Community & family ties reduce recidivism.

Anyone who has done research into evidence-based practice knows this...AZ legislator John Kavanaugh only shows his ignorance in the article below...

Prisoners have families, too.
AZ State Capitol Complex, Phoenix
(November 2009)

---------from the Huffington Post-------

Prison Visits Make Inmates Less Likely To Commit Crimes After Release, Study Finds

John Rudolf Huffington Post

Posted: 12/ 7/11 07:27 PM ET

Just a single visit from a family member or a friend can make a big difference in whether or not a prisoner ends up back behind bars after their release, a new study finds.

The study, by researchers with the Minnesota Department of Corrections, determined that prisoners who received at least one personal visit at any time during their incarceration were 13 percent less likely to commit another felony and 25 percent less likely to end up back in prison on a technical parole violation. Data showed that the more visits prisoners received, the lower their chance of re-offending after release.

The study tracked 16,000 prisoners over nearly five years, making it the largest such study of its kind, according to Grant Duwe, director of research for the Minnesota Department of Corrections, who led the research team. The study will be published in the Criminal Justice Policy Review, a peer-reviewed academic journal.

Duwe said prison officials in Minnesota were already weighing how to apply its results to the state's corrections policies.

"I think the completion of this study gives us some tangible evidence to show that if we can increase visitation, we can give offenders more of the social support they need to succeed," he said.

Several previous, smaller-scale studies have found an even larger correlation between prison visitation and inmates' likelihood of re-offending. But most state prison systems continue to see visitation as a privilege, not a tool to help inmates establish law-abiding lives after their release, Duwe said.

"I think visitation has been largely viewed as a concession that's given to inmates," he said. "I don't know if there has been a great deal of thought given to the public safety benefits that visitation might have."

As the economic slowdown has bitten into state budgets, some prison systems have already altered visitation policies in order to save money. In Minnesota, a temporary government shutdown earlier this year led to the suspension of all prisoner visitation as a cost-saving measure.

In July, Arizona lawmakers imposed a one-time $25 fee on all adult visitors to inmates. Funds from the fee are to be directed to maintenance of state prisons. Middle Ground Prison Reform, an advocacy group, filed suit against the state, calling the fee an "unconstitutional tax."

"If this policy results in delaying or diminishing or eliminating prison visitation for anyone, the state is shooting themselves in the foot in terms of rehabilitation," Donna Hamm, a retired municipal court judge and executive director of the group, said in September, according to the Associated Press. "That's a very short-sighted view of public safety policy."

John Kavanagh, the Republican legislator who wrote the provision, scoffed at the idea that the fee would discourage prison visitors, however.

"If a one-time charge of $25 is enough to dissuade you from visiting your loved one, then I'm wondering how much of a loved one he or she is," he told the Arizona Daily Star.

Duwe declined to comment specifically on the Arizona policy. But he said the results of the Minnesota study clearly suggested that states have a fiscal incentive to encourage visitation, not discourage it.

A single parole violation that returns a released inmate to prison, even briefly, costs upwards of $9,000. A prisoner who commits a new felony and spends additional years behind bars will cost far more.

"The benefits we could see from a reduction in recidivism could vastly outweigh the cost of increasing visitation," he said.

A few states, such as Idaho and Virginia, are already experimenting with a novel and cost-effective way to boost interaction between inmates and their loved ones: internet-based video visitation systems, which have proven popular with inmates and administrators.

Yet while a growing body of research shows that overall, visits by family, friends, religious figures and community mentors are overwhelmingly positive for inmates, data from the Minnesota study shows that one type of visitor should probably be avoided. Visits by an ex-wife or ex-husband, it found, can actually lead inmates to commit more crime after their release.

"Visits from ex-spouses could do more harm than good," Duwe said. "That was kind of an interesting finding."

Politics, prisons and the AZ legislature's priorities.

From the political playbooks of Senators Ron Gould and Russ Pearce and Rep John Kavanagh: This is largely why our state spends so much more on our people's incarceration and detention than on children's education.

Arizona's criminalization of kindness.

AZ State Capitol / Wes Bolin Plaza
Phoenix: February, 2011.

Yesterday the legislature found $5 million for "border security" in a non-border county while still maintaining that we don't have the $1.4 million necessary to restore AHCCCS transplant funding this year. Even the Arizona Republic is appalled - and that's saying a lot. People like Pearce and Kavanagh have been leading the citizens of this state to a collective spiritual death like pied pipers for too long; it's not the "criminal aliens" we have to fear - it's the home-grown terrorists we put into the legislature who endanger what is dear to us the most: our children. We are teaching them to justify cruelty to their fellow beings.


I can't comprehend the sheer brutality of the Arizona state legislature - when are the voters in this state going to wake up? Those people are hardly working in our people's best interests - if they're willing to kill Francisco Felix and coach Tiffany Tate because the chances we can save their lives don't make the expense worth it (according to Rep. John Kavanagh), they'll do the same to the rest of us when the time comes.

The dying are taxpayers too: AZ Families deserve AHCCCS.
AZ State Capitol / Wes Bolin Plaza
Phoenix: February, 2011.

The average citizen here may not be so ill-intended, but they're following their leaders like sheep these days - some with great enthusiasm, in fact - and it's having devastating consequences. The rest of the world is fighting for their freedom, while we're being ground down by more a oppressive government in Arizona at an alarming rate. The Tea Party is hardly about to protect us from tyrrany - they're not just innocent bystanders - they're among the chief perpetrators.


The claim "we can't afford it" when it comes to the People's needs holds no water in Arizona - the elite have effectively redirected resources from the poor to their own pockets through tax code changes and re-appropriations. There's plenty of money to expand the prison system, which we'll be needing to do soon since the state has one of the highest home foreclosure rates in the nation, and it's not getting better. Push even the best families to desperation and cancel their kids' or mother's health insurance, and you'll find economic crime go up for sure. Fortunately, the relationship between crime and poverty works the other way, too.


Apparently the AZ legislature doesn't know or care about how to reduce crime, though - the concept of evidence-based practice in the criminal justice profession has about 20 more years of catching up to do in Arizona, as we do in the areas of public health and mental health services out here (we're incarcerating ten mentally ill people for every one we hospitalize for their psychiatric symptoms - and when we do that they tend to be even further neglected and abused). This regressive, repressive state is more about social control and punishing the poor and deviant (that's me) than ever, in fact - they seem to seek vengeance and power throguh of their exercises of "justice", not community-building, healing for victims, or societal transformation.

AZ State Capitol / Wes Bolin Plaza
Phoenix: February, 2011.

Don't underestimate the power of racism, xenophobia, and fear to drive policy and funding priorities in this soul-sick place. All aid to people who can't provide documentation of their state-legitimized presence in Arizona is being criminalized at a rapid pace by Russ Pearce's Me Party Senate: from educators to health care providers to ordinary citizens, we're all expected to turn our Latino neighbors in as suspects for the police to clear before we extend a hand.


AZ State Capitol / Wes Bolin Plaza
Phoenix: March, 2011.


I can only imagine what a delightful bunch of kids Arizona's voting public is raising to lead us into the future. If you're a person of color here and in dire straits (or even just doing your job) look for Sheriff Joe's goons to come your way - and hope they don't mistakenly arrest you - or beat or kill you once you're taken prisoner. Give me an "anchor baby" from Mexico over a self-interested sociopath descended from Anglo immigrants any day - at least those children and their parents would have the courage to stop at the side of the road and help my family if we were in trouble...and they don't tend to grow up to be Nazis.

AZ State Senator Russell Pearce's son, Joshua, in a mugshot.
That's a neo-Nazi tattoo he sports...is it any wonder?

----------------------------

Arizona Senate Committee Wastes Time and Resources on Misguided Legislation
Wednesday, February 23 2011 14:03 Legislators target all Arizonans with six sweeping measures instead of addressing state’s real problems

Phoenix, Arizona--Yesterday, the Arizona Senate Appropriations Committee passed sweeping legislation to put federal immigration enforcement in the hands of K-12 schools, community colleges, universities, hospitals, motor vehicles, police, landlords, and business owners. The 12-hour hearing where the six related bills were discussed was packed with community organizations, health professionals, business leaders, faith leaders and others who voiced their strong opposition to the bills.

The bills were passed despite more than 20,000 emails sent to Appropriations Committee members from Arizonans outraged at these widespread attacks on our state in the four days leading up to the hearing.

The bills passed yesterday by the Committee include:

SB1611-- “Immigration Omnibus” or the “Throwing Arizona Under-the-Bus” bill –Sponsored by Senator Russell Pearce, this bill is a 30-page, measure requiring business owners, police officers, apartment renters, school employees, and others to verify citizenship, notify immigration and in some cases, failure to do so could result in loss of licenses, certification or imprisonment.

SB1308 and 1309 – “Eroding Children’s Futures and the Constitution” bills. Two bills introduced by Senator Ron Gould to create a new Arizona Citizenship that excludes children born to parents in the U.S. without immigration authorization. The bills are an attempt to ignite a national legal battle challenging the 14th amendment of the Constitution’s recognition of birthright citizenship.

SB1407 and 1141 – “Schools as Immigration Checkpoints” bills. Two bills introduced by Senator Steve Smith that would require K-12 schools to report on the immigration status of their students. Failure to comply would result in loss of funding.

SB1405 –“Turning Health Providers into Health Deniers” bill. This bill introduced by Senator Steve Smith would require hospital employees to verify the citizenship of people seeking emergency and non-emergency medical attention and to notify immigration agents if someone cannot prove they are authorized to be in the U.S.

The following is a statement from Border Action Network’s Executive Director, Jennifer Allen regarding yesterday’s passage of these sweeping measures:

“Despite the many legislators who campaigned against big government on their election soap boxes, the Arizona Senate Appropriations Committee approved six bills yesterday that would result in big government prying eyes in hospitals, schools, community colleges, universities, motor vehicles, housing, and businesses.

These bills would negatively impact all Arizonans who drive or buy cars, rent apartments, hire employees, attend elementary school or community college, give birth, or get sick and seek medical attention. It’s ludicrous to think that if you want to share an apartment with a roommate or go to the hospital to give birth, you would have to prove your citizenship, but under these bills, such would be our state’s reality.

As Arizona’s $2 billion deficit continues to grow, the Committee responsible for appropriating our funds has approved increasing the cost burden on hospitals, schools, motor vehicles, cities and counties, and on business owners. These bills are a waste of our time, our money and our resources, and it’s time for our legislators to focus on making Arizona strong, and to implement the real solutions for our state and our children’s futures: health care, jobs, education and public safety.

Business owners, faith leaders, law enforcement, health care workers, school and university employees and everyday community members are speaking out and pushing back, and we will continue to put pressure on the legislature every step of the way until these bills are defeated. Only then can Arizonans be proud to have leaders that actually lead our state.”

###

Border Action Network formed in 1999 and works with immigrant and border communities in Arizona to ensure that our rights are respected, our human dignity upheld and that our communities are safe and healthy places to live. We are a membership-based organization that combines grassroots community organizing, leadership development, policy advocacy and litigation.

Hitting Home: International Women's Day.

"Thank you Neuro ICU: We Heart Mom."



Those of you who get these blogs automatically fed to them will recognize that this is a revision of an earlier post. I'm still working this stuff out, and just wanted to clarify where I'm at these days...





This was the thank you that I left on the sidewalk last night at Scottsdale Healthcare's campus on Osborn, where my mother is being treated for an extremely aggressive form of brain cancer. We thought she may have had one or more stroke last month because she suddenly lost her vision in her left eye and began falling a lot, but the CT scan in the ER at the time barely even showed the shadow that consumed her right occipital lobe within just weeks; Mom was diagnosed with a sinus infection and put on antibiotics instead of being sent for an MRI.





Had she not fallen and incurred a new head injury last week, Mom's tumor may not have been discovered in time to do surgery. It has yet to be seen whether or not the surgery was in time to save her life or prevent her from prolonged misery. Because this particular cancer is so devastatingly quick to kill, they're starting her on both radiation and chemo even though they removed all visible traces. I guess no matter how good your surveillance, people and equipment are, by the time you see it again it's generally too late. This is what killed Ted Kennedy.





Some folks may be wondering why I'm still running around protesting and chalking the town while my mom may well be dying - I think I'm just trying to hold on to normal life as best I can through this; I'm afraid that if I put it down I may not be able to pick it up again for a long time. Besides, Mom isn't dying - she's fighting for her life. One of the reasons is so she can continue to be a part of mine. That means I need to keep living it.





My art and politics are a part of me, anyway, not activities I do in my free time. I won't be able to maintain my same level of activism, though - or prisoner support. My mail is flowing again, and I'm back up to my neck in letters from people in trouble. I'll write a post begging the community for more help on that count soon - after which, my blogs may well fall silent for awhile. If you try to contact me from here on out with little initial success, just be persistent. I've got my hands full now, but I'm not planning on going anywhere; I'll still help if I can do so, however this turns out. Mom would want me to.





In the meantime, if you have any good energy to send into the universe for Mom and the people treating her, please do. She's not only a primary source of my own social conscience and fire, but she's generously supported my unpopular causes over the years, even when she barely had enough to live on herself. She's the person that my prisoner friends ought to be thanking and praying for the most today - she helps keep me going when I risk succumbing to both poverty and despair, so that I in turn can be there for them. She is who makes most of my work possible. She saved my life, in fact.





So, my mom, Jean Boatman, is my Woman of the Year. She's a retired teacher from Fountain Hills, and a member of the current school board there. She's actually a registered Republican and has been an officer of the Mayflower Society (yes, I'm a Pilgrim) - but don't let that fool you. She's really an insurgent liberal and lives somewhat vicariously through my radical politics (which the people who love and respect her know already, so her "cover" isn't really blown). Please think good things for us - and do something pro-active to stand up for collective bargaining, public education, and health care rights this week.





Finally, I hope it dawns on Mom's community as they learn of her extraordinary medical needs that if the Republican and Tea Parties had their way right now, she would have been left to die like those AHCCCS transplant patients - and all the other Medicaid patients the state wants to cut off of medical care (but is more than willing to shell out $20,000+/year to imprison). Mom's life would be no less worth saving if she had no health insurance than it is now. Why is anyone else's?





Send that message to the the chair of the Az House Death Panels - also known as the Appropriations Committee - if you're a friend of my mom's. He's the man that Fountain Hills chose to represent their interests: John Kavanagh. Since most teachers are struggling to survive out there - and a lot of kids are hurting, too - I'd say he's doing a lousy job of representing anyone but the rich in that town.





He can be reached at:





John Kavanagh

AZ House of Representatives

1700 W. Washington

Room 114

Phoenix, AZ 85007

Phone Number: (602) 926-5170

Fax Number: (602) 417-3108

jkavanagh@azleg.gov

"Give my Taxes to AHCCCS: Health care is a human right."

"Give my taxes to AHCCCS: Health care is a human right!"

Get well card for Mom/1st Amendment lesson for AZ students.

Arizona State Capitol/Wes Bolin Plaza.

PHOENIX (March, 2011)

Cut prisons or schools? It shouldn’t be this hard

From: Arizona Daily Wildcat

By Kristina Bui
Published: Friday, November 19, 2010

Arizona's facing an ugly budget battle, and higher education is looking like just another drafted casualty in the war against deficits.

But don't worry about it, Rep. John Kavanagh. It's totally cool. I've only been hanging out in college to kill time, since I couldn't find anything to watch on TV. I didn't actually want that whole degree thing anyway.

According to Arizona Daily Star reporter Becky Pallack, the budget cut could be as large as $200 million. Making up that loss would force the UA to cut 25 percent of its entire payroll, or raise tuition by $9,000, roughly doubling the cost of in-state tuition. Neither will be met with support by the public, but the Legislature refuses to explore other options.

Kavanagh, the Arizona House Appropriations chairman, told the Daily Star that cutting university funding was one of a limited number of options for solving the state's deficit problem. The state universities haven't cut out enough administrative bloat, he said, and they would be able to compensate for the loss in funding by simply raising tuition costs some more.

There is nothing new about a politician who brushes aside education as soon as money gets tight. Nor is anyone surprised by the earnest student who begs him to hear cheesy variations of "America's students are America's future."

What is new is the politician who is also an educator. Kavanagh is a professor of criminal justice at Scottsdale Community College and a former instructor at Arizona State University. I respect Kavanagh's position as a legislator, but wonder about his perspective as a teacher. All jokes about his affiliation with ASU aside, his rationalization for cutting university funding because tuition can make up for the loss is baffling. As a professor, Kavanagh knows firsthand who's affected by tuition increases.

Students are being prepared to enter a workforce, one that has to be educated and skilled to attract job-creating businesses to the state. Ironically, such businesses would shape a healthy economy. Strange how that works out.

Rep. Bill Konopnicki, who will leave the Legislature in January, and Rep. Cecil Ash proposed an alternative: Cut funding for state prisons by reconsidering sentencing laws. Ash has vowed to propose legislation next year that would loosen mandatory-sentencing laws to save Arizona millions of dollars spent on non-violent criminals.

Read the rest here.