MIDDLESEX COUNTY PRISON COORDINATING COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER

MCPCC met on May 10, 2006 in West Newton. Mary Ann Donaldson, Beverly Wilkins, Tom Crowther, Dorothy Weitzman, Elizabeth Woodbridge and Marjorie Moerschner were present. Our guest speaker was Lanny Kutakoff, Executive Director of Partakers, Inc.

Lanny, a sociologist, was on the faculty at Boston University, where he became involved in the its Prison Project; he later moved to the U. of MA, Boston, which also had a prison program. Through these two programs he has taught Concord, Walpole (now Cedar Junction) and Norfolk prisons. He became the Executive Director of Partakers in 2004.

Partakers, a faith-based, non-profit organization, was founded in 1997 by Jeannette Hanlon to get churches and other groups to provide support for inmates who were working towards a college degree through B.U.'s Prison Education Program. Lanny has been working to put what had been essentially a grassroots organization on a more formal and structured basis, to set standards and guidelines, and to focus its objectives more clearly. With all that in mind, Partakers has developed both mission and vision statements.

By its vision statement, Partakers "is committed to advancing restorative justice, rehabilitation, and the healing transformation of both prisoners and society."

Partakers Mission statement is "to reduce prisoner recidivism through education and civic engagement" by 1) its College Behind Bars Program and 2) helping to educate Partaker volunteers- and others- about what is wrong about our current criminal justice system and how to change it.

B.U.’s College Behind Bars program is Partakers' partner, but B.U. requires that an inmate already have three college courses before entering it. Very few inmates meet this requirement so Partakers has found several colleges, centered in Colorado, which provide good correspondence courses which do not have to be proctored. That is important, because the DOC will not provide proctoring. Partakers pays for these courses.

Most of Partakers sponsors are Unitarian, UCC or Episcopalian churches and seminaries. Lanny would like to broaden this base and is pleased that a synagogue has recently become a sponsor. He'd also like to involve Black and Latino churches and has hired a parolee who is doing a great job in these communities. A Baptist church has recently come on board and has chosen to sponsor a black man who is a Muslim. Several other black churches are about to join. Sponsoring organizations give Partakers $3000 which can be paid over 3 years. This doesn't cover costs, and Partakers continually seeks grant money.

Sponsoring organizations provide a team of four to six people. The team corresponds with the prisoner and once a month 2 members visit him or her and report back to the rest of the team by e- or regular mail. The team itself meets together every month or two for support and sharing. If there should be a problem of any sort, Lanny and his assistant director will meet with members. Team members usually find mentoring a prisoner a worthwhile and emotionally transforming experience.

Upon finishing the obligatory three courses, the prisoner applies to the B.U., program, which is free. The sponsoring team continues to monitor its prisoner throughout the degree process.

Partakers is an in-prison program. It doesn't deal with reintegration or reentry matters itself, but it works closely with two organizations that do, Span (not an acronym) and SMOC (South Middlesex Opportunity Council.) When an inmate sponsored by Partakers is within a year of release, he is hooked up with one of those organizations. The executive directors of those programs are now on Partakers new Advisory Board.

Until 1994, when Pell grants to prisoners were eliminated, about 350 colleges in the country provided free courses to prisoners; Now B.U. is one of only about 12. John Silber, when he was the president of B.U., liked the idea of prison education and kept the program going there.

Partakers sponsors about half of the inmates taking part in B.U.'s program; they are traditionally its best students, largely due to the careful mentoring they receive. They also do better in the prison environment than those who aren't so motivated.

All classes take place within the prisons. Four prisons are involved: 2 for women, Framingham and South Middlesex, and 2 for men, Norfolk and Bay State. Norfolk has by far the largest number of participants. Graduates receive a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree from B.U. 's Metropolitan College. Students don't have a major, making the program easier to operate.

Prisoners apply to the program by writing an essay. They must prove they have a GED certificate and they must have a sentence that will last at least six more years (somewhat less for women, who usually serve shorter sentences.)

Partakers has no relationship with the DOC. Sponsors enter the prison as "visitors" not volunteers, since volunteers are not allowed to correspond with prisoners. Lanny was able to meet with DOC Commissioner Dennehy and the assistant commissioner however, and was encouraged by their interest.

Many, many thanks to Lanny Kutakoff for speaking with us, and to the work of Partakers Inc.

NEXT MEETING: JUNE 14, 2006 AT 7 PM

SECOND CHURCH OF NEWTON, 60 HIGHLAND STREET, WEST NEWTON