NEWS AND EVENTS
In the news:
Turnabout, Inc. Helps Historic Church
Turnabout plans to move to a new location in the near future. Before Turnabout moves, there are remodeling needs that must take place at the new location. Warren United Methodist Church, 1630 East 14th Avenue, Denver, CO, is going to be the new home for Turnabout. Channel 4 News stopped by during a work day to cover the story of this historic church being updated. All the work is being done by clients who volunteer their time to give back to Turnabout. Here is the link to watch the video that aired August, 2, 2008. http://www.cbs4denver.com/video/?id=44891@kcnc.dayport.com
Turnabout, Inc. Awarded Grant for Energy Jobs
Denver, CO – Turnabout, Inc., a 23-year-old program whose mission is to reduce recidivism and create lasting solutions by assisting individuals with criminal histories through career preparation and training, has been awarded a grant of $285,000 funded by Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED), the U.S. Department of Labor and Employment, Metro Denver Economic Corporation, and the City and County of Denver's Office of Economic Development.
The grant focuses on providing Turnabout clientele with the training and placement services needed in order to enter into the booming energy field that has become such a presence in the Colorado job market.
Annually, Turnabout provides over 1,500 individuals with job
assistance and related support services. In 2007, studies of
datafrom 300 intensive clients served through various programming
revealed that more than 80% have become gainfully employed
taxpayers and supporters of their families and that recidivism
rates range from 5% to 17%. In contrast, the state of Colorado’s
annual recidivism rates ranges from 36% to 50%.
For the WIRED Initiative, Turnabout has created a division called "Rays of Hope" in order to serve the needs of employers and to utilize energy-related job opportunities as a pathway out of poverty and into success for some of Colorado's most disadvantaged job-seekers.
“Rays of Hope” needs employers who are willing to hire well-screened, trained, and supervised job seekers! For six months after obtaining employment, participants will continue receiving case management and support to enable them to retain employment. This is a win-win scenario!
For information, please call: Turnabout, Inc., #303.813.0005and ask for Rev. Tina Yankee or Jennifer Genova, or email: info@turnaboutprogram.org
In the news:
Governor Bill Ritter in State of the State address, January 11, 2007
“Let’s talk for a minute about public safety. I spent a career being tough on crime, trying to be smart on crime. Now we have to smarter than ever. Our social compact and our responsibility as government leaders to keep people safe demands it. And so does our budget.” He continued noting his selection of Judge Weir and Ari Zavaras in public safety and corrections positions, “making recidivism-reduction a top priority of these two departments. If we can prevent someone from re-offending, that’s one less victim. More than half of DOC inmates wind up back in prison within three years. That’s simply an unacceptable number. The costs are spiraling out of control and eating into our ability to fund education and health care. We can do better here in Colorado, and we’re going to.” He also noted, “Developing programs that allow inmates to successfully re-enter society.”
In the news:
From Sue Windels: State Senator, District 19 – February 2007 (www.suewindels.com )
“Dear Friend: We’ve got a big problem! Our prisons are full. They’ve hung out the “No Vacancy” sign. Colorado’s prison population has grown from 11,577 inmates in 1996 to 22,012 inmates in 2006. Colorado’s Department of Corrections budget was $63 million in 1986 and grew to $585 million in 2006.
In 1977, Colorado incarcerated 89 inmates per 100,000 residents compared to 438 inmates per 100,000 residents in 2004. In 1984, we spent 2.6% of our state budget on Corrections and it now takes 8.6% of our General Fund Budget.”
Follow the above link to view other topics within this article: “Prison population growing.” “Why do we have such exploding prison population growth?” “Prison Reform.” “Bottom Line = Money.” “What are our priorities?”
New Statistics
U.S. Prison Statistics- a record 7 million people- one in every 32 U.S. adults- was behind bars, on probation, or on parole by the end of the year 2005. Of those, 2.2 million were in prison or in jail. [1]
Colorado Prison Statistics
Colorado currently operates 24 prisons
January 26, 2006
28,243 persons under the jurisdiction of the CDOC (increase of 604%, since 1980)
1992-2004 Colorado average annual prison population growth 7%, exceeds national average, 4.3%
Three primary factors to growth of prison population:
Increasing Sentence Length and Mandatory Sentencing- House Bill 85-1320 (the Mielke-Arnold Bill), doubled maximum sentences for all felonies, average sentence length increased by two-thirds, average length of stay has increased by 40%
The War on Drugs- The number of people sent to prison for drug offences has increased 476% (1987-2001), drug offenders are the fastest growing category of felons in Colorado prisons, 50% of those serving time for drug convictions were convicted of simple possession, as of 2004, there were 3932 people in prison for a drug offense, costing taxpayers over $106 million annually.
Legislation Requiring Mandatory Parole and Increased Revocation Rates on Parole- In 1993 the Colorado Legislature passed a law requiring all felons who were sentenced on or after July 1,1993 to serve a period of mandatory parole when they were released from prison (even if they serve everyday of their sentence). 28% of people who were sent to prison were revoked for technical parole violations- this means that a procedural violation occurred, but no new crime was committed.
Cost of Incarceration-
From fiscal year 1985-86 to 2005-06, appropriations to the DOC grew from $57 million to $533 million. Compound annual growth rate of 11.8%.
DOC General Fund appropriations are 8.6 of the state operating budget. In 1991, the General Fund limited their annual growth rate to 6%.
The average operating cost per state prison bed is $27,840. The average cost of construction is $83,360 per prison bed. The state will need an additional 8000 prison beds by 2011 to keep pace with the population growth.
Odds of Going to Prison for Males Born in 2001 are 1 in 17[2]
[1] Washingpost.com, Associated Press, Friday, December 1, 2006: Page A03
[2] www.ccjrc.org, Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, Colorado prison Facts, 2006