After years of grappling with a swelling prison population, Arkansas corrections officials are working on a list of unconventional proposals to help decrease the number of probationers who eventually end up in prison and of parolees who re-offend after their releases.
One of the first goals is to keep nonviolent probationers from ever entering the prison system, said Dina Tyler, a deputy director for the Department of Community Correction.
"If before 17 you've got your first felony, and you've done drugs or alcohol -- and if you don't graduate or get your GED -- your path is set for you," Tyler said. "We know those three things are valid for admission to prison."
Adults who struggle while on probation are often those dealing with addiction, mental illness or a lack of education, Tyler added.
Several judicial districts in Arkansas are implementing pilot programs to help felony offenders get treatment before they are convicted or sentenced. These programs largely rely on peer-accountability meetings because many probationers don't have support from family or friends.
For example, the 13th Judicial District piloted what it called the Arkansas Smarter Sentencing program, which "offers innovative pre-trial and pre-sentencing sanctions and services for offenders who are accepted into the program," according to its website.
It's administered by judges, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation officers and community service providers.
Offenders who qualify are assessed to determine what risks or obstacles might hamper their abilities to stay out of trouble. Participants are then assigned to tiers, which dictate the type and length of treatment needed.
Some also will attend counseling or peer-accountability sessions. Others will get help finding child care or housing.
Those who test positive for drugs or alcohol or who fail to abide by the requirements of their tiers will be sanctioned. Sanctions for a first offense include "flash incarceration," additional community service hours and increased supervision. If a participant fails again to comply, he may have to spend a longer time in the program or transfer to a more restrictive tier.
With more state funding for additional staffing, the Department of Community Correction could set up similar programs in which probation officers serve on specialty courts designed to keep at-risk probationers from being sent to prison.
"Everybody wants more drug courts," Director Sheila Sharp said. "They are successful. But of the 25,000 people in our probation system, only 2,300 are in drug courts."
That's because drug courts have small caseloads, she explained, adding, "Basically, 20 percent of our staff is serving less than 10 percent of our probation population."
New prison process
John Wheeler, a longtime prison chaplain, now has a new title at the Arkansas Department of Correction: assistant director for re-entry.
The position was recently created to help prepare inmates for their transition back into society long before their release.
Some will be paroled. Others will have served their sentences in full and are free to go, which means it's imperative to prepare them for re-entry into the community, prison officials said.
"We need to get started with inmates from the time that they walk into prison units until they go on parole," Wheeler said.
Someone who first enters prison isn't thinking about how to prepare for the day he will be released, he explained. "You're just trying to survive in this new world. That's what their focus is on. So we have to refocus them."
In the past, inmates haven't become interested in preparing for release until about six months before they are due to get out. Wheeler hopes to change that thinking.
"Once they get that institutional mentality, it's hard to get them to cooperate," he said. "But if you can get to them earlier, you get a higher percentage of success. We have more time with them than [Community Correction] does. We can work with them longer."
Wheeler plans to start offering classes in which inmates would learn how to interact in a socially acceptable way. He also wants to hold family reintegration sessions, which would help prisoners learn how to maintain -- or begin -- good relationships with family members.
Over the years, he and other prison officials have also witnessed the success of two mentoring programs -- the PAL program for women and Pathway to Freedom for men. Both rely heavily on mentors from the community who meet regularly with inmates during the lengths their sentences.
Getting the public to participate by either teaching classes or mentoring inmates can be difficult, so it's imperative to make potential volunteers see the need for their involvement, Wheeler said.
"No. 1, these inmates will be coming out of prison. No. 2, it's in the best interest of your communities to support them."
In recent months, Wheeler has been working with his counterpart at the Department of Community Correction to help those who are about to be paroled find jobs.
Deputy Director Kevin Murphy's sole focus is on helping new parolees transition smoothly back into their communities.
He and Wheeler are working on a system that will allow inmates to work on their resumes while incarcerated. Some entered prison with certain job skills that can be cited on resumes. Others have learned skills in prison -- welding, for example, or factory work -- that they don't always think to list on resumes.
When an inmate is a week or two from release, he will be able to peruse employment listings and begin applying for jobs. A parolee who leaves prison with a job already lined up is far less likely to re-offend than one who walks out with only the $100 in "gate money" that inmates receive upon release.
The job-hunting process will soon be streamlined and easier to navigate once the Department of Community Corrections Good Grid website goes live, Murphy said.
Once logged in, parolees can post their resumes and ask that they be matched with openings for which they're qualified. Or they can search for jobs themselves. The website will crawl for and list all jobs posted online and in newspapers, Murphy said.
It also will offer a way for parolees to connect with treatment providers, counselors, landlords or organizations that provide clothes and food.
Providers who join the website will be able to create a free micro-site that either advertises their services or asks for donations.
"Anyone can access this," Murphy said. "A homeless person can walk into a library and get on this website. Parents with kids in trouble can find resources on it."
Life on the outside
In prison, correctional officers tell inmates what time to get up, when to eat, where to work, when they can use the restroom or showers, and what time to go to bed.
Outside those walls, new parolees must suddenly make not only those small decisions but also those with long-term repercussions, such as finding housing, jobs or even choosing the right friends.
"Even for someone in for only two or three years, it's still an adjustment," Tyler said. "We need to ease them out so that they're ready to make decisions."
Parolees without support systems -- families, church congregations or friends -- often give up when encountering the first roadblock, Murphy added.
"The first one they hit, they lay down. I know one guy who put in more than 30 job applications before he finally got something. He got a job because he kept going. Others would have quit."
Murphy is pushing for re-entry centers that would allow new parolees to ease back into their communities at their own paces.
Such centers work like this: Inmates nearing release are transferred to the centers, where they remain locked up while preparing for freedom. As time passes and they reach parole status, participants begin venturing out into the community, knowing that they are required to return to the center each night.
Once parolees show that they can go to work and return each day, they will be allowed an overnight stay with family. Then a weekend. Eventually, successful parolees will be at the center only when they need resources or advice.
Anyone who slips up goes back to the center for a specific time period.
Overall, much of what correction officials hope to accomplish depends on two things: funding approved by the state Legislature and community volunteers.
Churches have traditionally stepped up to the task, but participation from secular organizations would help greatly, Murphy said.
The department has created two videos to inform and attract prospective volunteers. Murphy hopes he can persuade organizations and churches to show the films.
In a few communities, volunteers have organized a network of resources for parolees. In West Memphis, for example, one man created a system that allows parolees to get their hair cut and clothing suitable for a job interview at no charge through help offered by local merchants.
Such arrangements remain rare, however.
Said Murphy: "We've got to engage communities. Because that is where parolees are going back to when they're released."
State Desk on 10/06/2014