Community and Corrections Fall Forum: Assisting with successful prisoner re-entry

Did you know that with the new correctional facility, Goose Creek, opening this past summer the Mat-Su Borough now is home to close to 1/6th of the inmate population in Alaska? When Goose Creek reaches full capacity, our borough will be home to close to 40 percent of the state’s inmates.

At the recent annual conference of the Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, Ron Taylor, deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections, shared that we now have close to 6,000 inmates in Alaska prisons. Goose Creek, at last report on Aug. 13, ”reported 973 inmates and 257 staff,” as shared by Bert Cottle of the city of Wasilla. Also reported at the same time is Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility held 104 inmates and had a staff of 29, Palmer Correctional Center had 545 inmates and a staff of 110, and Point MacKenzie Correctional Farm was housing 114 inmates and a staff of 16.

Where are inmates released to when they leave Goose Creek Correctional Facility? How many are released into the Mat-Su and will be looking for homes for their families and employment opportunities? How many families of these staff and inmates need housing? What is the process for helping with their transition into our community? These and other questions were raised at a spring forum in May.

This Thursday the Mat-Su Coalition on Housing and Homelessness is sponsoring a Community and Corrections Fall Forum: Assisting with Successful Prisoner Re-Entry. The forum is at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center, begins at 10 a.m. and is sponsored by the Mat-Su Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, Mat-Su Health Foundation and the Alaska Prisoner Reentry Taskforce. The keynote speaker, Ron Taylor, deputy commissioner for the Alaska Department of Corrections, will speak about “Alaska Prisoner Re-Entry Efforts.”

A panel of experts will share information on topics, including: what programs are there helping in prisoner re-entry throughout our state? What works in helping families and youth? What are the housing options open to felons?. Panelists include John Conant, assistant superintendent of operations for Goose Creek Correctional Facility; John Weaver of Valley Residential Services; Brad Gillespie and Tamika Ledbetter of the state Department of Labor Workforce Development; Gary Olsen, criminal justice planner for the Alaska Department of Corrections; Kevin Munsen of Mat-Su Health Services; Rachel Greenberg of the Mat-Su Transit Coalition; Sue Magestro from Children of Incarcerated Parents; and Claire Waddoup of Partners for Progress.

The Coalition on Housing and Homelessness is hoping to have all agencies, organizations and individuals from the Mat-Su present to learn about how we can help reduce recidivism among inmates. Through this fall forum we hope to increase the success rate of prisoners re-entering our community.

Currently, we know that 95 percent of all prisoners held in Alaska prisons will be released, some on probation and some after completing their sentences. We also know that within the first year, 48 percent of them will return to prison, and that after three years that number increases to 66 percent.

As a community, this is not acceptable and we wish to be a part of reducing this high rate of recidivism. To that end, we hope to bring together leaders and staff of our Alaska Department of Corrections team as well as leaders and members of our Mat-Su Borough community to discuss what is currently being done to help prisoners prepare for a successful re-entry, what is available for prisoner support in re-entry once they are released and how can we get involved as a community to increase successful prisoner re-entry. We also hope to offer time for additional questions and avenues for interaction with our community and corrections during this fall forum.

If you have any questions, are able to attend or can help plan for the luncheon, contact Dave Rose at matsuhousing@gmail.com.

Dave Rose is the director of the Mat-Su Coalition on Housing and Homelessness.