It is important to stay connected to the outside world, not just because we want to return to it one day, but so that we can also stay abreast of the changes made and remain current alongside those changes. Reintegrating into society will require this, so it is better to stay connected than to play catch up.
Last week, while reading a legal blog written by Derek Gilna, I learned that the Trump administration had appointed Joshua Smith, the founder of Fourth Purpose (a nonprofit advocacy and rehabilitation organization), and also a former felon who was pardoned during Trump’s first term in office, as the Assistant Director of the Bureau of Prisons.
It is so refreshing to read that Trump is taking his promises to the public seriously and following through on creating the changes that are desperately needed. Especially in a system that is so deeply entrenched in not following the rule of law or society’s wishes. With the First Step Act – the bipartisan law designed to reduce overcrowding in prisons as well as incentivize prisoner self-rehabilitation – and the new Director’s latest memo about sending prisoners to home confinement (if they qualify for FSA time credits and don’t need the structure of a halfway house), society wants to see real changes made. But the bureaucracy behind those running the prisons are so resistant to change, or following the wishes of society, that the opposite of the community’s wishes are being done.
It is always a slow process to correct ills that built into a system. The FSA is over seven years old and still the BOP staff are resistant to acting in accordance with this law. The case managers, who will now be asked to find the inmates who qualify for the home confinement instead of wasting government funding and resources in a halfway house, will require more time and energy from already overburdened staff. Thus far the immediate response has been one of resistance. It may require months of pushback from both the inside and outside of the system to remediate the attitude. But these changes can bring opportunities to many who languish needlessly. For those waiting on bed space or assistance for reintegration, the fact that they already have a residence and don’t need assistance because they didn’t serve as much time in prison, this new attitude can be a bright light of hope.
Thus, the newest appointee brings in, at least in my opinion, someone with the right mindset to challenge the bureaucrats, to make course corrections in the agency, and to deal directly with the real problems the BOP faces. He won’t just offer platitudes while continuing to do the same old things they’ve always done. I look forward to seeing the changes made by both the Director of the Bureau of Prisons and the Assistant Director.
