CORI law reform in Mass.
Several years ago when I worked for an admissions office at a Simmons College I was assigned to run a college fair within the Suffolk County House of Correction. The women who were attending the fair were all incarcerated for short term sentences usually relating to drugs or assault charges. Most of them were close to concluding their time there, were still very young (20 to 25) and were trying to figure out what on earth they would do afterwards. Each of them came to my table. I was all idealism and promise, “We can figure out the financial aid situation, just apply and see what happens,” I remember telling them. “You can do anything.” Trouble was: they couldn’t do anything. The majority of them were interested in nursing. Simmons had a strong nursing program. But one by one, each of them informed me that it couldn’t happen, that the major would do no good because they’d never get through CORI to get a job after.
Yesterday at a hearing Governor Patrick called for CORI law reform. As is evident in the news coverage (Boston Globe, Metro, Boston Now, Herald) opinions on reform are mixed. What do you think? What needs to be considered in evaluating or re-evaluating this law. How does it relate to opportunities for housing and employment in the Commonwealth? You also may want to take a look at Liz's post on the U.S. senate's Second Chance Act.
First, C.O.R.I. reform is
First, C.O.R.I. reform is important but it should not over shadow the real issue which is people must be able to feed their families and lead a productive life. There are certainly fields where a persons background and past involvement in the criminal justice system are important and should exclude certain persons. The government should also step up and lead by example and we should insure that C.O.R.I. goes only as far as it needs to go to protect the public interest and people who have access should at least know how to read the report. The real issue though, as framed in part by some of the new additions to the Second Chance Act of 2007, is the need to educate and train a population which we know will eventually return to our communities. When we spend more on incarceration than public higher education, when 1 in 9 black men between the ages of 20-34 are incarcerated, how can we expect anything less than the chaos we now have. We already know the correllation between education and recidivism, and the fact that a high school diploma will generate a drop from above 50% to 39%, two years of college drops recidivism to 10% and a ph.d drops it to 0% then while the ph.d is unrealistic, we can certainly use our community college system to work on the two years of college while people are incarcerated. The problem is there is no political will and this type of endeavor creates no political capital for any administrtion. We have spent years and millions preparing people who are only worth 40-50 % of a sustaining wage and spending very little to find ways to assist them in climbing the wage latter without it being another welfare program. People must work for there betterment for it to have real value and meaning but while incarcerated or shortly therafter, we can assist in a way which combines work, mentoring, tough love and encouragement but it must be earned. The agency I operate has received some funding which will allow us to take a small cohort and use work and education ( Bunker Hill ) to test this thesis and I am confident that we will show a reduction in recidivism whether the C.O.R.I. laws are changed or not. I personally went from a convicted armed robber to a graduate degree from Harvard and if society had made it too easy I'm not sure if the results would be the same. I do know that as a Vietnam era vet I did have support available from the government which these young men and women don't have today. We must focus on the things we can change and the reform of C.O.R.I. will become a smokescreen as will entry level jobs.
Ben, Thank you for your
Ben, Thank you for your insight and your personal story. You make a good point in that CORI reform alone may not change outcomes for individuals who have been through the criminal justice system. Mentorship, I think has to be part of the equation, someone to help individuals prepare for interviews and work, and learn about how to take control of their own future.
You said:
I'm hoping this isn't the last we hear from you or the cohort program you're developing. Could you keep me and SpeakUnited updated on how things you're learning as the program develops?
I will try to keep the lines
I will try to keep the lines open but I respond best to direct questions
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