New Leaf - New Life, Inc. was founded in April 2006 by a group headed by Rev. Harold (Hal) Taylor to address unmet needs of people caught up in our criminal justice system. New Leaf sees jail as an opportunity to intervene in the lives of troubled people following a philosophy of therapeutic justice. In Hal’s words “The corrections system should correct. People should come out of prison and jail more capable of leading productive lives than when they entered the system.?nbsp; Over 90% of those who are incarcerated return to the community. But of those that are released about 70% wind up back in the system within three years. In fact the vast majority of people who go through the criminal justice system are made less able to be contributing members of society. A significant number of troubled people are transformed into hardened criminals. This is done at a cost to society comparable to attending a top rated university. New Leaf is focused on volunteer-driven programs revolving around the jail. The LET program which has been operating now for ten months is a voluntary program for men and women inmates seeking to free themselves of addictions. In December the Transition Program was launched in collaboration with Work One and the Jail. New Leaf coordinates volunteers who serve as “navigators?for inmates and those released from jail to find help and sources of support for successfully re-entry into the life and work of the community. Recently, New Life provided administrative support for the organization of a Community Forum on Recidivism by members of Citizens for Effective Justice (CEJ). The Forum held on January 28 at the County Library brought together judges, council members and other community leaders to discuss approaches to reduce recidivism. The event was key-noted by Morgan Moss, a nationally recognized expert on a new paradigm that transforms jails to become settings for helping troubled people to become contributing members of the community. In late February New Leaf prepared a grant proposal to implement the Morgan Moss Community Model (CM) that was submitted by Sheriff Steve Sharp to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI). The plan is to expand CM to other jails in Indiana after a successful program has been demonstrated in Monroe County. A second grant prepared by New Leaf submitted to ICJI is for funding to continue the LET drug and alcohol rehabilitation program in the jail. This second grant was submitted by the Warren County sheriff and will cover similar programs in both the Warren County and Monroe County jail. Other grants are planned for needs such as support groups for families of incarcerated people. In an era of increasing constraints on state and local government budgets it is extremely important to make more effective use of existing community organizations and of volunteer resources to implement programs for inmates and people released from jail. New Leaf ?New Life, Inc. is dedicated to the idea that volunteers can transform our criminal justice system. One of our members proposal a fishing program Gills and Skills that is helping children of inmates develop self-confidence by learning how to fish. Another member is planning for a program of organic gardening. Whether you are a retired businessman, teacher, pastor, electrician, attorney, artist or counselor New Leaf has volunteer opportunities for you. You can help with programs that are already operational or you can call on New Leaf ?New Life to help you to launch an entirely new program. Contact Tania Karnofsky, Director ?Transition Program by phone (812) 857-4999 or e-mail ?Tania@newleaf-cej.org.
New Leaf - New Life, Inc. was founded in April 2006 by a group headed by Rev. Harold (Hal) Taylor to address unmet needs of people caught up in our criminal justice system. New Leaf sees jail as an opportunity to intervene in the lives of troubled people following a philosophy of therapeutic justice. In Hal’s words “The corrections system should correct. People should come out of prison and jail more capable of leading productive lives than when they entered the system.?nbsp; Over 90% of those who are incarcerated return to the community. But of those that are released about 70% wind up back in the system within three years. In fact the vast majority of people who go through the criminal justice system are made less able to be contributing members of society. A significant number of troubled people are transformed into hardened criminals. This is done at a cost to society comparable to attending a top rated university. New Leaf is focused on volunteer-driven programs revolving around the jail. The LET program which has been operating now for ten months is a voluntary program for men and women inmates seeking to free themselves of addictions. In December the Transition Program was launched in collaboration with Work One and the Jail. New Leaf coordinates volunteers who serve as “navigators?for inmates and those released from jail to find help and sources of support for successfully re-entry into the life and work of the community.
Recently, New Life provided administrative support for the organization of a Community Forum on Recidivism by members of Citizens for Effective Justice (CEJ). The Forum held on January 28 at the County Library brought together judges, council members and other community leaders to discuss approaches to reduce recidivism. The event was key-noted by Morgan Moss, a nationally recognized expert on a new paradigm that transforms jails to become settings for helping troubled people to become contributing members of the community. In late February New Leaf prepared a grant proposal to implement the Morgan Moss Community Model (CM) that was submitted by Sheriff Steve Sharp to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI). The plan is to expand CM to other jails in Indiana after a successful program has been demonstrated in Monroe County.
A second grant prepared by New Leaf submitted to ICJI is for funding to continue the LET drug and alcohol rehabilitation program in the jail. This second grant was submitted by the Warren County sheriff and will cover similar programs in both the Warren County and Monroe County jail. Other grants are planned for needs such as support groups for families of incarcerated people.
In an era of increasing constraints on state and local government budgets it is extremely important to make more effective use of existing community organizations and of volunteer resources to implement programs for inmates and people released from jail. New Leaf ?New Life, Inc. is dedicated to the idea that volunteers can transform our criminal justice system. One of our members proposal a fishing program Gills and Skills that is helping children of inmates develop self-confidence by learning how to fish. Another member is planning for a program of organic gardening. Whether you are a retired businessman, teacher, pastor, electrician, attorney, artist or counselor New Leaf has volunteer opportunities for you. You can help with programs that are already operational or you can call on New Leaf ?New Life to help you to launch an entirely new program. Contact Tania Karnofsky, Director ?Transition Program by phone (812) 857-4999 or e-mail ?Tania@newleaf-cej.org.
