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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Barbara Bierd, Policy and Organizing Associate at Center for Employment Opportunities
3:36:08
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139 sec
Barbara Bierd from the Center for Employment Opportunities testifies in support of Resolution 371, which urges the passage of the reentry assistance bill. The bill would provide $2,600 in financial assistance to individuals released from state incarceration over a six-month period.
- The reentry assistance program is based on CEO's successful Returning Citizen Stimulus, which showed positive impacts on employment, housing stability, and reduced recidivism.
- The testimony highlights the cost-effectiveness of reentry support compared to continued incarceration, noting that less than 1% of the DOCCS $3 billion budget is spent on reentry services.
- Bierd urges the committee to pass Resolution 371 and calls on the state legislature to support the reentry assistance bill.
Barbara Bierd
3:36:08
Hello madam chair nurse and members of the committee.
3:36:11
Thank you for an opportunity to speak today.
3:36:14
My name is Barbara Beer and I'm the policy and organizing associate at Center for Employment Opportunities, the largest provider of reentry employment services in New York State.
3:36:23
We serve people on parole and probation supervision in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and New York City with a focus on those facing the greatest barriers of instability.
3:36:36
CEO strongly supports resolution three seventy one and we thank council member Hudson for introducing it.
3:36:42
The resolution urges the passage of the reentry assistance bill, a smart evidence based policy that would provide $425 per month for six months for people under DOCCS, which is New York State Department of Corrections Community Supervision, after their release for a total of $2,600.
3:37:01
The number $2,600 comes directly from CEO's returning citizen stimulus launched in April 2020 in response to COVID.
3:37:10
It remains the largest conditional transfer for formerly incarcerated individuals in US history with 24,000,000 distributed nationally including 4,300,000.0 to more than 1,700 New Yorkers.
3:37:23
Independent evaluation of the program found that the modest investment has outsized impacts like increased full time employment, faster access to stable housing, lower food insecurity, more payments to victims through restitution, greater spending in local economies such as food, transit, and utilities, and most importantly reduced rates of reincarceration which means significant taxpayer savings.
3:37:46
This is real in New York City.
3:37:48
Nearly 2,000 people in shelters this year alone were recently released from incarceration.
3:37:54
Yet less than 1% of the DOCC has $3,000,000,000 budget is spent on reentry services.
3:38:01
For the cost of incarcerating persons and records only in a year, we could provide reentry to two eighteen people and unlike current gate money, the bill adjusts to inflation, sorry, almost done, ensuring the support keeps pace with rising costs.
3:38:15
These are proven results and they are achievable at a fraction of the cost of continued incarceration.
3:38:21
We urge this committee to pass resolution three seventy one and call on the state legislature to support the reentry assistance bill.
3:38:27
Thank you.