HARLEM PAROLE REENTRY COURT (NY)

Program Description
The Harlem Parole Reentry Court (Court) is a joint project of the Center for Court Innovation in collaboration with the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and the New York State Division of Parole. The Center for Court Innovation was created in 1996 as the independent nonprofit research and development arm of New York State's Unified Court System. Among its many projects, the Center has worked with New York City and State and the court system to develop, implement, and operate the Midtown Community Court, the first community court in the nation.

The Harlem Parole Reentry Court, which is housed at the Harlem Community Justice Center, began operations in June 2001 and is designed to address the needs and risks faced by prisoners returning to East and Central Harlem. The Court's principal goals are to reduce recidivism and reincarceration rates; to increase participation in drug treatment and employment services; and to increase sobriety, employment, and other indicators of effective community reintegration. The Court currently handles a target population of individuals who have been imprisoned for nonviolent drug-related offenses and are returning under conditional parole supervision to three precincts in East and Central Harlem—the 23rd, 25th, and 28th. Participation in the program is mandated as a condition of release for all who meet program eligibility criteria. The Court is currently expanding its jurisdiction to include serious and violent drug offenders.

The current reentry court model constitutes a complex, collaborative community-based model, featuring intensive pre-release planning; community-based partnerships among parole officers, an administrative law judge, case management/assessment staff, a drug treatment provider, and a vocational service provider; comprehensive case management; contracts specifying required behavior; intensive parole supervision; graduated sanctions and incentives; and ongoing regular judicial monitoring. Core components of the Harlem Parole Reentry Court include a team approach to case management and compliance monitoring, a central role for the administrative law judge who presides over court proceedings and implements a schedule of graduated rewards and sanctions, and a neighborhood focus that enables the program to engage family members and community organizations in reintegration and supervision efforts.

Prior to release from prison, parole officers and Court staff conduct a comprehensive individual assessment of each program participant and, based on this information, prepare a customized treatment and supervision plan. The Court program provides participants with access to a variety of services designed to address problems of substance abuse, homelessness, mental illness, and unemployment. Counseling and family mediation are also available on-site at the Harlem Community Justice Center. These services are available to program participants immediately upon release from prison.

Program Goals
The Court's goals are to reduce recidivism and reincarceration rates; to increase participation in drug treatment and employment services; and to increase sobriety, employment, and other indicators of effective community reintegration.

Networking, Partnering & Collaboration
The Harlem Parole Reentry Court is engaged in ongoing community outreach efforts. Community-based partners currently include the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), which provides vocational training and job placement services; Palladia (formerly Project Return), a community-based drug treatment partner; and Project Greenhope, a drug treatment service provider for female program participants. Faith-based partners include Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, a consortium of over 90 churches in Harlem offering a wide range of services, including counseling and shelter for the homeless.

Outcomes
Research staff at the Center for Court Innovation are currently conducting a process and preliminary impact evaluation of the Harlem Parole Reentry Court, due to be completed in 2003. The program collects statistics using its existing research and tracking database. Key outcome measures include rates of recidivism (parole violation, rearrest, reconviction, and return to prison), drug use and employment, and compliance with program conditions. The impact analysis will compare recidivism among program participants to similar offenders paroled into northern Manhattan precincts adjacent to the Harlem Parole Reentry Court catchment zone.

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