Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Court Navigation Program topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Manhattan DA partners with the Fortune Society to offer post‑arraignment navigators, program leaders say
Summary
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office contracted the Fortune Society to place court navigators at arraignments who provide immediate assistance — meals, transit, clothing, transport and links to housing and services — and the program has served over 1,000 people since August, program staff said in a Bronxnet segment.
A Manhattan pilot program pairing the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office with the Fortune Society sends trained navigators to arraignments to offer immediate, voluntary supports to people released from court, program leaders said on Bronxnet’s Today’s Verdict.
Andy Rothschild, chief program officer at the Fortune Society, said the initiative grew from a District Attorney’s request for proposals and is notable because it offers voluntary services at arraignment rather than mandating participation. “The idea is to provide voluntary services to individuals coming out of arraignments, as opposed to mandating those services,” Rothschild said.
Rothschild described navigators as staff with lived experience who engage people as they exit arraignment. He said navigators offer immediate practical help — hot meals, metro cards, clothing, agency vans to escort people, and referrals to Fortune’s clinics — and that some navigators are former clients who are now employees. “We actually provide them the food ... we have an agency van that can take people places, and we have two clinics in our Long Island City location,” Rothschild said.
On scale and outcomes, Rothschild said the program has served more than 1,000 people since August. Navigators often coordinate with defense attorneys or prosecutors to identify people likely to be released on their own recognizance so assistance can begin immediately. Rothschild said rapid engagement builds trust: “I was just like you. I was in exactly the same place you were a few months ago,” he said — language the navigators use to establish rapport.
Program leaders said the Fortune Society provides lifetime aftercare, meaning people can return for services years after initial contact, and identified stable housing and persistent navigator support as central to reducing re-arrest and promoting desistance. Rothschild said the program’s long-term aim is to determine which supports keep people from cycling back into the criminal legal system.
Rothschild also discussed funding: the program has received city funding through the District Attorney’s Office and could use additional resources to hire more navigators and expand housing and other services. He said the team has not experienced ICE presence at the arraignment initiative, though similar programs have encountered immigration enforcement in other court settings.
The program’s immediate practical support and the emphasis on voluntary engagement distinguish it from court‑ordered alternatives, leaders said. They urged donations and volunteers to support Fortune Society programming.
Next steps: program staff proposed replication in other jurisdictions if funding allows; the Fortune Society continues to accept donations and volunteers to expand staffing and services.
