News - 2009
NJ CEC Parole Program Receives National Innovations Award
West Caldwell, NJ, Aug 4 - The Council of State Governments (CSG) honored the New Jersey State Parole Board's (NJSPB) Regional Assessment Centers (RACs) with an Innovation Award on August 2, 2009. The RACs are operated by Community Education Centers, Inc. (CEC), America's largest provider of offender reentry services, at two locations-Delaney Hall, CEC's 1200-bed residential reentry center in Newark, New Jersey and The Albert M. "Bo" Robinson Assessment and Treatment Center, CEC's residential assessment and reentry center in Trenton, New Jersey. Last fiscal year, the RACs saved New Jersey $2 million and are projected to save the State another $14 million in incarceration costs in Fiscal Year 2010.
"It is a great honor to receive this award from the Council of State Governments for a program that is truly innovative for technical parole violators. Through the RACs, New Jersey is able to avoid the costs of incarceration for technical parole violators who receive the assessment services they need to become contributing members of society," said Dr. Robert Mackey, Senior Vice President at CEC.
The RACs were developed as an investment in public safety, and a method to save taxpayer dollars by reducing the rate at which technical parole violators are returned to prison. The RACs hold technical parole violators to a 15- to 30-day lockdown period, while subjecting them to a clinical risk-needs assessment. The assessment helps the New Jersey State Parole Board make better-informed decisions as to whether the technical violator should continue on parole with intensified supervision and programming, or whether the individual should return to prison."
True to Governor Corzine's focus on reentry, the RAC is an example of innovative thinking. It successfully promotes New Jersey's public safety while reducing a burden on the State budget. We are proud of this Innovations Award, and would encourage other states to learn from what New Jersey has accomplished," said Yolette C. Ross, State Parole Board Chairman.
Technical parole violators in the RACs are parolees who have committed a technical violation of the conditions of their supervision, but have not been charged with a new crime or significantly threatened public safety. Most technical violations are consistent with a relapse in addiction and indicate intensified supervision and treatment as an appropriate response for public safety.
"The RACs represent a significant step forward in parole policy. It appears to be the first model of its kind in which a paroling authority uses its law enforcement process as an opportunity for intervention and clinical assessment of high-risk parolees. As a result, the agency is making better-informed decisions about the continued supervision of these technical violators," said Joseph M. Shields, State Parole Board Executive Director.
Each year CSG recognizes eight state-based initiatives on the quality of their newness, creativity, effectiveness, transferability, and significance. The awards were established in 1986 to highlight new and effective state programs. The award was announced on August 2 at the 49th Annual Meeting and Regional Policy Forum of the Council's Eastern Regional Conference, held in Burlington, Vermont.
Community Education Centers, Inc. (CEC) is the largest provider of offender reentry and in-prison treatment services in America, operating in 20 states, with nearly 30,000 individuals in our daily care. CEC provides a full range of therapeutic residential and non-residential reentry services with a documented record of reducing recidivism.
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