STRATEGY 3

Support successful community reentry of formerly incarcerated people and remove systemic barriers to reintegration.

Support Successful Community Reentry

Formerly incarcerated people face a host of secondary or collateral consequences that jeopardize the chances of successful reintegration into society even after serving their complete carceral sentence. The harmful effects of these collateral consequences extend beyond the putative end of punishment to cause undue suffering for individuals and families, devastate already disadvantaged communities, and ultimately increase the likelihood of recidivism and subsequent reincarceration. Colorado jails are disproportionately populated by people of color and other vulnerable or historically disadvantaged groups for whom these post carceral challenges are often compounded by a lifetime of systemic inequality and associated barriers related to generational poverty, substandard educational systems, trauma exposure, untreated mental illness, and inadequate housing. Recommendations that fall under Strategy 3 work to ease the process of reentry from impacted community members.

STRATEGY 3 RECOMMENDATIONS

Support successful community reentry of formaly incarcerated people and remove systemic barriers to reintegration.

  • 64 : Create outreach campaigns in collaboration with the communities most impacted by incarceration to prevent trauma, affirm gender identity and queerness and promote social support networks for LGBQ+/TGI persons who are incarcerated or re-entering society.

  • 65 : Remove barriers to reentry that bar formerly incarcerated individuals from obtaining professional certifications, government employment opportunities, public housing, financial aid, and public benefits.

  • 66 : Create a funded reentry department by ordinance or executive order for community-based, culturally and gender responsive, trauma informed and survivor initiated transformative justice practices involving both adult and youth justice-involved populations for all crimes.

  • 67 : Provide post-conviction free legal and financial assistance to mitigate collateral consequences (e.g. licensing restrictions, record sealing, criminal system debt) and obtain orders of relief and fee waivers to enhance employment opportunities, increase compliance with court requirements and reduce judicial order variation.

  • 68 : Connect justice-involved persons with county-funded formerly justice involved community-based advocates that are reflective of the diversity of the reentering population to navigate the judicial system including diversion opportunities.

  • 69 : Guarantee non-coercive, equal access to all treatment resources for justice-involved individuals, both in or out of custody regardless of ability to pay. Streamline points of entry within courts, jails and prisons for mental health and substance use disorder services.

  • 70 : Create a centralized secure mental health facility for assessments, treatment, and management by psychiatric staff of mentally ill people within 24 hours after incarceration.

  • 71 : Provide pre-release services to stabilize people with mental illness before transitioning them to wrap-around community-based care.

  • 72 : Create community-based treatment facilities to accept patients from jail who have clinical mental health needs, substance use disorders, and/or co-occurring disorders by leveraging HOME Investment Partnership Funds and Medicaid.

  • 73 : Assess the entire Denver Community Corrections continuum including probation terms, conditions, and length of supervision to measure the effectiveness in promoting public safety and successful reentry. Invest in ownership and control of county-owned facilities.

  • 74 : Prioritize permanent supportive housing, prior to release, for chronically homeless re-entering adults with co-occurring disorders.

  • 74 : Prioritize permanent supportive housing, prior to release, for chronically homeless re-entering adults with co-occurring disorders.

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