The Impact of Governor Murphy's Budget on NJ Reentry Corp

Former Governor of NJ and Chairman of the New Jersey Reentry Corporation, James McGreevey, sits down with Steve Adubato to discuss the mission of the NJ Reentry Corporation, how they help those who have be incarcerated reenter society, and the ways Governor Murphy’s proposed budget will affect funding for this organization.

4/28/18 #210

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

"Welcome... I'll get this. [laughter] Former Governor Jim McGreevey, who is now the Chairman of New Jersey Reentry Corporation. Good to see you Jim. Hey good to be with you Stephen. You have talked to us many times, not about your legacy as governor, but frankly, something right now that is much more important, and that is as Chairman of the New Jersey Reentry Corporation. Describe the organization and who you serve everyday. Sure. I mean the organization is dedicated to those persons returning from state prisons and from county jails, from drug court, from federal prisons, that are coming back home, and the reality is in the state of New Jersey, that we have 10,000 persons coming back from state prison, we have upwards of almost 40,000 coming back from county jails, and so we serve all of those persons that are coming back to their community, and for many of them Stephen, as you well know, that are maxing out of prison. I mean they're coming back with their shirt on their back and that's it, I mean they don't have housing, they don't have addiction treatment, they don't have healthcare, they don't have a job. Sometimes they're homeless? Yeah, and so that's, you know, our responsibility. Our responsibility is to serve, as it says in... you know the Bible, is to serve the least of these, I mean they're poor, whether they're white, brown, or black, they're poor. Many of them are addicted and they're challenged, you know, if you're in prison for five years, you're in prison for ten years, think of what it is to come home and not have an identification card and not to have healthcare. Jim, give me some numbers. What does it cost...? Average annual cost, to have someone in prison? The average cost in the state of New Jersey is approaching $55,000 a year. Each prisoner? Each prisoner. What does it cost...? $55,000 a year. For you and your colleagues. Yes? We're not going to turn this into a commercial spot for your folks. No, but it's... well... But the numbers are what they are? What does it cost? The numbers are less than $2,200 per person. To do what? To do what? To connect them to housing, addiction treatment, healthcare, employment and training, and legal services to clean up the legal wreckage of their life so that they can get a license, so that they can qualify for many of these programs, and so it's for us Stephen, you know candidly, you know under the last administration... The Christie administration? Christie administration, you know, I had developed a great..."