Baltimore Mayor Scott, City leaders announce legislation to help people returning from incarceration
BALTIMORE - Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and city leaders announced on Monday legislation that would establish an Office of Returning Citizens.
Housed within the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), the Office of Returning Citizens would coordinate services, develop support networks, and advocate for Baltimoreans re-entering society, according to city leaders.
The proposed Office of Returning Citizens will oversee Baltimore's first-ever Re-Entry Action Council (RAC) and institutionalize MONSE's current re-entry work to improve the City's capacity to serve individuals returning from incarceration.
"Historically, the criminal justice system has failed our residents," Mayor Scott said. "We have an opportunity to break the vicious cycle of poverty, crime and mass incarceration by ensuring our incarcerated residents have the services and supports they need to successfully re-enter society. Through the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, we have begun laying the foundation for this work and implementing programs, like Returning Citizens Behind the Wall, designed to reduce recidivism and improve public safety. This legislation will help enhance and codify these efforts into a dedicated office within MONSE to build on the progress we have made and reaffirm our shared commitment to supporting Baltimore's returning citizens."
The RAC will serve to advise the Scott Administration and City Council on issues relating to returning citizens and work collaboratively with the Office of Returning Citizens to implement evidence-based practices to reduce recidivism rates among formerly incarcerated Baltimoreans, including but not limited to: strengths-based case management; access to effective workforce development training and programming; work readiness; addressing barriers to housing; family reunification; and connectivity to holistic healthcare services including mental and behavioral health, substance use disorders, and co-occurring disorders.
"This office's work is extremely personal to me as both my parents struggled with the criminal justice system and faced many barriers as returning citizens," Baltimore City Councilman James Torrence said. "My mother, Pamela Massenburg, had to sleep on my grandmother's couch because she was unable to obtain housing due to her criminal record. She was limited in jobs as educational institutions would not accept her or often referred her to job training that did not have family-sustaining wages. This legislation solidifies an office that addresses the critical needs of individuals, which includes housing, employment, family unification, mental and physical health treatment and more. I want to thank all the other city agencies and our community partners for collaborating on this critical re-entry work."
According to Baltimore City officials, approximately 2,000 Baltimoreans return from prison each year. According to the Justice Policy Institute, Baltimoreans are disproportionately impacted by mass incarceration – representing 40 percent of the state's prison population despite being home to just 9 percent of Maryland's overall population.
