Pubdate: Tue, 19 Sep 2000 Source: CNN.com (US Web) Copyright: 2000 Cable News Network, Inc. Contact: http://cnn.com/feedback/ Website: http://www.cnn.com/ Forum: http://community.cnn.com/ CLINTON ADVOCATES MORE SUPERVISION FOR NEWLY RELEASED PRISONERS Reno Pushes For Post-Prison Release Drug Treatment WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. President Bill Clinton is urging Congress to act without delay to fund a public safety initiative that would provide greater supervision for inmates after they are released from prison. Meanwhile, Attorney General Janet Reno on Monday announced $57 million in grants for state and local prisoner drug treatment programs, but said such programs must be expanded to include treatment of offenders after they are released. Clinton said the public safety initiative is needed because "an unprecedented number of individuals will be released from prison in the coming years." Nearly 600,000 of the 1.9 million people in federal and state prisons and local jails will be released in the next year, according to the White House. 'A serious public safety risk' The federal initiative will "promote responsibility and help keep ex-offenders on track and crime- and drug-free," the president said in a statement. "This population poses a serious public safety risk," Clinton's statement said. "Studies show that nearly two-thirds of all released offenders will be arrested again within three years." In his 2001 budget, Clinton called for $147 million to be spent on "innovative reentry programs" aimed at encouraging responsibility among inmates when they are released. The money would be divided among three departments -- Justice ($60 million), Labor ($75 million) and Health and Human Services ($10 million) -- and would fund "reentry partnerships" among police, correctional agencies, service providers and community organizations. It would also fund job-training and education programs, increased law enforcement and "reentry courts," based on the drug-court model, to supervise offenders. In the appropriations process, the Senate and House have not provided nearly the funding the White House wants for the Justice and Labor Departments' reentry initiatives. Few inmates get pre-release treatment Reno called for passage of a Senate bill that would increase to $145 million funding for inmate treatment programs and extend treatment to offenders returning to their communities. If approved by Congress, groups could obtain funding to help former inmates find jobs, housing, drug treatment, emotional counseling and other critical services in their home neighborhoods, Reno said. "Treatment for drug-abusing offenders works, but we need to go beyond just treatment while they're incarcerated," Reno said during an appearance in Baltimore, Maryland. "We must do all we can to ensure that these individuals reentering our communities go back drug-free and stay crime-free," said Mary Lou Leary, who heads Reno's Office of Justice Programs. A Justice Department study has estimated that about 70 to 80 percent of state prison inmates are in need of substance abuse treatment, but only about 15 percent complete treatment programs before they are released. Shifting resources The $57 million for in-prison treatment announced Monday is nearly identical to the 1999 funding, and down slightly from the $59 million in grants announced in 1998. Prison drug treatment grants first authorized by Congress in the Crime Act of 1994 have now totaled $230 million. Reno's announcement, made while meeting with Maryland state and civic leaders, reflects a broader effort by the Clinton administration to shift resources away from prison building toward community-based crime reduction measures. "It's absolutely critical for us to give inmates the chance to learn life skills and work skills" when they come home, she said. "I don't want to wait. I want to make sure we figure out everything we can do to solve these problems." - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart