Community Care Van Will Bring Check-In Services to Brooklynites on Supervised Release Who Have Previously had Trouble Making Appointments and Court Hearings
Conveniences Will Help Justice-Involved Individuals Better-Comply with Terms of Their Release, Which Research has Found Lowers Recidivism and Keeps Neighborhoods Safer
Program Prioritizes 35-and-Older Population in Brooklyn Transit Deserts, Who Often Have Trouble Accessing Necessary Services
NEW YORK – The Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) and Center for Justice Innovation (CJI) celebrates the launch of the city’s first Community Care Van, a novel tool to improve compliance among justice-involved adults in the city’s Supervised Release program. The van will bring check-in services to individuals in Southeast Brooklyn, a transportation desert, thus making it easier for them to comply with court requirements.
Research has found that providing personalized compliance support to targeted populations can produce a double-digit drop in recidivism.
The van will support an underserved – and often forgotten – group of New Yorkers on Supervised Release: those who are over the age of 35. These individuals are awaiting trial on criminal charges but have been determined by a judge to be more likely to succeed living in the community, with guidance, than lingering behind bars in jail.
“To keep our communities safe, we must always invest in upstream solutions that keep people on a path to stability and success. The ‘Community Care Van’ does just that by working hand-in-hand with our city’s Supervised Release program and giving those involved with the criminal justice system another shot to succeed,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “By bringing services directly to affected constituencies and ensuring New Yorkers meet their court requirements, we are reducing the opportunities for recidivism and keeping all of our communities safe. Public safety is the prerequisite to prosperity, and out-of-the-box initiatives like this will allow our city to prosper even further into the future.”
“We’re always looking for the next innovation to make our city even safer,” said Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice Director Deanna Logan. “In this case, the data identified a problem, and our office identified a solution. Providing check-in services to New Yorkers in a transportation desert will help them better-comply with the terms of their release and less likely to fall into bad cycles while awaiting trial.”
“Community justice is at its best when we are able to utilize all available resources to ensure a fair and just system,” said Center for Justice Innovation Director of Community Initiatives Curtis Huggins. “By removing one obstacle, like travel, the Community Care Van allows us to meet participants where they are to provide consistent supportive supervision and ensure a fairer system of accountability.”
The mobile justice teams are staffed by Community Navigators and supported by case managers, clinicians, and employment and benefits specialists trained to connect the under-resourced participants with voluntary and mandated services that were once out of reach because of their distance from the courts. Participants will also be offered help accessing vital community resources, such as job training, food banks, health clinics, and housing assistance.
Participant eligibility will be for supervised adults age 35 and up, who reside in Southeast Brooklyn, with a history of non-compliance within the last two years. Compared to younger participants in the Supervised Release program, older individuals in this area experience significantly higher failure to appear at court check-ins, often due to minimal transportation combined with health issues and family responsibilities.
The mobile services will allow more parents to spend more time with their children and allow all participants to take better advantage of key recourses offered following a missed check-in – both of which have been shown to improve outcomes for individuals in the justice system.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What are diversion programs?
- Diversion programs are alternatives to jail and prison that utilize community-based supports to address the underlying issues that lead individuals to engaging in criminal behavior. Programming supports criminally involved individuals, reducing the need for incarceration.
What are transition services?
- Transition services help individuals with criminal justice contact adjust back into community by giving them the tools to live productive and stable lives. Access to supportive services lowers the likelihood that an individual will reoffend.
How does diverting people benefit the community?
- Diverting people away from incarceration helps mitigate the long-term negative impacts of incarceration to individuals and their families, while reducing the likelihood that crime reoccurs – ultimately, ensuring more harm isn’t done to the community.
How do programs keep communities safe?
- By addressing the issues that fuel criminal behavior, such as poor mental health and financial insecurity, we reduce the likelihood of re-offense and related harms against communities.
How do these programs ensure accountability?
- Accountability can take many forms including acknowledging and addressing the underlying issues, needs, and/or impact of the offense.
About the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice: MOCJ develops innovative solutions to public safety challenges, reducing crime and incarceration. The agency creates vital programs that improve lives, generate community stability, and increase access to the support needed to maintain healthy and safe New York City neighborhoods. Recognizing that public safety cannot be achieved by law enforcement alone, MOCJ moves New York City forward by collaborating with community and institutional stakeholders to improve efficiency, accountability, and fairness in the justice system. For more information, please visit criminaljustice.cityofnewyork.us.
About the Center for Justice Innovation: CJI is a community justice organization that centers safety and racial justice. Since its founding in 1996, the Center has partnered with community members, courts, and the people most impacted to create stronger, healthier, more just communities. Its decades of experience in courts and communities, coupled with its field-leading research and practitioner expertise, help drive justice nationwide in innovative, powerful, and durable ways. For more information, please visit www.innovatingjustice.org.
Media Contacts
Noah Pransky, Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, [email protected]
Catriona Ting-Morton, Center for Justice Innovation, [email protected]