Press release

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Tracy Munford
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POVERTY, CRIMINAL JUSTICE and THE BLACK MALE & COMMUNITY

NY’s David Jones, President, Community Service Society, Joins National Leaders at Congressional Black Caucus Forum to Discuss Poverty

New York, NY, February 23, 2007 -- Dropping out of school, limited skills and job prospects, the lure of the streets, crime, and prison are part of the life cycle of more than 15 percent of New York City's 16 through 24 year-olds who are neither enrolled in school nor participating in the labor market, according to research by the Community Service Society of New York (CSS). The report by CSS indicates these young men, numbering about 170,000, are disconnected from any framework that could lead to a life of self-sufficiency and achievement. The report also found that New York's African-American young men are twice as likely as Whites and Asians to be out of school and out of work.

David R. Jones, Esq., president and CEO of CSS, highlighted the challenges of disconnected youth in New York and offered some solutions to breaking the cycle of poverty and criminal justice intrusions in the Black community at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation District Level Forum (DLF-NYC), hosted by Representative Yvette Clarke and including Representative Danny Davis from Chicago's 7th Congressional District and founder of the State of the African American Male (SAAM).

The title of the Forum (DLF-NYC) at John Jay College of Criminal Justice is "Breaking the Cycle of Poverty and Criminal Justice Intrusions: Advancing a Strategic Policy Agenda" and includes national and New York area experts on issues of poverty, incarceration and policy. According to Dr. Elsie Scott, Interim President and CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, "We have brought this District-Level Forum to New York to discuss key issues and to promote civic engagement."

Jones served on the panel, entitled, "Policy and Poverty," and was joined by Gloria J. Brown-Marshall of John Jay College, Dr. Lance Freeman of Columbia University and Dr. Donna Blackwell of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation.

Jones said, "Nearly half of all Black men in New York were without a job in 2003 and although figures have decreased, our latest figures show nearly 40 percent of Black men in New York remain jobless."

Jones said there are a number of initiatives that government, academia and private industry can undertake to begin changing the downward cycle for so many, particularly for people who are incarcerated. He offered the following recommendations:

• Government should create a program of economic opportunities for parolees, with job training and education leading to employment. These programs should begin while individuals are incarcerated and preparing for transition. Once released, parolees should be referred to special centers for references to housing, jobs, education and training courses and health care.

• Parolees need to earn money while they receive training or while they are furthering their education, making transitional jobs and subsidized training programs essential.

• Lastly, a comprehensive program to address the needs of young people still in school, including revised curriculums emphasizing high-tech and vocational education must be created and implemented.

In its recent annual survey, "The Unheard Third," CSS uncovered that 75 percent of New Yorkers favor public funding to give people coming out of prison a second chance at getting job skills and on-the-job training."

Jones encourages Congress to take five concrete actions to support and move public interest on issues concerning disconnected youth, including:

1. The Earned Income Tax Credit should be extended to childless adults ages 18 to 24;
2. Increased funding for second chance programs, like employment programs for the formerly incarcerated;
3. Extend funding to work-based programs, so that parolees have a stipend while getting training;
4. Reinstate funding for higher education programs in prison as a tool to reduce recidivism; and
5. Allow those convicted of a felony conviction to live in federally funded housing.

Jones said, "The bottom line is that crime costs society money. New York spends nearly $25,000 a year to incarcerate a prisoner. An investment in programs that would help parolees attain economic self-sufficiency would yield a greater return both for the economy and for public safety."

Jones is part of a consortium of elected, appointed, corporate and non-profit leaders, who through the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation launched SAAM, State of the African American Male Initiative. Joining Jones on the SAAM initiative are New York area members of Congress, Gregory W. Meeks, Charles B. Rangel, Edolphus Towns and Yvette Clarke and New Jersey Congressman Donald M. Payne. SAAM was created to expand opportunities for Black men in New York and New Jersey. For more information, visit on line at www.iamsaam.org.

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