In 2008, technical parole violators — parolees who have not been re-arrested but have violated the terms of their parole (such as a failure to appear for an appointment) — spent an average of 48 days on Rikers Island. In many cases, these long stays are due to the difficulty of placing individuals with special needs, including those with mental illness or substance abuse treatment needs, women with sole custody of children, and youth, in appropriate community-based programs. Special needs cases are also more likely to be returned to prison, even though many of these individuals could live in the community with appropriate monitoring and support.

In cooperation with the New York State Division of Parole and the New York City Department of Correction, CASES launched the Parole Restoration Project (PRP) in 2001. The program works to restore otherwise prison bound technical parole violators to parole, and links participants to community based services. The program works in collaboration with parole officers to ensure appropriate treatment placement, follow-up and compliance.

Services

• Community linkages - based on a thorough screening for program eligibility and needs assessment by CASES' staff on Rikers Island, PRP escorts participants directly from detention to a community treatment provider
• Follow-up and compliance - PRP maintains regular contact with partnering providers for six months after the initial linkage to ensure participants' ongoing engagement in treatment and to re-connect those found to be non-compliant

Referrals to PRP

Community Treatment Providers

CASES makes referrals to the following organizations, among others, based on the needs of the client.