PITTSBURGH — Allegheny County officials tonight celebrated the 10^th Anniversary of the Jail Collaborative, a cooperative effort among the Allegheny County Jail, Department of Human Services, Health Department, Court of Common Pleas, and community partners with the purpose of improving public safety, reducing recidivism, and increasing success for inmates following incarceration. Warden Ramon Rustin, Human Services Director Marc Cherna, Health Director Dr. Bruce Dixon, County Manager Jim Flynn, President Judge Donna Jo McDaniel, and Administrative Judge Jeffrey Manning participated in an evening program at the Regional Enterprise Tower downtown.

“Our number one priority is to protect the health and safety of all of our citizens, and the Jail Collaborative has proven successful in human terms, as well as dollars and ‘sense’ for the past decade,” said Flynn. “For every dollar invested in Collaborative programs, the citizens of Allegheny County have saved six dollars in the cost of crime and corrections.”

The event also celebrated the $608,000 Federal Second Chance Act Prisoner Reentry Initiative grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice last fall. Allegheny County received one of only 15 grants awarded nationwide through a competitive process.

The funding is being used to expand the Jail’s inmate rehabilitation programs. The initiative will further develop the initial assessment of an inmate’s needs during booking to identify services or programs that may be beneficial to the inmate’s reintegration into society. Each inmate who participates will be part of a reentry team consisting of a family member, service coordinator, a family or peer support specialist, and a probation office liaison. This team will assist the inmate with education, job training, and housing after release from the Jail. A reintegration pod, and a One Stop Shop Re-entry program that includes a Family Support Center, will develop programs to connect the inmate with his or her family through family counseling, and it will make visits for children as positive as possible.

“Through our nearly completed strategic plan, our goal is to cut repeat crime in half over the next five years and reach nearly 9,500 inmates through our enhanced programs and services,” said Rustin. “Much of our success, including the award of this grant, is due to the real collaboration involved in this initiative from all levels of County government to the thousands of stakeholders who have participated in our forums, focus groups, meetings and interviews.”

Sandra Barnhill, founder and national president of Foreverfamily Inc., served as the 10^th Anniversary event’s keynote speaker. Ms. Barnhill also founded Aid to Incarcerated Mothers in Atlanta in 1987 after beginning her career as a defense attorney. Testament to her success has been the national expansion of her program, now called Foreverfamily, with affiliates in Atlanta and Louisville, and another soon in Austin.

# # #

The mission of the Allegheny County Jail Collaborative is to reduce recidivism by providing services inside the Jail and in the community that assist inmates and their families achieve stable, productive, jail-free lives. An evaluation completed by the University of Pittsburgh in 2007 demonstrated a 50-percent reduction in recidivism among the former inmates who participated in Collaborative-sponsored programming. For more information, visit   http://www.alleghenycounty.us/dhs/jail.aspx.

The Collaborative was started informally by Warden Calvin Lightfoot, Human Services Director Marc Cherna, and Health Director Dr. Bruce Dixon in the late 1990s, and it was formalized, strengthened and expanded under County Executive Dan Onorato. In 2004, Ramon Rustin was appointed Warden and joined the Collaborative. In 2008, the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas joined the Collaborative, and Donna Jo McDaniel, then Administrative Judge of Criminal Court and now President Judge, became the fourth member of the Executive Committee. The Collaborative also began work leading to a nearly completed Strategic Plan for the new decade.

 Print Version