November 5, 2024
UConn law students are invited to learn about the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project (CTRP3) and how data analysis of traffic stops helps combat racial profiling in our state.
The event will take place Wednesday, Nov. 6th, from 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm at UConn Law School’s Starr Reading Room, located at 55 Elizabeth Street, Hartford.
Lunch will be served.
There is no cost to attend. dvance RSVPs are required.
CLICK HERE to reserve your spot.
October 31, 2024
For five days, from October 21st through the 25th, policy makers, educators, correctional staff, advocacy groups and other participants gathered in cities across Connecticut for Expanding Access: The Future of Second Chance Pell Education in Connecticut.
The week began at UConn Storrs where Dr. Jane Gordon, Professor of Political Science and Social and Cultural Inquiry, welcomed attendees and guest speakers from Minnesota’s Transformation and Reentry through Education and Community (TREC) program. A working lunch session posed the question,”What can UConn Storrs unique contribute to a statewide higher education in prison program?”
Day 2 moved to the Hartford Club, a block from the IMRP’s home at the School of Public Policy, UConn Hartford.
Welcome remarks were provided by IMRP director Andrew Clark, UCONN College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Associate Dean Bandana Purkayastha, Chief Executive Officer of CT State Capital College Duncan Harris, and State Representative Toni E. Walker of the Connecticut General Assembly.
See the slideshow for images from the day.
Day 3 moved to Yale University and featured Connecticut State Senator Gary Winfield offering opening remarks along with an impactful panel, “Pathways to Reentry: Key Considerations for Justice-Impacted Students.”
Family Reentry / CRJ hosted Thursday’s event in Bridgeport which included a panel, “Connecting Higher Education Programs with Reentry and Career Services.”
A small group of invitees gathered for a final morning session at UConn Hartford to wrap up the week with additional learnings and to discuss next steps.
Highlights of the week were summarized in this CT Mirror article.
The IMRP would like to thank its partners, collaborators, invited guests, and attendees for contributing to this important conversation, especially visitors from TREC who traveled the state to share their work multiple times in front of various stakeholders.
“In our view, the restoration of Pell rights is the single largest federal intervention into our prisons in our lifetimes,” summarized Undersecretary Daniel Karpowitz, OPM CJPPD. “This is the dawn of a new day for this work in Connecticut.”
October 10, 2024
In support of OPM’s Criminal Justice Planning and Policy Division (CJPPD), the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy (IMRP) at UConn’s School of Public Policy, is excited to welcome representatives of the Minnesota Transformation and Reentry through Education and Community (TREC), one of the most effective models of Second Chance Pell, to Connecticut for a series of events and conversations Oct. 21st – 24th.
During their visit, organization directors will highlight their pioneering work with Second Chance Pell to a variety of Connecticut stakeholders. Participants will share current initiatives in Connecticut’s own criminal justice and education landscape and the potential expansion of efforts among Connecticut’s private and public institutions of higher learning.
Day 2 of this event series, hosted by the IMRP and to be held near UConn Hartford’s campus, is open to the public with registration currently open and available. There is no fee to attend although space is limited and advance registration is required.
This open opportunity will take place Tuesday, October 22, 2024, at the Hartford Club, located at 46 Prospect Street in Hartford, CT from 8:30 am – 3:30 pm. The agenda will cover a range of practical topics, from administration, policies in corrections and higher education, to federal funding. The heart of these discussions will be future-focused, aligning a shared mission, vision, and purpose, along with metrics that reflect our core values. These efforts will further inform needs assessment study for the delivery of postsecondary education programs in correctional facilities as tasked by HB 5127.
Interested participants may utilize the REGISTRATION LINK to secure their spot or forward to peers or colleagues who may be interested in attending
Please reach out to IMRP@uconn.edu with additional questions.
October 8, 2024
Registration is now open for the Connecticut Sentencing Commission’s annual symposium to be held Thursday, November 21st, 2024 at UConn School of Law from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm.
The focus of this year’s symposium is pretrial justice in Connecticut. Featured speakers from Connecticut and from surrounding states will review current pretrial release and detention policies, best practices from other jurisdictions, and the opportunities for reform to promote justice, reduce disparities, and enhance community safety.
There is no fee to attend. However, advance registration is required. Interested attendees can register HERE. For accommodations or additional questions, please contact thomas.j.dowd@uconn.edu.
September 23, 2024
The Reentry Collaborative and the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy discuss voting rights for Incarcerated and returning citizens.
Participants includes:
-Earl Bloodworth, Director of Bridgeport Mayor’s Initiative for Reentry Affairs
-State Senator Gary Winfield
-Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim
-Bridgeport City Councilman Ernie Newton
James Jeter, Yale Prison Education Initiative and Co-Director of Unlock the Vote
-Andrew Clark IMRP Director
-Dr. Zelda Roland, Director of Yale Prison Education Initiative
-Alex Tsarkov, IMRP staff and Executive director of the Connecticut Sentencing Commission
-Kelan Lyons, CT Mirror reporter
-State Representative Christopher Rosario
-Shannel Evans Democratic Registrar of Voters City of New Haven
-Don Robinson Workforce Specialist, Greater New Haven Reentry Round Table Co-Chair
-Robert Hebert SR.Vice President of Business Development and Re-entry Affairs Co-Chair of Bridgeport Reentry Council
Connecticut Reentry Roundtable Collaborative Webinar on Voting Rights from IMRP on Vimeo.
September 3, 2024
A recent study by researchers at Northeastern University shows how the success of the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project (CTRP3) has created a national model for police reform, as noted in an August 31st CT Insider article.
The Northeastern study concluded the CTRP3’s work led to a statistically significant reduction in racial profiling by police departments across Connecticut. As a result, IMRP Associate Director and CTRP3 project manager Ken Barone has fielded calls from and worked with police departments from nearby Rhode Island, Maine, and Washington DC as well as Nevada, Colorado, California and Oregon to develop and implement programs to reduce racial profiling by police.
“In 2021, CTRP3 program staff testified before Congress about the program and the program was subsequently promoted as a model for state reforms by two of the major national traffic safety organization: Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the Governors Highway Safety Association.” Barone says. “These activities dramatically increased the visibility of CTRP3, and the program staff has since provided guidance to 10 additional states regarding policing reform initiatives.”
August 27, 2024
The Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy launched its quarterly newsletter on the first day of the academic fall semester, Monday, August 26th.
The newsletter is designed to inform of the Institute’s recent activities, ongoing projects and initiatives, as well as upcoming events. In addition to a welcome from IMRP Director Andrew Clark, the newsletter includes project updates from the Connecticut Sentencing Commission, Children with Incarcerated Parents Initiative, and Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project.
Future editions will be sent in November, early March, and late May or early June, after the close of the legislative calendar.
August 22, 2024
The Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project is working to improve the relationship between the public and the police. Several times each calendar year, CTRP3 hosts community forums in towns across the state, inviting community members and law enforcement to join in a conversation about racial profiling, traffic policing, and public safety.
Our next forum will be held on Wednesday, September 18th at the Danbury Public Library – 170 Main Street, Danbury, Connecticut.
Doors open at 5:30 pm with the event to begin at 6:00 pm. Light refreshments will be served. No advance RSVP is required and all are welcome.
Recent community forums have also been held in Bridgeport, Branford, Middletown, New London, and Waterbury.
Visit CTRP3.org for more information about our work or email imrp@uconn.edu with any questions about this specific event.
August 21, 2024
The Connecticut Sentencing Commission, along with the IMRP, Full Citizens Coalition, Next Level Empowerment Program, and ACLU Smart Justice of Connecticut, recently hosted a community conversation on Connecticut Bail Reform.
A crowd of more than 40 people gathered at the Dixwell Q House in New Haven to hear from presenters about the opportunities and challenges of a pretrial system without cash bail.
Retired Superior Court judge of New Jersey, Hon. Martin G. Cronin was the featured speaker. Panelists included Gus Marks-Hamilton of the ACLU of Connecticut, Alderman Troy Streater of New Haven’s 21st Ward, and civil rights attorney Alex Taubes. Ray Boyd, co-founder of Next Level Empowerment program, served as moderator for the event.
“We need to hear from our community and make changes that are fair and just for all,” stated Alderman Troy Streater. “Connecticut can learn from other states like New Jersey and Illinois which have made progress in bail reform. We can take their lessons and make the system better for everyone, making sure that only those who are truly a risk are kept in jail.”
Judge Cronin noted the difficulty in both changing longstanding systems and methods to quantify risk in manners that are non-discriminatory, while answering questions from the audience.
The event highlighted ideas that are both common sense and bipartisan and the need to push towards a system that is equitable and fair and that prioritizes community safety. Ray Boyd shared his personal story and invited audience members to stay engaged in future events and discussions. Most notably, the Connecticut Sentencing Commission’s annual symposium will take place on Thursday, November 21st at UConn School of Law and will focus on pretrial justice in Connecticut.
August 13, 2024
IMRP INTERN INSIGHTS
Written by Josephine Burke
I first learned about the Sentencing Commission in the fall of 2023, during my freshman year at UConn, when Executive Director Alex Tsarkov visited my advocacy and public policy course as a guest speaker. As Alex spoke to our class about the Commission’s efforts to promote pretrial justice and to improve outcomes for individuals with mental health treatment needs in the criminal justice system, I immediately felt a connection with the work and knew that I wanted to get involved.
My passion for advocacy and community organizing, coupled with my academic interest in the legal and criminal justice systems, make this internship a perfect fit. As a student with a human rights concentration, I am interested in the ways that historic structures of injustice shape the criminal justice system, and how we can analyze, understand, and work to improve these structures and systems. Working with the Sentencing Commission has allowed me to pull from and explore these interests while gaining new perspectives about how our systems function and how to enact meaningful change.
A cornerstone of my internship has been the invaluable mentorship of Patricia O’Rourke, CTSC Research Associate. Though I’m early in my degree, I’ve been able to engage directly with meaningful projects due to her unwavering support, guidance, and trust. Alongside Patricia, I have begun to compile and distribute resources to increase awareness of the Commission’s projects and initiatives and to make its work more accessible to students and professors.
Most of my work this summer has involved projects related to the Mental Health Subcommittee of the Sentencing Commission. Some highlights include researching for and drafting a memo addressing the concerns of a lawmaker about the impact of recently passed legislation on the ability of incarcerated individuals with mental health treatment needs to return to community settings and creating a presentation on the connections between mental health treatment and reentry.
The presentation to the Sentencing Commission Mental Health Subcommittee provided an overview of the SAMHSA 2023 report, Best Practices for Successful Reentry From Criminal Justice Settings for People Living With Mental Health Conditions and/or Substance Use Disorders, and introduced housing as a key aspect of reentry. The main goal was to give a comprehensive review of the guide to the Mental Health Subcommittee members by discussing key elements of reentry for individuals with mental health and substance use treatment needs, as well as evidence-based interventions for improving reentry outcomes for these individuals.
In addition to the guide, I had the opportunity to supplement the presentation by building on a topic of personal interest that I have spent much time researching this summer: Housing. Given housing’s pivotal role in successful reentry, I was excited to reintroduce this issue to the commission and open a conversation that could potentially lead to further research.
Preparing for the presentation involved developing a deep understanding of the guide and evaluating the information most relevant to the Commission’s focus on reentry, including housing. While it was at first intimidating to present to a group of experienced individuals in the criminal justice, advocacy, and research fields just a few months into my first-ever internship, I am happy to have been in a position to convey crucial information about the challenges faced by those with mental health and substance use treatment needs in the transition from carceral settings.
This internship has allowed me to build connections with dedicated researchers and advocates, explore and expand my interests, and understand what it means to have a real impact. The experiences and knowledge I have gained underscore the heavy impact of research in enacting progress, allowing me to explore many available subject areas and potential career paths. I am proud to have been a part of the Commission team this summer and I continue to be inspired by the work being done.
Josephine Burke is an honors undergraduate student at the University of Connecticut studying political science, human rights, and Spanish. She has been interning with the Connecticut Sentencing Commission since May.
For more information about the Sentencing Commission, visit their website: https://ctsentencingcommission.org/
Interested in working with the IMRP? Check out our “Work with Us” page for information on staff positions, student employment and internships.