wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Lori, I do work for an attorney who is actually a really kind and understanding person - Randolph Wolf. See criminaldefenseattorneynj.com

I am the Development and Public Affairs Associate for the Fortune Society, a non-profit whose mission I've copied below. I wanted to post to let anyone seeking information regarding reentry programs, alternatives to incarceration programs, and/or prison reform know that we are an excellent resource. Please get in touch via the website if you have any further questions.

Our Mission

The Fortune Society believes in a world where all who are at-risk, incarcerated or formerly incarcerated can become positive, contributing members of society. Our work supports successful re-entry of formerly incarcerated men and women and promotes alternatives to incarceration, thus strengthening the fabric of our communities.

We do this by:

BELIEVING in the power of individuals to change,

BUILDING LIVES through service programs shaped by the needs and experiences of our clients,

CHANGING MINDS through education and advocacy that works to rectify unjust and brutal criminal justice policies.

James the guests gave you some wrong info. They are looking at from a law enforcement point view, if you are not a parolee a parole officer should not be giving you advice.

You do not have to divulge your misdemeanor to every employer doing that gives them an exchuse not to hire you, if they terminate you for not reviling a misdemeanor when the asked about a felony you may have some legal recourse.

I do not know what state you live in but here in New Jersey you can have your record expunged after 7 years it will be closed to all privet sector employers but not to public sector ones with that said I have the same misdemeanor as you and I work for the State at DYFS. If you live in NJ you go to the NJ Judiciary web site and they have all the info and paper work good luck.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE consider doing a follow up show and spotlight the Bard College Prision Initiative program at the Napanoch facility in upstate NY. 60 minutes did a program on this & I attended a commencement in February with a trustee of the college and was blown away. These student spoke more eloquently than the scholars before them. It is a rigorous academic program that gives these reformed convicts a chance. Bravo to Bard President Leon Botstein and those professors WHO DONATE THEIR SERVICES as well as William Brown superintendent at the Eastern NY Correctional Facility. I hope that other institutions use these models for re-intry. It is phenomenal.

Love your show. Regarding James who has an arrest record about 10 years old, depending on the jurisdiction in which the arrest occurred, he can go to court to have the record expunged. Best, Patrick listening from Boston, where your show still makes more sense that the local show!

Hi, the last caller (James) said he had been ARRESTED, not convicted, but the responses I heard implied he had committed a crime. Without a conviction or guilty plea, is there a criminal record? In addition, isn't the job application question supposed to be about felonies? If having been arrested once implies you were guilty, then a lot of people are in trouble.

I was doing voter registration in Harlem last fall and was suprised to find that people with records were under the impression that they would never again be able to vote. When I told them they could vote in NY once they were off parole, they were so thankful. I wanted to know, why are former prisoners not educated on these very basic rights?

Thanks Lauren for mentioning expungement. I was thinking of that for the last caller. Is there a criminal lawyer out there (if not Lauren) to clarify? It's a shame that a person who makes one mistake in their life is forever labeled and limited.

In NJ, a single conviction can be expunged after 2 - 5 yrs. see an attorney.

honest as you possibly can? I think they should be completely honest period. I mean if one can be fired for false information the case can be made for any false information. Just be honest or you might get caught and that always makes things look worse than they really are.

I can give you my child's experience with a parole officer. This woman had a reputation (as witnessed by comments and rolling of the eyes of the office staff) for mistreating the offenders who were in her charge. She was abusive to my daughter--engaging in negative and psychologically damaging commentary which was difficult to overcome, even though my child was undergoing counselling with a psychotherapist during the whole time. Finally, this parole officer retired--perhaps forced? out but nonetheless while she was in her work, she affected the people in her care in a tremendously negative way. Granted, the folks she was working with had records, but this was such an extreme abuse of power, with no opportunity for comments (for fear of retribution) that it became clear to me that this system needs strong review. Tough to work with criminals, but these folks shouldn't be adding to the problem.

A major problem with re-entry is that goals of punishment and rehabilitation are fundamentally at odds. The conditions of punishment -- harshness, scarcity and lack of resources, isolation -- are exactly what causes people to commit crimes in the first place. The conditions of rehabilitation are gentleness, community, adequate resources and education, and until we redefine prison as we know it more or less out of existence we will always have a high rate of recidivism.

It is sad how difficult it is for former convicts to become employed. No wonder the recidivism rate is so high. I am generally not a believer in big government but perhaps have government employment for ex-convicts until they are able to find better work.

For your guests:

Do you feel that the NYS prison system does enough to prepare people before they reach your services? In terms of education, training, rehabilitation, counseling...? What more would you like to see done there?

Has there been any upward trend or push towards green jobs lately (over the past year plus)?