In his 2004 State of the Union Address, President Bush said, "America is the land of second chances, and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life." A year later, Congressman Danny Davis and Sen. Sam Brownback authored the Second Chance Act to allocate more than $100 million for prisoner re-entry programs across the nation.
Each Delaware prison has pre-release programs. This at the Delaware Correctional Center in Smyrna, and its success earned it a Presidential Points of Light award in 1991. These programs are designed to equip offenders with concepts they can use to maintain control over their lives and behavior. Topics go from employment and personal finances to parenting and conflict resolution.
More recently, the My Brother's Keeper mentoring program at Smyrna offers offenders support beginning in the prison and continuing into the community. There has been similar mentoring at Baylor Women's Correctional Institution for more than 15 years. However, re-entry is about much more than prison programming.
Delaware has a daily incarcerated population of approximately 7,100 inmates. Approximately 30,000 offenders are admitted and 30,000 released each year to our communities. The majority of those will be in legal trouble within three years.
This spring I unveiled a plan for adding 900 beds to Delaware's prison system. The cost of this is $368 million. However, the cost to operate this new space will dwarf its construction. Prison experts estimate operating expenses double capital costs every four years.
These estimates do not include the other costs of criminal justice. They do not include costs to businesses and the economy. They do not include the costs to victims and their families.
We cannot afford not to implement re-entry programs, but must be strategic with taxpayers' money. We must measure every program funded against the benchmark of success. We must be willing to scrap programs that do not measure up and move money to other projects. And we must be prepared to admit that government does not always have the solution. Communities must be invested in ex-offenders' success.
Who are these offenders that ultimately return to communities? On average, they have a sixth-grade education. Most have a substance problem or committed a drug-related crime. Most neglected their health before coming to prison. They have little or no job training and have not held a job for any appreciable time. Some come from households in crisis. Many have strained relationships with immediate family. The majority are poor. Many are homeless, and a large number have a mental health condition. They need access to many services.
Services like housing, employment, education, substance abuse and mental health treatment and medical care are interdependent, yet operate independently. If someone cannot read and write, how can he get a job that pays a living wage? If he has a job but no place to live, how long will he stay employed? We must do a better job of identifying needs and coordinating services already available.
Let me give an example. Between 12 percent and 16 percent of our incarcerated population is seriously mentally ill. When an offender with a mental health disorder is incarcerated, the offender is treated, stabilized and eventually released. Because of the nature of mental illness, an ex-offender may not continue treatment. This leads to behavior that ultimately lands the person back in prison.
Delaware will provide treatment one way or another -- if not in the community, then in prison. If we do not accept the moral imperative to help those who cannot help themselves, the financial reality is that we will pay for that decision in increased costs.
There are programs proven to work. A 1997 study by the U.S. Department of Education found that attending school while in prison can cut recividism nearly 30 percent. College courses can reduce it another 20 percent. Research has found that those who establish a relationship with community religious organizations succeed at a higher rate than those who do not. We know that mentoring works.
Organizations that coordinate resources and enlist ex-offenders offer great value. In 2005, Goodwill agencies around the nation helped 45,000 ex-offenders with training, counseling, health care, mentoring, housing, job placement and retention.
The United Way of Central Indiana led a similar effort in 1999 which recognized inmates are likely to be parents, and incarceration adversely affects their children. Intervention work started inside the prison and followed offenders into the community.
Within the Delaware Department of Correction, we encourage offenders to participate in education and training programs. There are approximately 1,900 individuals in educational, vocational and life skills programs. We are trying to reach more. A distance learning study using DVDs to prepare offenders for high school equivalency diplomas was piloted in 2006.
There are heating, ventilation, air conditioning and plumbing training programs available. These inmates also work in prisons, reducing the cost of incarceration and idleness and increasing skills. Other vocational programs are planned. In Probation and Parole, offenders are helped to find jobs and places to live.
We will continue to do more, but we cannot succeed on our own.
Carl C. Danberg has been Delaware's commissioner of correction since Feb. 1.