Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2017)
1 J I I News Page 11 INMATE JOBS, fro m page 10 time in prison, they typically have little savings to show for it when they’re released. If they do have some cash, it’s usually not much, said Paul Solomon. He’s the executive director of Sponsors, a re-entry program with a network of services engaging roughly 500 former jail and prison inmates in Lane County annually. “When you’re starting out with nothing, two or three hundred dollars doesn’t go very far,” he said. “The fact that almost half of the people P H O T O B Y JOE G L O D E O S P contact center m anager B ru ce Potts being released from custody don’t have (left) stands with inm ate Jim m y K a sh i identified housing when they are released is (right), who has worked in the contact center a bit of a travesty in my mind,” Solomon f o r the p a st fo u r years. said, and where you’re released, in many cases, dictates what type of resources you’ll have.” But if inmates want luxury items, such as He said in some counties, especially toothpaste, they will likely have to work for outside the 1-5 corridor, some inmates are them. But if they get into trouble, not only released to homelessness. are they likely to, lose their job, but they “It’s tough to start when you’re on the also may be fined for misbehaving, which streets,” he said. can also eat into their savings. But even if the Department of In 2016, inmates at Oregon state prisons Corrections wanted to pay inmates the paid $316,810 in fines they accrued while minimum wage - as prisons in Poland do 2 behind bars. Of that, $88,960 was for it couldn’t afford it. property damage or medical expenses Oregon’s prisons couldn’t operate without related to an assault, and $227,850 was for their underpaid inmate workers. disciplinary fines. Without them, “we would have to hire When prisoners are released with little or more people,” Corrections Department no savings, it places an additional burden on spokesperson Betty Bemt said. “We don’t taxpayers. have the resources to do that. That’s just “We’re paying for it one way or another,” not realistic.” ; Solomon said. He and re-entry counselor Ciccotelli both agreed that most inmates will need some form of support once they are released. “According to DOC, about three-quarters of the people in custody have moderate to severe substance abuse issues, yet only a fraction of them receive treatment,” ; Solomon said. “Sex offender treatment is another one. Oregon is a state that doesn’t provide sex offender treatment,” he said, this, despite Oregon having a high rate of sex offenders. He also expressed concern about the under-capacity status of the automotive training program at Oregon State Penitentiary. “There is ho reason those programs shouldn’t be full, and if they aren’t, they should be plucking people from other institutions and bringing them there for the better programs,” he said. He plans to bring this up at the next meeting of the Governor’s Reentry Council, on which he sits. Since it was established in 2007, this council has introduced some productive policy changes to help inmates succeed after their release, he said, such as ensuring they have identification. There have also been improvements in Oregon’s five largest counties, he said. In Oregon, parole and re-entry are handled on the county level, and it’s common practice for parole officers, treatment providers and other service providers to connect with inmates before release to make the transition back into society smoother. But many rural counties don’t have the resources to do this. “We need to create more equity across the state for services to make sure every person that comes out of prison has transitional housing, has employment services, has treatment, thé things that we know make a difference in a person’s success,” Solomon said. In the 2017 legislative session, a bill creating a Certificate of Good Standing for inmates will be introduced. “It’s not something someone would get immediately upon release; it would be something that would take time,” said Sen. Michael Dembrow (D-Portland). An inmate would begin to earn thé certificate before release and then would obtain it if he or she continued to meet the conditions of parole for a period of time after re-entry. The intention is that having this certificate of rehabilitation would carry weight in the eyes of prospective employers, Dembrow said. “Is there more work to do? Sure. And clearly there’s a lot we could be doing to ensure people success when they get out,” Solomon said. “Hell, when you take a look at the recidivism rates with master’s degrees, there’s a great solution! Give everybody an education. But fiscally, it’s a little more challenging.” emily@streetroots.org PEOPLE PLANET LAUGHINGPLANET.COM
