By the time the inmates leave the pre-release phase of the program, they generally have all of the necessary certifications for their chosen fields. Inmates in the HVAC program can earn up to 12 certifications. Johnson Controls has donated millions of dollars in equipment to the HVAC program at Angola. Several Louisiana companies, including the Bill Hood Automotive Group and Gulf Crane, also have signed on as partners and hire Re-Entry graduates. As an incentive, the state offers such businesses a tax credit of up to $9,600 per hire.
The program got a major boost with a $1 million joint grant from the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The additional funds enabled Knight to hire a full-time case manager, add a drug treatment component for all participants at Angola, and enhance training for team members involved in running the program. The grant also allows some of the funds to be used to assist with initial transportation and housing costs for program participants once they are released from Angola. The inmates often leave prison with little more than the clothes on their backs. As they are starting their new jobs, the former inmates also get help from the Angola lifers, who through their Re-Entry Club donate some of the 75 cents per hour they earn from work in prison jobs to buy books and needed equipment, such as steel-toe boots, fire-retardant jackets, eye shields, and gloves.
After prison, the participants start the first phase of Re-Entry Court with probation and an assessment to determine their treatment and/or counseling needs. They are then ordered to follow an individualized plan, which includes an approved addiction recovery program once a week, as well as a weekly court status hearing at 8:30 a.m. on Thursdays. With each phase, the required court appearances are less frequent, though their weekly recovery group meetings continue. The first two phases each last about six months, depending on a participant’s compliance. The participants graduate after phase three, which takes on average about another year. Phase four is basically a maintenance plan with occasional appearances at alumni events, random drug screenings, quarterly court hearings, weekly recovery meetings, and monthly meetings with a case manager over a period of about three years.
Participants in different phases of the court program attend their assigned Thursday status hearings at the Covington courthouse. But at about 7:30 a.m., an hour before each hearing, Knight meets with his evaluation team, an important piece of the Re-Entry Court puzzle. Each team member represents an agency that has a stake in the program’s success, including: Assistant District Attorney Ken Dohre or Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Kilian; Public Defender John Linder; Supervisor of Probation and Parole Mike Phelps; Project Director Felix Indest,; Case Manager Amma Spears; Researcher and Evaluator Dr. David Khey; Randy Weaver, director of Truth 180 drug and alcohol rehabilitation program; and Wayada Hollins of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, who helps the men find jobs when they get out of prison.
The team members discuss each participant scheduled for court that day and let Knight know who’s on track or if someone has missed an appointment, tested positive for drugs, experienced trouble on the job or at home, or is struggling in some other way. When the participants stand before Knight during the hearing, they have a chance to come clean and, if needed, seek help.
“We’re not dealing with choir boys,” Knight said. “They’re guys who’ve made some serious judgment calls that were not positive. “So, given that, you’re going to have some issues. You can throw your hands up, or deal with it.”
Knight has dealt with it, sometimes giving second and third chances, intensifying required drug treatment and/or counseling. He even sent a couple of guys back to Angola for residential drug treatment to begin anew. In the earliest days of the program, there was only minimal drug treatment, and the guidelines didn’t require a minimum two-year stay in Angola.
Until recently, all of the participants were men, but the first eight women have been sentenced as part of a new agreement with the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women at St. Gabriel. The program is still under development there, but it is a move in the right direction, Knight said.
Experience has shown that, if done right, Re-Entry Court programs may be part of the solution to stopping the revolving door to prison, while transforming lives and state budgets. Knight is working on a manual of best practices from across the country to help other jurisdictions that are considering the program. “I truly believe this is something I’m supposed to do,” Knight said. “I think it’s a calling.”