Plan approved by North Carolina panel to meet prisoner reentry goals
RALEIGH, NC — A new state panel has identified specific measures to bring together various North Carolina government agencies to work toward improving conditions for prisoners when they are released, leading to less recidivism.
The Joint Reentry Council, founded by Executive order from Governor Roy Cooper in January approved last week plans to meet more than two dozen objectives using over 130 different strategies.
The mandate called for a “whole-of-government” approach, with government ministries and other government bodies working together to achieve goals and take action.
More than 18,000 people are released from North Carolina’s dozens of adult prisons each year, and because of their criminal records, they face challenges in employment, education, health care and housing.
The council’s plan “lays out our roadmap to transform the lives of people leaving prison and returning to society while making our communities safe,” Cooper said in a news release Tuesday.
Cooper’s order was also in line with the objectives of Return 2030a national effort being developed by the Council of State Governments and other groups to promote successful integration of offenders. The council said North Carolina was the third state to officially participate in Reentry 2030.
The plan sets what officials called challenging goals when it was unveiled in January. It also aims to increase the number of high school diplomas or skills certificates earned by eligible incarcerated youth and adults by 75% by 2030 and to reduce the number of formerly incarcerated people experiencing homelessness by 10% a year.
Several initiatives have already begun. The Department of Adult Corrections, the lead agency for the reentry effort, has started a program that includes a driving school to help inmates train for commercial driver’s licenses. The Department of Health and Human Services has also provided $5.5 million to a program to help recently released offenders with serious mental illnesses, Cooper’s release said.
The governor said in January that funding was already available to pay for many of the efforts, including new access to federal grants for inmates to pursue further education aimed at helping them find jobs after their release.