Author: ocean.reentry.taskforce@comcast.net

October 2016

General Meeting

As usual, this month’s installment of the Ocean County Reentry Taskforce will take place in the Toms River Town Hall, Lommel Room starting at 9am. Our membership keeps growing each time we meet. We meet the second Tuesday of each month, unless an unexpected change. Please feel free to contact us at the e-mail address provided. We appreciate the generosity of Mayor Tom Kelaher for hosting our Workforce.

Informative Presentations

This month’s meeting brings two exciting informative presentations!

September 2016

This month’s meeting brings two exciting informative presentations. First, the Family Success Center, will showcase their services which foster successful parenting and family relationship building. Their goal is to engender stable communities. Secondly, the New Jersey Reentry Corporation,  will describe the roles of their reentry specialists who are offering wrap-around services for men and women reentering Ocean County society after having been incarcerated.

For more information, please contact ocean.reentry.taskforce@comcast.net

Why Reentry?

The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world; in 2009, for every 100,000 residents, 754 were in jails or prisons.1   Everything about incarceration is directly related to reentry success. Reentry strategies vary widely across the United States signifying that reentry’s much more than an option, it’s a necessary process. How successful the overall reentry process is depends on the strategies and resources used including pre and post-release planning, offender programming, and family and community integration.
Reconnecting with family and friends, establishing stable housing, finding and retaining quality employment, developing educational goals, and coping with addiction and substance abuse issues are just some of the obstacles that offenders must confront and overcome as part of the reentry process.
With less than 5% of the world’s population2 and 23% of the world’s prison population3, the challenges of incarceration in the United States are staggering.
The United States now spends more than $68 billion on federal, state and local corrections.4   The costs of reentry – both societal and economic – are high. Statistics indicate that more than two-thirds of state prisoners are rearrested within 3 years of their release and half are reincarcerated.5   A disproportionate number of offenders return to communities with no job, nowhere to live, and limited financial resources. The implementation and use of successful reentry strategies play an essential role in the overall success of those most in need while helping to reduce the cycle of recidivism.

ESSENTIAL REENTRY SOURCEBOOK RAYBROOK REENTRY INITIATIVE
In helping individuals to locate much needed resources, it is our sincere hope that the Ocean County Reentry Taskforce will aid in the overall success of those returning to their communities.