Advocates to Call for Action by State Policymakers and Business Leaders on Issues Confronting Ex-Prisoners

Editors’ Note: Ex-prisoners who are making the transition from incarceration will speak at the forum and will be available for interviews.

BALTIMORE–Leading local advocates and community members will propose changes in hiring practices and state policies to improve services and support for ex-prisoners at a January 13 forum in West Baltimore.

On the eve of a new Maryland legislative session, advocates and community members will outline shortcomings of current programs and recommend specific state policy changes and employment practices that would give ex-prisoners a ”second chance” to become productive members of their communities. Individuals affected by the release of large numbers of ex-prisoners will identify policies that would lead to more stable neighborhoods.

The community forum, sponsored by the Open Society Institute-Baltimore, the Center for Fathers, Families and Workforce Development, and the Baltimore Sun, will highlight the problems confronting ex-prisoners returning to Baltimore and their families. The forum will bring together state and national experts, former prisoners working to make a successful transition back into society, and family members who know the challenges facing them.

Each year, thousands of men and women leave prisons and jails and return to live in Baltimore. Most are inadequately prepared to re-enter society and support themselves. Crucial services such as drug addiction treatment, mental health counseling, job training, and family support are often unavailable. When these ex-offenders fail to make a successful re-entry, there is often a major toll on their families and the larger community.

Speakers at the forum will include:

• Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun columnist, who has written extensively about the problems facing ex-offenders;
• John Jeffries, a national expert in issues confronting ex-prisoners, such as employment barriers;
• Thomasina “Tomi” Hiers, an official with the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, who is leading an effort to develop a comprehensive system to assist offenders re-entering society.
• Joe Jones, president of the Center for Fathers, Families and Workforce Development;
• Raymond Vaughn, an ex-drug offender who now owns his own commercial cleaning company and is attending college;
• Glynnis Gladden, an ex-drug offender who is now a career development case manager at the Center for Fathers, Families and Workforce Development, often working with ex-prisoners;
• Robert Schwartz, director of the Tackling Drug Addiction initiative at OSI-Baltimore.

Advocates involved in issues affecting ex-prisoners will also take part in the forum, including: Tara Andrews, Maryland Justice Coalition; Kevin Griffin Moreno, Job Opportunities Task Force; Ann Ciekot, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Maryland Chapter; and Devon Dodson, Greater Baltimore Committee.

Event Information

Where: New Shiloh Baptist Church, 2100 N. Monroe St., Baltimore.

When: Friday, January 13, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (rescheduled from December 9).

Audio

Listen to a radio broadcast discussing the event, hosted on the Job Opportunities Task force website.

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