Committee backs sending no-cost extension request for reentry program to full board

The city’s Public Safety Committee voted to forward a request from the Office of Violence Prevention to the full board seeking a no-cost extension through September 2027 for its CREST/PRESS reentry and violence-intervention initiative.

The director of the Department of Community Resilience told the committee the extension would allow partners to continue providing direct cash assistance, case management, workforce development and reentry services to people at highest risk of recidivism. The director said partners have provided roughly $186,000 in basic needs assistance and $55,000 in workforce supports so far and that the program has served 316 people since inception, including 167 participants in the current fiscal year. "If it's not in writing, it didn't happen," the director said, describing the program’s use of a results-based accountability framework to track outcomes.

Jacoy Veil, program manager for the Office of Violence Prevention, said partners such as Connecticut Violence Intervention and Prevention (CTVIP), Goodwill Southern New England and the University of New Haven provide life coaching, street outreach and evaluation services. Veil described a reentry welcome center launched in April and said partner caseworkers typically carry about 11–15 clients per caseload, with some partners serving roughly 30 participants now and capacity to serve more.

Catherine Kumeyani of the police department’s Professional Standards/Training Administration told the committee that citywide nonfatal shootings have fallen compared with prior years and said the department supports the program as part of a broader public-health approach to violence. "When you have partners and people who are saying, hey — we're putting all that aside — let's make sure no more kids are dying," Kumeyani said.

Committee members pressed presenters on details including who receives direct assistance, staff-to-participant ratios and whether partners have access to the shared case-management system. Presenters said partners enter client data into the Apricot database so the city can track outcomes and generate reports for oversight.

Members also raised concerns about language access for immigrant and Spanish-speaking participants. Veil and the director said Goodwill hired a Spanish-speaking staff member with lived experience at the reentry welcome center and emphasized outreach and hiring as ways to improve cultural responsiveness. The director also said certain federal NOFO requirements prevented applying for some grants, constraining additional funding applications.

The director detailed several outcome figures presented to the committee: 316 total participants served since program inception; 167 participants served in the current fiscal year; 116 justice-impacted families served (about 90 of those families include children under 18); roughly 80% of families with youth live in New Haven; a reported 9% recidivism rate among participants compared with a cited national benchmark of about 20%; and 16 participants who this year secured permanent housing.

After discussion and public acknowledgement of partners in the room — including remarks from Kevin Bancini, an associate professor at the University of New Haven, and Mary Loftus of Goodwill Southern New England — the committee closed the public portion by voice vote and voted to send the BJA no-cost extension request to the full board/UC for placement on the upcoming agenda. The committee’s action was announced as a voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the committee record.

The item will appear on the full board/UC agenda as scheduled, where members will have the opportunity to debate or amend the extension request before a final vote.