March 21, 2018
For Immediate Release
Contact: Tim Connolly 508-688-5565
WORCESTER – Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. joined fellow DAs across the Commonwealth to ask the Legislature to appropriate $5 million for re-entry programs for inmates who have completed their sentences.
“The money would help fund community-based residential re-entry programs,” Mr. Early said. “No one should leave their jail cell on Monday without services in place on Tuesday to help them safely adjust to life in the community; it’s a recipe for recidivism.”
The District Attorneys unanimously support the Community Resources for Justice Plan to seek up to $5 million from the Legislature to fund community-based residential re-entry programs.
Mr. Early and his fellow district attorneys have long supported the need for re-entry services. The District Attorneys, in a letter to the Legislature, say they have for some time strongly supported “additional resources and financial commitment to post-conviction supervision and re-entry programs.”
The aim of the re-entry programs is to reduce recidivism and give people the services needed to succeed outside of jail. The community-based programs provide a safe place to live, a job, case management and behavioral addiction treatment.