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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Hailey Nolasco, Senior Director of Government Relations at Center for Justice Innovation
2:41:07
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119 sec
Hailey Nolasco from the Center for Justice Innovation highlights the importance of community-based alternatives to traditional law enforcement approaches in addressing crime and public safety. She emphasizes the success of programs like Project RESET and mental health courts in diverting individuals from the criminal justice system and reducing recidivism rates.
- Federal funding cuts threaten these successful programs, potentially forcing scale-backs in critical services and undermining public safety.
- Nolasco urges the city to invest in proven community-based solutions to fill gaps created by potential federal funding losses.
- The testimony underscores the need for strategic planning to protect essential programs that address basic human needs and break the cycle of crime.
Hailey Nolasco
2:41:07
Good afternoon chairs Brannen and Ressler, council member Schulman and esteemed members of the Committees on Finance and Governmental Operations, State and Federal Legislation.
2:41:16
My name is Haley Nolasco, Senior Director of Government Relations at the Center for Justice Innovation.
2:41:20
Again, thank you for the opportunity to testify.
2:41:23
It is critical that we develop a strategic plan to protect the essential programs that meet basic human needs.
2:41:29
Each year, thousands of New Yorkers struggling with substance abuse, mental illness, and housing insecurity cycle through our legal system.
2:41:35
Traditional responses like over policing and incarceration often ignore the root causes of crime, trapping individuals in a revolving door.
2:41:42
Community based alternatives, both in the community and within systems, enhance public safety and transform lives, yet many of our programs are not at risk.
2:41:50
Project RESET, for example, diverts individuals charged with low level offenses into counseling, housing support, and job training often before they set foot in a courtroom.
2:41:59
For those of more complex needs, our mental health courts in Brooklyn and Manhattan offer structural support instead of jail.
2:42:05
The impact is clear.
2:42:06
In 2024, '80 '2 percent of felony ATI participants completed their programs.
2:42:11
Ninety five percent of participants in Manhattan felony ATI program avoided a felony conviction.
2:42:16
Brooklyn mental health court participants saw a seventeen percent reduction in the likelihood of reconviction.
2:42:20
Last year, Project Reset diverted 5,500 cases from court with a ninety six percent attendance rate.
2:42:26
These life changing outcomes rest on federal grants and allocations that are now at risk.
2:42:31
Should cuts to federal funding take effect, we'll be forced to scale back critical services, reducing slots and treatment programs, eliminating outreach staff, and curtailing supervision capacity.
2:42:40
Fewer treatment referrals mean more people carrying, more people cycling back into the system, fewer case managers mean less accountability, and higher likelihood of rearrest.
2:42:48
In short, cuts to our programs will not only harm vulnerable individuals but also undermine public safety across our city.
2:42:55
As we move towards the closure of Rikers, we must not turn to costly and effective incarceration.
2:43:00
So we urge you to invest in proven community based solutions to help close any gaps created by federal funding losses.
2:43:05
Thank you so much.