The International Community Corrections Association (ICCA), The Sentencing Project, and the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office and National Prison Project, in collaboration with the Justice Roundtable Reentry Coalition invite you to a Congressional Staff Briefing: "Can Probation and Parole Supervision Reduce Recidivism?" hosted by Representative Bobby Scott, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. Speakers include: Stefan LoBuglio -- Chief, Pre-Release and Reentry, Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilition Pre-Release Center Cedric Hendricks, Esq. -- Associate Director, Office of Legislative, Intergovernmental and Public Affairs, Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA) Phil Fornaci -- Director, D.C. Prisoners' Project, Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs Speakers will discuss how well-structured probation and parole supervision programs, coupled with pre-release planning, can address the challenges and barriers to reentry faced by previously incarcerated persons. Each year 650,000 people leave prison and return to communities, many in need of comprehensive mental health care, drug treatment, welfare benefits, public housing, employment and educational training. Programs that prepare people for their life after prison and link aftercare programs and supervision can ease the reentry process and lead to reduced rates of recidivism. Programs across the country can serve as models for federal policymakers. For more information, contact Ms. Abeo F. Anderson at [email protected].

The Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy is pleased to invite you to a report briefing entitled Through A Different Lens: Shifting the Focus on Illinois Drug Policy, An examination of states’ solutions and applicability to Illinois What group is the fastest growing segment of the Illinois prison population? · Illinois' per capita rate of African-Americans incarcerated for drug possession offenses was first in the country, leading Mississippi, Maryland and Ohio. Is there a relationship between Illinois’ drug policy changes and the disproportionate incarceration of African Americans? · This paper highlights Illinois legislative changes, incarceration rates, & the impact on the criminal justice system in Illinois. Attending is free. Please RSVP by May 21st via calling 312.341.2457, and leave your name and number of attendees planning to attend the event.

International CURE (Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants), a grassroots prison reform organization, will hold a public news conference at 2:00 p.m., Friday, May 4, at America's Best Values & Suites, 101 S. 3rd St. in Leavenworth, Kansas. The news conference will provide information regarding CURE's "Earn To Learn, To Not Return" model for prison reform. CURE will hold its annual meeting in Leavenworth this weekend. This year's conference focus is on innovative and cost effective programs to reduce recidivism: Earn to Learn, To not Return! That theme is what brought CURE's members to Kansas for their meeting, and the efforts of Kansas City, Kansas-based Donnelly College are central to their visit. "The Kansas Department of Corrections has two models where people in prison not only are paid good wages, but also use these wages to pay for higher education credits," explained Charlie Sullivan, CURE Director. "Beginning on Friday morning, about 75 participants representing 25 states and two foreign countries will tour these programs," Sullivan continued. Specifically, they will tour a private industry where inmates work outside the prison and then they will visit an industry inside the prison, as well as visiting a classroom of Donnelly College's Associate Degree Program. REAL WORLD WORK RELEASE Zephyr Products, a sheet metal fabrication company, will be the first industry toured, and its founder Fred Braun will describe this 18-month national model work release program. The program has employed 518 inmate-employees since it began in 1979 and 163 have paroled while working at the company. This skills education program has resulted in a substantial recidivism reduction rate. REAL WORK IN THE PRISON Then, the group will tour Impact Design, a company within the prison that hires incarcerated persons within the Lansing Correctional Facility. Kenneth Gibson, President of Donnelly College, will talk at the news conference about Donnelly's Associate Degree program that has existed at Lansing Correctional Facility for six years. In part, he will describe how these prisoners are using income earned to pay one-third of their college tuition. Donnelly College raises money to support the remaining tuition and program costs. "Of course," Sullivan concluded, "through these work-study programs, these people in prison are in a much better position to 'make it' when they re-enter society. Everyone wins - the taxpayer, the person in prison and his or her family. We are hoping that our tour/forum will provide the impetus for adoption of these models throughout the country." CURE (Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants) is a membership organization of families of prisoners, prisoners, former prisoners and other concerned citizens. CURE's two goals are (1) to use prisons only for those who have to be in them (2) and for those who have to be in them, to provide them all the rehabilitative opportunities they need to turn their lives around. CURE is based in Washington, D.C. It has hosted several national and international conferences since its beginning in 1972, and advocates for prison reform on a number of related issues, including Prisoner Employment through Private Industry, Prison Labor Reform, Death Penalty, Drug Laws, Education for Prisoners, and Alternatives to Incarceration. Donnelly College is a private, Catholic college that has been serving the urban core of Kansas City, Kansas, since 1949 with the mission to provide education and community services with personal concern for the needs and abilities of each student, especially those who might not otherwise be served." Donnelly College, a federally designated Minority Serving Institution and Hispanic Serving Institution, began a second campus at Lansing Correctional Facility in 2001 as an extension of its mission to educate those who might not otherwise be served. Since it began, 120 classes have been offered, 13 prisoners have earned an Associate's Degree, and 256 prisoners have completed classes. Of those, 66 have been released, and with a recidivism rate of less than 1%, compared to the national average of 53%. Donnelly is proud to partner with Lansing Correctional Facility and Private Industry to make its college program a life-changing experience for these individuals. Donnelly's program success suggests that earning a college degree is an effective way to lower recidivism (returning to crime after release from prison). For more information, call CURE at 202-789-2126 or Donnelly College at 913-621-8707, or Fred Braun at 913-651-7949 and feel free to forward this to anyone interested.

[Courtesy of the Prisons Foundation] Last fall, the Prisons Foundation attempted to do outreach work and raise funds on the streets of Washington by showing and selling prison art and other items related to our work. We were stopped by the police who said we needed a vendor's license to continue. We contested this and spoke to the local ACLU who agreed to handle the matter. The ACLU contacted the law firm of Reed Smith who provided two outstanding attorneys to represent us, Michael Raibman and Cassia M. McCamon. This week the city issued a notice giving us permission to do what we set out to do, specifying that no permit is required (permits are expensive and difficult to obtain). The city acknowledged that we are protected in our work by the First Amendment and city statute. Please take the time to read the city's notice at the end of this email, since it is a victory for all of us. Also, if you are in downtown Washington on Tuesday morning (and any day thereafter, weather permitting), please stop by our street exhibit at the corner of K Street and Connecticut Ave. (Washington's busiest intersection). Not only will we have for display and sale many items from our Prison Art Gallery (just two blocks away), but we will have free literature from the more than 25 justice advocacy organizations that participated in our Taste of Justice Fair last September. Mark your calendar for the next Justice Sunday on April 29 at 2pm for live music (including a song about the Attica massacre from Don Zientara's new CD, which he will perform) and featured speaker Phillip Fornaci, director of D.C. Prisoners' Project of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. Mr. Fornaci will answer your questions about the rights of DC prisoners and what is being done by him and his top-notch legal team to fully secure those rights. You won't want to miss this event if you have a loved one in jail or prison, or care about the men and women there. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES We are seeking volunteers in Washington, DC who are available to help respond to prisoner letters, prepare prison art for display, and greet visitors at the Prison Art Gallery. We have volunteer opportunities on Thursday evenings and Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Have fun while making a difference in the lives of incarcerated men and women across America. Please call Carolyn 202-544-3819. NOTICE from the Metropolitan Police Department and the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Re: The Prisons Foundation & First Amendment Activities To Whom It May Concern: The purpose of this notice is to inform Members of the Metropolitan Police Department and the Vending Enforcement Unit of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs of the government of the District of Columbia that Mr. Dennis Sobin, when engaged in the specific activities described below, is engaging in protected First Amendment activities on the sidewalks of the District of Columbia pursuant to provisions of the First Amendment Rights and Police Standards Act of 2004, D.C. Law 15-352, effective April 13, 2005 (D.C. Official Code § 5-331.01, et seq. (2001)) (the “Act”). As a result, no enforcement action should be taken against him, or against any other representatives of the Prisons Foundation, while engaged in these protected activities for “Selling Goods without a Vendor’s License” pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 47-2834, 24 DCMR §502. The Prisons Foundation is a nonprofit corporation organized for educational and charitable purposes that advocates the reform of prisons, with a focus on allowing prisoners to participate in the arts. For purposes of this notice, the protected activities include the distribution and/or sale of a newsletter or other printed materials related to the dissemination of the Prison Foundation’s message, the discussion of prison reform with passers-by, and the display or sale of items related to the organization’s message on a table that does not obstruct the safety and free passage of pedestrians, including books relating to prison reform, prisoner music CDs and prints of artwork by prisoners. The protection afforded by this notice is intended to be coextensive with the protection afforded to participants in First Amendment assemblies under the Act and First Amendment activities generally under the Constitution, including any subsequent modifications or amendments to the Act or its implementing regulations that become effective after the date of this notice. Should any Members of the Metropolitan Police Department or Vending Enforcement Unit of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs need further assistance concerning this matter, please telephone Terrence D. Ryan, General Counsel, Metropolitan Police Department at 202-727-4129, or Jill A. Stern, General Counsel, Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs at 202-442-8404. Luncsford Prison Art Gallery 1600 K Street NW Suite 501 Washington, DC Hours are Mon. to Fri. 9:30AM to 5:30PM, and Saturday and Sunday, 12:30 to 5:30 PM (also evenings by appointment) To the left is one of many prison art prints that you can purchase at our Saturday-Sunday sale at a special discount. They come from talented men and women in prison from across America. Located three blocks from the White House, the Prison Art Gallery is served by two Metro stations (Farragut North on the Red Line, and Farragut West on the Orange and Blue Lines). Note that the entrance is on 16th Street, at the corner of K Street. Open Mon to Fri, 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM, and Saturday and Sunday, 12:30 to 5:30 PM (also open evenings by appointment - groups welcome - admission is always free)