Federal Glover issued the following statement on Contra Costa County receiving a $750,000 grant that will help the Contra Costa County Probation Department provide services to parolees re-emerging from incarceration and hopefully help reduce recidivism.
The grant was announced Wednesday by Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton. The money comes from the Department of Justice’s Second Chance Re-entry program and will help from the CREATES initiative, a county effort to cut recidivism by 50 percent.
GLOVER STATEMENT: County gets federal grant for reentry efforts
I’m pleased that Contra Costa County’s efforts to help inmates reintegrate into our communities is being recognized and supported by the federal government through the Department of Justice’s Second Chance Grant. The $750,000 grant is the largest amount allowed.
I was informed by Senator Barbara Boxer’s office this morning (Aug. 28) that the county was successful in winning the grant. The grant will allow the county to reinforce the realignment initiative under AB109 that returns state prisoners and keeps low-level offenders under the county’s supervision. The money will be used for a pilot project, collecting and evaluating data showing the effectiveness of the county’s efforts.
The Second Chance Grant is in addition to the $19 million the county is receiving from the state to implement Contra Costa’s realignment plan. The county plan also provides for a network of resources for the formerly incarcerated so they can have a path out of the cycle of prison and recidivism
In my meetings with Department of Justice officials in Washington earlier this year, they encouraged me to continue pushing for the Second Chance Grant even though an earlier effort failed to meet their requirements. I brought that message back to county staff and they began the arduous process of applying for the grant by bringing all the county agencies, state and local offices and nonprofits to the table. By combining our information and sharing our expertise we were able to meet the stringent requirements and tight deadlines for this grant.
Establishing a relationship with DOJ and the county was essential. The DOJ officials told me that they wanted to work with a California county because they knew about the historic shift in how the state is dealing with incarceration.
It takes a real coordinated effort at all levels of government – from the county, cities, state and federal representatives in partnership with a host of community-based organizations — to bring about this acknowledgment of the county’s efforts to address our realignment needs.
I want to express my deep appreciation to everyone involved, especially Senator Boxer, who supported our effort and monitored our application through the DOJ.
Through this grant, the county’s realignment process, which is already underway, will help us produce the data and results that we all want for a safer community.
Here is the actual press release
For Immediate Release
INFORMATION: 925-202-5001County awarded $750,000 grant for reentry
PITTSBURG (Aug. 28, 2012) – Sen. Barbara Boxer’s office this morning revealed that Contra Costa County is the recipient of a $750,000 grant from the Department of Justice.
“I’m pleased that Contra Costa County’s efforts to help inmates reintegrate into our communities is being recognized and supported by the federal government through the Department of Justice’s Second Chance Grant,” said Supervisor Federal Glover.
The $750,000 grant is the largest amount allowed.
The grant will pay for a pilot program for 100 inmates who have a high likelihood to recidivism.
The program, CREATES (Contra Costa County ReentryAgenda to Empower and Ensure Safety), woud be established in the City of Antioch, West County and Central County, the areas the largest number of formerly incarcerated will return.
If the pilot project is successful, it would be implemented long-term for all the returning inmates and those prisoners who would ordinarily be released from county jail. Inmates in the program would receive services before they are released and they would be closely supervised after they return to their communities. The grant would also fund the collection of data and evaluation of the test program’s effectiveness.
“It took a real coordinated effort at all levels of government – from the county, cities, state and federal representatives in partnership with ahost of community-based organizations — to bring about this recognition,” said Glover in a statement.
“In my meetings with Department of Justice officials in Washington earlier this year, they encouraged me to continue pushing for the Second Chance Grant even though an earlier effort failed to meet their requirements. I brought that message back to county staff and they began the arduous process of applying for the grant by bringing all the county agencies, state and local offices and nonprofits to the table.”
“Through this grant, the county’s realignment process, which has already started, will help us produce the data and results that we all want for a safer community,” said Glover.
