PERSPECTIVE: Mentor groups for ex-inmates offer promise

GREENVILLE, Ohio - The state is hoping that volunteer programs to mentor newly released inmates will help ease prison crowding and save taxpayer money.

While programs in other states have had success, some experts caution that more than just mentoring is needed to ensure that ex-inmates don't return to prison.

Corey Weinstein, co-founder of California Prison Focus, which advocates for the human rights of inmates, said programs that offer job training and housing placement are more effective than programs that offer only mentoring and moral support.

"These people need more than the rah-rah," Weinstein said.

Ohio's program takes the form of Citizen Circles, a group of community volunteers who advise ex-inmates on jobs, housing and how to handle a myriad of everyday problems.

The first Citizens Circle began in Mansfield a few years ago as an experimental program. Now there are programs in the Toledo and Dayton areas and one starting up in Miami County north of Dayton.

State prisons director Reginald Wilkinson predicts there will be at least 10 such programs operating within a year.

"It's not some sort of warm, fuzzy program to welcome prisoners home," he said. "It's really a crime-fighting tool."

John Graham, who lives in this western Ohio city, is among volunteers the state is counting on. He's in charge of recruiting other volunteers in Darke and Miami counties.

Graham is currently serving as a mentor for an ex-inmate who served nearly 10 years in prison for robbery and assault.

"He's actually doing well," Graham said. "There are bad days and good days. It's an up-and-down process."

Two-thirds of ex-inmates will be arrested for a new crime or violate their probation or parole within three years of leaving prison, and half will return to prison, according to a 2002 Bureau of Justice Statistics study.

Ohio currently has 43,769 prisoners. It costs an average of $21,872 a year to house, feed and otherwise care for each one.

Mike Thompson, director of criminal justice programs for the Council of State Governments' eastern region, said states can't afford to expand their prisons.

"There is a push that is unprecedented to try to make sure people succeed in the community," Thompson said. "The issue has arrived at a scale it never has before."

The Gracious Promise Foundation in Kansas City, Kan., began Operation Andrew in January 2003, pairing volunteers with recently released inmates. Of the 13 ex-inmates who were mentored at least once a week, only one has returned to prison.

Prison Fellowship Ministries, the Christian rehabilitation program started by convicted Watergate figure Chuck Colson, has mentoring programs in Texas, Iowa and Kansas. Of the 220 ex-prisoners who have been mentored, only 7 percent have returned to prison.

Mark Earley, former attorney general of Virginia and president of the organization, said mentoring programs are becoming more popular.

"They are probably the most important thing in reducing recidivism," Earley said. "Mentoring is key."