedom", like a death. The old You #1758965 is dead. The past is history.

Your challenge is to focus on what lies ahead, your future. No excuse for the past -- it is done. Forget it, but LEARN from your mistakes. Be PATIENT and stay calm. You are very lucky. Because the death you are experiencing is in no way like a real death experience. For instance, rock star Eric Clapton lost his beloved 4 year-old son, Conor, in a fall from a building in New York. For almost a year, he couldn't sing, perform, or function. He was devastated. Then, he overcame it by facing it head-on, and writing a song for his son, "Tears in Heaven".





You can do it too . . . and we're here to help. If you do need help, feel free to contact me. As we grow we'll establish a solid support network. Good luck.

Posted by: The Candid Blogger

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Obama Supports Prisoner Re-entry Summit

Barack Obama Issues Statement Supporting Prisoner Reentry Summit

September 22, 2008.

San Francisco, CA – In a welcome statement for the Third Annual Prisoner Reentry Summit, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) commended San Francisco city leaders for their “innovative work to reduce recidivism” and pledged to create opportunities for former prisoners if elected president.

In his letter, Senator Obama recognized that American urban communities are facing an “incarceration and post-incarceration crisis.” Senator Obama vowed to “create a prison-to-work incentive program, modeled on the successful Welfare-to-Work Partnership, to create ties between employers and third-party agencies that provide training and support services to ex-offenders and to improve ex-offender employment and job retention rates.” Senator Obama also pledged that he would “work to reform correctional systems that prevent former inmates from finding and maintaining employment.”

The Third Annual Summit is being organized by the Safe Communities Reentry Council (SCRC). The SCRC was established in 2005 to promote the safe and successful return of formerly incarcerated San Franciscans by developing a comprehensive support system that reduces violence and recidivism, and promotes public safety.

According to SCRC spokesperson and Public Defender Jeff Adachi, “We are very pleased that Senator Obama has issued a statement in support of re-envisioning federal reentry policies. With one out of every 100 Americans in jail or prison, we need to provide greater support to former prisoners who want to turn their lives around.”

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2008/2009 Resource Guide
(click guide to download)

Philly Re-entry Program Faces Budget Cuts

Plan to find ex-offenders jobs is tripping on hurdles

By DAVE DAVIES
Philadelphia Daily News

daviesd@phillynews.com 215-854-2595

When he was campaigning for office, Mayor Nutter spoke with passion about the importance of giving a second chance to inmates who want to find a place in society again. He pledged to create opportunities for ex-offenders.

"If we want to drive the crime rate down in this city, we have to put these people back to work," he said at a September 2007 forum.

John Phillips, a former Graterford inmate who has turned his life around, liked what he heard. He's less happy now.

As of Dec. 31, Phillips will be out of a job, thanks to budget cuts Nutter announced last month. The program that Phillips works on, the Adolescent Violence Reduction Partnership, is being shut down after officials concluded that it was not as effective as they'd hoped.

"I felt I was making a difference," said Phillips, who was freed in February 2007, after serving time for aggravated assault. "This will make my life a lot worse. I'm on parole until 2019. I'm a father of four."

Phillips' plight is primarily the result of the economic crisis that has badly damaged the city's finances.

But nearly a year into Nutter's first term, the city's efforts to help former inmates have sputtered, and not all the problems can be blamed on budget pressures.

The city failed to take basic steps to implement a law encouraging the employment of ex-offenders. And the man hired to run the city agency helping former inmates was demoted after overspending his budget and canceling a contract with a nonprofit agency helping ex-cons find jobs.

Ray Jones, director of Impact Services Corp., said that his agency still doesn't know if its city contract will be renewed, and he wonders what's going on in the Mayor's Office for the Reentry of Ex-Offenders, or MORE.

"To date, there's been nothing but lip service in providing services for re-entry," Jones said.

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Return to Honor Jobs Program

ANNOUNCEMENT

Nearly 650,000 people are released from state and federal prison yearly and arrive on the doorsteps of communities nationwide. A far greater number reenter communities from local jails, and for many offenders and /defendants, this may occur multiple times in a year. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) over 50 percent of those released from incarceration will be in some form of legal trouble within 3 years. In his 2004 State of the Union, President Bush proposed “a four-year, $300 million prisoner re-entry initiative to expand job training and placement services, to provide transitional housing, and to help newly released prisoners get mentoring, including from faith-based groups.” source: US Department of Justice.

Don Kirchner, founder of the Society for Return to Honor, is proud to announce that his organization, in association with retired Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Gary Mialocq, PhD, is offering a jobs re-entry opportunity online. Those re-entering society can participate alone and follow the step-by-step program outlined on the Job Specialist website, or may receive mentoring and counseling at greatly discounted rates in an effort to assist in returning to the job market during these very difficult times.