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Lancaster Crime Summit
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| 06.12.2008
Lancaster County Reentry Management Organization holds meeting with new County Commissioners Craig Lehman, Dennis Stuckey and Scott Martin. The Lancaster County Reentry Management Organization hosted a Crime Summit for the new Lancaster County Commissioners at the Public Safety Training Center in Salunga, PA.
Lorrie Kunes began the day with her recovery story. After spending 4 months in Lancaster County Prison due to her drug addiction, Lorrie credits her Christian faith, Brightside Baptist Church, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings as assisting in her recovery. For Lorrie, “A shred of hope can go a long way.”
Adrian Rodriguez, who is now employed at the Community Homeless Outreach Center, also spent 4 months in Lancaster County Prison. He is also a Christian. He believes that the “power of communication is taking hope to another level” in Lancaster County Prison. With the support of Cody Hall and Bob Siemasco, since Adrian was released from prison in 1993, Adrian has never been unemployed. Adrian says that, “People make mistakes and people do change.”
Lorrie mentioned that, “Community time is really what healed her.” During her time in prison, she developed friendships that were not based on money or drugs. She learned about the bible and God. A professor from Millersville University was instrumental in encouraging Lorrie to apply for student loans. Lorrie applied for grants and won scholarships. Today she has a Masters degree; and works as a family-based therapist.
Punitive probation officers that dictate actions to previously incarcerated people were not helpful. Having the opportunity to make healthy choices; and accepting the responsibility for those choices is much more productive for changing negative behavioral patterns.
Doug Hopwood, Director of the Transitional Living Center (TLC), stated that, “Employment is number one. The employment picture is very muddied. With employment, self-esteem comes back.” Previously incarcerated people need knowledge of where they can be employed. Many times, although a person has finished their sentence, they are told, “You have a felony. You can’t work here.”
Willie McDowell emphasized that there is not enough housing. The waiting list for housing is long.
Many companies look upon people with criminal records as “bad people.” It is difficult for someone with a criminal record to obtain a job.
Scott Lapp of Pennsylvania Probation and Parole raised the importance that we need to do behavior modification in the prison. The people need to change their way of thinking, and become willing to make changes in their life.
Warden Vincent Guarini oversees 1200 inmates. The prison population typically increases thru June thru October. He remarked that many citizens are unaware that girls and boys who are 14 years old may spend time in Lancaster County Prison. The Warden said, “Recidivism is not just coming back in the door.” Seeing the same people over and over again in the Prison discourages the staff.
The approved definition of recidivism is someone who reenters the prison with a new charge within three years.
District Attorney Craig Stedman says we need to work on changing value systems. The DA mentioned the “No snitching” t-shirts and gang mentality show a lack of respect for people.
Traci Guynup, a member of the Lancaster County Reentry Management Organization, and Valerie Case of MidPenn legal mentioned a model program that is being replicated nationwide. Delancey Street, which is featured in the book, Influencer by Kerry Patterson, uses Mimi Silbert of Delancey Street as a case model throughout the book.
C. McCallister, remarked about Influencer that, “Persistent problems that seem immune to change have one, or both, of two factors in common:
In other words, the factors are ability and motivation.”
The authors of Influencer looked at three different levels for each problem:
Thus, if you want to influence people to make a change, there are six basic loci for change input: individual ability (i.e., skill training), individual motivation (e.g., incentives), group ability (e.g., increase networking), group motivation (e.g., modeling and healthy competition), environmental assets (e.g., make the necessary components more readily available), and environmental feedback (e.g., improve the consequence system for success and for failure).
In order to explain how these six different modes of, or targets for influence, can be effected, the authors use a handful of examples to illustrate what they mean. They keep returning to these examples, and the reader gets to know them well. The best example is Delancey Street in California, where oft-convicted drug-abusing felons are helped to become employed, law-abiding, drug-free citizens. By repeatedly returning to these examples, the reader not only understood the complexity of the approach needed, but also how it was done, without tremendous cost, using all six of the influence factors. Dr. Silbert breaks down the gang mentality of the participants in the Delancey Street program. The participants change from “No Snitching” to “Calling Out” other participants about their negative behavior. It is a responsibility of every participant to confront other participants about bad habits.
Second, the participants are taught to be a team-member. Individual success in the program is based on the success of that participant’s team. This develops peer-mentor relationships; and is beneficial to all the participants.
Challenges that need action by Pennsylvania legislators include Medical Assistance being cut off for incarcerated people; and housing for sex offenders.
Medical Assistance does not provide funding for:
a. detox,
b. rehab,
c. halfway house,
d. partial hospitalization, and
e. medication and medical treatment in Prison
This is a severe problem for people that are severely ill and that may be incarcerated for months before they are brought to trial. During the time of incarceration, medical assistance is terminated for all inmates. Further, it is difficult to obtain Medical Assistance upon release from prison.
Housing is a big problem for people who suffer from mental illness; and for Sex Offenders. Many of these people have no place to live; and are homeless once they leave the Prison.
A shelter for homeless in Lancaster has real issues with mentally ill people being deemed “non-compliant” and dropped from the roles for mental health services. These people are living on the streets and cannot obtain mental health services.
Lancaster County Commissioners Scott Martin, and Craig Lehman promised to review the three days worth of material. Both Commissioner Martin and Lehman are opposed to “Build and Fill.” Constructing a new $150M prison, is not seen as a solution to any of the challenges brought forth by the Lancaster County Reentry Management Organization.
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