ईस्ट पालो Alto

For the next three and a half years East Palo Alto will conduct a pilot parole reentry program, the East Palo Alto Community-Based Coalition.

The parole program was developed collaboratively by the East Palo Alto police department and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and will blend enforcement with programming services, according to East Palo Alto police. It will serve 120 East Palo Alto parolees annually.

A major component of the parole program will be the Day Reporting Center, which will provide a single location where parolees can check in with their parole officers and find a variety of services to help with their reentry, such as housing options, anger management help, educational services, and family reintegration counseling, police reported.

The program will assess the needs of inmates who are scheduled to parole in East Palo Alto, so they can develop a plan identifying the individual needs of each parolee who is returning to the community.

Partnerships between community organizations and service providers will also enhance support services provided to the parolees, police reported.

Another aspect of the parole program is the ongoing partnership between the police and corrections agents to increase the level of supervision and accountability of the parolees in East Palo Alto, police reported.

The department of corrections will assign a full-time parole officer to the East Palo Alto police department and will fund two additional police officers to be assigned to the newly formed Parole Reentry Unit.

According to the corrections department, six out of every ten parolees will re-offend and return to jail within two years of their release. High recidivism rates contribute to crime and violence. Programs like this one aim to lower that rate, according to police.

The program will be funded by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the projected cost of the three and a half year contract is around $3.4 million. The city will subcontract the Day Reporting Center and programming services to local vendors to create a community network that is involved in helping program participants.

The city manager and chief of police will be in charge of overall program oversight and fiscal management.

There are approximately 200 parolees who reside in East Palo Alto, and another 100 currently in jail that will be eligible for release within a few years, police reported.