Waldo & Knox County Community News and Program Updates!
In Waldo County, we offer restorative conferences for juveniles and adults for cases which are offered a court diversion option. We also support community recovery support circles with VOA and the Reentry Center.
RJP Maine’s CBCR Grant Update (Innovations In Community Based Crime Reduction)
So well aligned to RJP Maine’s mission, the overarching goal of CBCR grant is to reduce crime, increase mutual trust, and improve community safety as part of a comprehensive strategy to build strong, thriving neighborhoods and communities. The grant allows 18 months for a planning phase which results in the submission of an Action Plan to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, that once approved guides the remaining years of the grant. The Action Plan is informed by data, grows partnerships, and engages community members in the planning process, which is exactly what RJP Maine has been working to do since early spring of 2020.
The plan asks us to define “hotspots” or places where problems of crime or wrongdoing are concentrated. We are learning that crime problems look different in rural communities than they do in urban settings. Rural “hotspots” cluster more around root causes that underlie wrongdoing rather than the actual incidents of violence and crime. Based on the information we’ve collected to date (from law enforcement and elected officials, numerous citizens and community-based organizations, and local citizens and volunteers) a key hotspot for Midcoast Maine is the need for more community-based support for individuals who cycle through the justice system, whether that be incarceration or frequent jail time.
Defining Our Hotspot – a snapshot of what’s been collected during planning
While there was a broad range of needs and desires expressed by Knox County citizens for a Community Justice Center, the overwhelming sentiment revolved around reentry—both helping people re-establish themselves afterward or prevent them from becoming incarcerated—both can be achieved through a set of community supports and services. Source: Knox County Community Interviews
Knox County Leading The Way
Another requirement of the planning phase is to demonstrate that our solution is viable through an Early Action Project. To that end, Knox County has been serving as our demonstration project. Despite the challenges COVID has presented in this planning period, Knox County continues to make strides in the growth of local community justice efforts:
RJP Maine looks to complete the CBCR planning phase in early 2021. We are excited to bring the CBCR grant resources to bear in a moment that compels us to reimagine public safety and justice, and to work alongside so many partners to grow restorative practices throughout the communities we serve.
So well aligned to RJP Maine’s mission, the overarching goal of CBCR grant is to reduce crime, increase mutual trust, and improve community safety as part of a comprehensive strategy to build strong, thriving neighborhoods and communities. The grant allows 18 months for a planning phase which results in the submission of an Action Plan to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, that once approved guides the remaining years of the grant. The Action Plan is informed by data, grows partnerships, and engages community members in the planning process, which is exactly what RJP Maine has been working to do since early spring of 2020.
The plan asks us to define “hotspots” or places where problems of crime or wrongdoing are concentrated. We are learning that crime problems look different in rural communities than they do in urban settings. Rural “hotspots” cluster more around root causes that underlie wrongdoing rather than the actual incidents of violence and crime. Based on the information we’ve collected to date (from law enforcement and elected officials, numerous citizens and community-based organizations, and local citizens and volunteers) a key hotspot for Midcoast Maine is the need for more community-based support for individuals who cycle through the justice system, whether that be incarceration or frequent jail time.
Defining Our Hotspot – a snapshot of what’s been collected during planning
While there was a broad range of needs and desires expressed by Knox County citizens for a Community Justice Center, the overwhelming sentiment revolved around reentry—both helping people re-establish themselves afterward or prevent them from becoming incarcerated—both can be achieved through a set of community supports and services. Source: Knox County Community Interviews
- A consistent pattern across all four counties showed that the majority (75%) of named services and programs that currently exists focus on Prevention, Early Intervention and Intervention with significantly fewer resources for addressing for Intensive Intervention, Out-of-Home Treatment and Community Reintegration. The phases of care with the most named services in all four counties was Prevention while Reintegration consistently had the least. Source: Place Matters 2020 Midcoast Summit draft report
- There is a need to shift away from cultures that are punitive and inequitable, to decriminalize nonviolent crime, and shift away from crisis management to case management that creates longer term care plans in order to reduce and prevent people cycling through criminal justice system simply because it’s the main door for problems of crime, conflict, and wrongdoing. Source: CBCR Steering Team interviews with Natasha Irving, District Attorney, District 6; Ray Porter, Corrections Officer; Jason Trundy, Chief Deputy Waldo County; Joel Merry, Sheriff Sagadahoc County; Aaron Park, Bath City Council
Knox County Leading The Way
Another requirement of the planning phase is to demonstrate that our solution is viable through an Early Action Project. To that end, Knox County has been serving as our demonstration project. Despite the challenges COVID has presented in this planning period, Knox County continues to make strides in the growth of local community justice efforts:
- There’s a collaborative effort to bring more reentry support and restorative programming to residents of Knox County Jail in an effort to reduce and prevent re-offending that involves community partners, volunteers, and people with lived experience.
- For a second year, the Knox County Commissioners voted to help fund a Community Justice Coordinator position, the first full time position of its kind. Many Knox County citizens and partners participated in that process, demonstrating strong community support and ownership.
- The Lead Pilot program (that RJP Maine is also a part of) is bringing restorative practices and case management support to people at earlier points in the process, in an effort to get people the help and support they need, bring community-based resolution to all parties, rather than through the single door of jail time and system involvement.
RJP Maine looks to complete the CBCR planning phase in early 2021. We are excited to bring the CBCR grant resources to bear in a moment that compels us to reimagine public safety and justice, and to work alongside so many partners to grow restorative practices throughout the communities we serve.
RJP Maine Program and Community Updates- Summer 2020
Louise Marks, RJ Coordinator- MCRRC
Summer 2020 forced all of us at RJP Maine to adapt, and the same goes for my work at the Maine Coastal Regional Reentry Center. Though safety measures imposed due to Covid- 19 have limited interaction between residents and the greater community, restorative practices have continued to grow at the center over these last few months. In June a group of interested staff and residents came together to launch a Restorative Practices (RP) Leadership Team and split up into subgroups based on interest in four categories: Community Building, Restorative Response, Community Reintegration, and Policy. Each subgroup consists of at least one staff member and one resident, and some have up to six members, including Correctional Staff. In late June each group met to create goals for fiscal year 20’-21’ to support the longterm growth of RP at the center. For example, one of the goals of the Community Building Team is to offer regular community building circles for staff and residents. The Restorative Response Team is currently focused on studying the limitations of punishment around the world, before looking more closely at MCRRC’s own disciplinary procedures. The Community Reintegration team looks at what type of reentry support is needed for residents returning to their communities and are looking at ways of building support circles into each resident’s individual reentry plan starting on the first day they enter the facility. I have been going back into the Reentry Center to facilitate leadership team meetings and community building and support circles since July, and I have been incredibly impressed by all the residents and staff staying positive amidst the overwhelming stress of Covid-19. If you are looking for ways to support residents during their time at the center, consider coming to the Community Recovery Support Circle on Tuesday mornings at 7am. We hold this circle via zoom for reentry residents, staff, RJP Maine volunteers and community members. Whether you are in recovery or not, this circle is an opportunity for personal growth (and I think we can all use a little bit of that!).
Sarah Mattox, Program Manager, Community Resolution Programs
- Working on designing the law enforcement diversion pilot for Waldo and Knox Counties with our partners at the Health Equity Alliance (HEAL) and the Waldo and Knox County Sheriff's Departments! What is law enforcement diversion, you ask?! Traditionally, officers have limited options available to them when they respond to a call for assistance: they can work to provide assistance by diffusing the situation in the moment or they can charge someone, and either summons or arrest. Increasingly, officers and the public are aware that sometimes these responses are unable to address the root cause of the call - particularly when mental health or substance use are part of the equation or if it's a long-standing conflict. In this pilot, officers are provided a third option: to divert the call to community-based service for attention. This could take the form of either targeted case management (to address unmet needs someone may have in the realms of mental health counseling, recovery support, access to food or housing, etc), or restorative justice, or both - in situations where that is relevant. HEAL and RJPM are dedicated to working effectively together so that individuals can get their needs met and, once they are in a position where they are able to engage in facilitated conversation around conflict and harm, that can happen through RJPM. The design phase of this pilot consisted of writing policy and procedure; consulting with the national LEAD Bureau (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) and the Longmont Community Justice Partners in Longmont, Colorado, as well as new Waldo County Community Liaison, Rob Porter; formation of law enforcement Diversion Advisory Committee from each county; and assembling an informational flyer and referral form with Waldo County RJ Coordinator, Karin Wittmann, and terrific interns Hadriane Hatfield and Amy Frankel. This new formal referral stream to our long-standing Community Resolution Program is sponsored by a grant from the Department of Public Safety, and we look forward to launching this pilot this fall!