By Chris Rotolo
FREEHOLD – A new initiative to support the social rehabilitation of recently incarcerated individuals will be implemented this summer in Monmouth County.
During its May 25 regular public meeting, the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners formally approved an agreement between the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office and the Monmouth County Division of Workforce Development to establish an occupational reentry program at the county correctional institution in Freehold. The program will offer resources, support, pathways to skill development, and placement opportunities to help inmates obtain gainful employment upon their release.
Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden told The Two River Times that this program is focused on supporting inmates who have reached the point of reintegration and reducing the rate of recidivism, or the likelihood an individual will relapse into criminal activity.
“The services provided will assist individuals in transitioning back into society successfully upon their release (from the county correctional facility). An opportunity to enter the workforce and become a productive member of their community, with a brighter future, is critical to reducing rates of recidivism,” Golden said.
The program’s inaugural year will be funded by a $100,000 allocation from the Monmouth County Workforce Development Board, which will be used to pay out all salaries, wages and benefit costs for program personnel.
According to the county’s memorandum of understanding, the program will begin next month and run through June 30, 2024. Its future consideration is “contingent upon both program success and the availability of federal funding.” Should both criteria be met, the program could be extended for an additional two years through 2026, before a new agreement would need to be reached.
United States Department of Justice (DOJ) data indicates that in 2019 – the latest available data set – there were 8,228 individuals released from New Jersey’s system of 19 county jails and nine state prisons. Of those releases, 7,706 – or 93.7% – identified as male.
According to a report published by the United States DOJ in May 2018, the federal Office of Justice Program’s Bureau of Justice Statistics found that “five out of six state prisoners were rearrested within nine years of their release.”
Additionally, the report noted that many of the individuals who were rearrested “entered prison with mental illness or substance abuse problems that perhaps went untreated when they were behind bars.
They left still struggling with those issues and facing obstacles such as finding housing, accessing education and employment, and caring for their children – all of which contribute to the likelihood that they may commit new crimes and be incarcerated again.”
In addition to skills training and employment opportunities, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that this new initiative will also work to address factors that lead to recidivism in the local inmate population, including access to health care, housing, food and other critical social networks. The program will utilize its own county network of business community partnerships and training providers (such as Brookdale Community College) to offer services to those recently incarcerated individuals who are eligible to receive such support.
“The Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners is proud to support the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office and the establishment of a reentry employment specialist program at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution,” Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone told The Two River Times. “Our division of workforce development will work with the sheriff’s office to monitor, mentor and follow up with participants, as well as coordinate with community organizations to help ensure that the program is successful.”
In October 2022, the United States DOJ announced the release of approximately $100 million in funding to help communities reduce recidivism and support the successful reentry of formerly incarcerated individuals. This funding, which is distributed across the nation, supports recent and ongoing reforms such as:
• Developing “school districts” within the federal prison system.
• Supporting the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program through the United States Department of Education.
• Providing occupational training programs to help inmates develop marketable job skills.
• Enhancing mental health treatment programs for incarcerated individuals.
• Improving access to inmates in need of substance abuse treatment.
• Boosting lines of communication between inmates and family members.
• Reforming and strengthening the network of federal halfway houses.
• Assisting inmates to obtain a government-issued ID prior to their release.
The Monmouth County Reentry Employment Specialist Program will launch July 1.
The article originally appeared in the June 22 – 28, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
