Thursday, January 7^th

Creating a Workforce Development Culture To Reduce Reincarceration

In the mid-1990s, offender reentry gained visibility as an important public policy issue. At that time, organizations such as the U.S. Department of Education (ED), the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), and the National Institute of Justice began exploring offender workforce development strategies as an avenue for promoting the successful reintegration of offenders into communities. These strategies stem from the idea that offender employment builds communities, increases the economic self-sufficiency of families, strengthens fragile families, and provides structure and support for those seeking to remain crime free. Read More (PDF File)

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Giving Tourists a Look at Gang Culture

TA group of civic activists is preparing to offer bus tours of some of the grittiest pockets of the city, with profits funneled back into the community. Some of the particulars are raising eyebrows.

A group of civic activists, united by faith and a belief that the poor economy in the interior of Los Angeles is a social injustice, is preparing to offer bus tours of some of the grittiest pockets of the city, including decayed public housing, sites of deadly shootouts and streets ravaged by racial unrest.

After a VIP preview last weekend, L.A. Gang Tours expects to open to the public in January, giving tourists a look at the cradle of the nation's gang culture – the birthplace of many of the city's gangs, including Crips and Bloods, Florencia 13 and 18th Street. Read More

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The Transition to Freedom

William Mitchell's Reentry Clinic helps women leaving state prison navigate life in the mainstream.

Diana Koel dreamed of leaving prison, dreamed of a fresh start, of buying groceries, of dishing with co-workers in a company break room.

But having paid one's debt to society isn't a free pass to a new life. "Finding an apartment is extremely hard," said Koel, who served 29 months in the women's prison at Shakopee for felony drunken driving. "Once they find out you have a felony, 95 percent of the options go away." Jobs? She knows it's tough for an employer to take a chance -- and who needs to these days, with so many seeking jobs? Read More

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The Battle of the Antiviolence Gurus

Two men. Two different approaches to violence prevention. And one small pool of funding dollars.

Last spring Seattle City Councilman Tim Burgess invited David Kennedy and Gary Slutkin, two of the most prominent figures in national antiviolence campaigns, to his city to present their respective methods so that Burgess could choose the best fit for Seattle. Both men agreed to come, but not at the same time. Burgess doesn't remember which one refused first, but he quickly gathered, both from them and from others, that there was no love lost between the two reigning kings of antiviolence. Read More

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