During the 2014 Virginia General Assembly session, policy advocates seeks to introduce/re-introduce fair and common-sense legislation that has been shown to reduce crime and reduce recidivism. The MJT will detail, and invite others to join, these citizen lobbying efforts
With increasing support in Virginia aimed at ending mass incarceration – without jeopardizing public safety – we hope to help pass “fair and common-sense” legislation during the 2014 Virginia General Assembly Session. Our plan is to (re) introduce legislation that reports positive outcomes toward decreasing recidivism, as much as 35%, resulting in significant cost savings to tax-payers. This dramatic decrease in recidivism is attributed to the many benefits of prison-based programs such as:
1) Prisoner literacy and educational, therapeutic, and vocational rehabilitation with earned sentence credit allowances.(formerly SB796 (2011))
2) Volunteer Tax Credit to professional and/or licensed persons providing literacy, educational and other services to incarcerated persons in Virginia jails and prisons, and
3) Temporary Public Assistance (housing allowance, food stamps, & medical assistance) for up to 9 months to newly released persons. The MJT will inform and inspire those with a new justice vision to join our citizen lobbying efforts.
Please be sure to join our effort by signing our (Community Restoration Campaign) email form or the petition so we can communicate key updates to you.