Comments on: Panel: MPRI Transforming State Corrections

By: Robert Braun

Robert Braun — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 23:08:56 +0000

You have to be in these individauls shoes to truly understand what they are facing when they re-enter society!

By: Jeff Padden

Jeff Padden — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:14:59 +0000

Mary –
As the moderator of Monday’s panel, “The Policy and Politics of the MPRI,” I want to thank you for the excellent summary. Very impressive piece of writing and an illustration that in-depth reporting is still possible!

For those looking for more information, here is a link to sign up for the MPRI eNews: [link]

The website is http://www.MichPRI.com.

In my experience, the MPRI is the most important crime-fighting initiative of the past 30 years, and it is already showing positive preliminary results.

It is worth noting that the MPRI actually begins on the day an offender reaches the Michigan prison system. At the Reception and Guidance center, which is the intake point for the system, each prisoner is assessed for the specific risks they pose for committing further crime. That assessment drives development of a Transition Accountability Plan for each prisoner, and that in turn guides the programming for that prisoner. This highly-customized plan is updated periodically, and eventually it becomes a key part of the community strategy for supervision and services for the prisoner to keep driving down the risk of new crime after he or she has been paroled. So far, the results are very promising, with new crimes and technical parole violations by MPRI parolees down dramatically from expected levels.

Thanks again for the great coverage.

By: Mary Morgan

Mary Morgan — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 16:14:15 +0000

Re. #1: Thanks for the additional information, Jeff. Here's a link to the county's website for the J-PORT program. [link]

By: Jeff Irwin

Jeff Irwin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:35:59 +0000

Mary,

Thanks for another great article about a topic central to Michigan’s future. As one of only five states in the nation spending more on prisons than on higher education, we have to find a better way to prevent criminal behavior and victimization.

I was particularly interested in Sen Alma Wheeler Smith’s assertion that MPRI should start earlier in criminal justice process. I certainly agree. We have a model program at Washtenaw County called J-PORT (Justice Project Outreach). This group of mental health professionals perform assessments during intake and after incarceration. They work in the jail to divert mentally ill offenders into programs and services that help break the cycle of crime and punishment.

Not only is this a more humane way to address the problem, it probably saves more money than it costs. In the first year, J-PORT saved the county thousands of “jail bed-days.” In addition, we hope to prove that this type of diversion reduces recidivism. With a recidivism rate of roughly 70% within two years, the “repeat customers” are the core cause of out-of-control spending on criminal justice.

This is the a program that the state would do well to support, study and replicate. If our successes here in Washtenaw County could be replicated, J-PORT might be a key part of the solution to our criminal justice problems.