Which Home Sweet Home for Prisoners?
by Melinda Tuhus | March 12, 2008 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
While much of the spotlight was on a Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday about a “Three Strikes” law, New Haven State Rep. Bill Dyson (pictured) was pushing a different criminal-justice change, in a separate committee.
Dyson’s proposal came before a less-noticed hearing of the Appropriations Committee.
The bill calls for counting Connecticut prisoners as residents of the towns they come from, not the towns that house the prisons where they’re incarcerated. He said doing that would send significant state funding to the cities most in need of it.
He’s talking about all state aid that uses population as a component, including money from Indian casinos, school transportation, and five or six more. It could add up to at least several hundred thousand dollars a year for New Haven.
Since a lot of federal funding is also determined on a per capita basis, if his bill becomes law that could be another significant revenue stream coming to the cities of New Haven, Hartford, Bridgeport and Waterbury, which provide the bulk of prisoners in the state.
But if a person is sentenced to say, ten years, and living in prison in a small town, like Enfield or Niantic, he is not, in fact, living in the town he came from. So why should he still be counted as a New Haven or Bridgeport resident?
“That’s a valid question,” Dyson said when asked the question at the Capitol Wednesday. “But the point is: Why would they be counted in a town where they are confined, when the town provides absolutely nothing for them? Absolutely nothing. So why would they be counted there?”
Share this story: digg / newsvine / facebook
Comments
Posted by: fac Chek | March 12, 2008 8:12 PM
Your question is a valid one Bill, However, consider that for the purpose of funding from state or federal sources, the census bureau counts persons incarcerated in the towns in which they are housed. New Haven for example has it's prison population at whalley ave. counted in the New Haven demographics.
Every ten years the census counts this population. Each year New Haven counts the incarcerated and homeless for the purpose of acquiring new funding. New Haven cannot have it both ways, on the one hand complaining that New Haven has to house homeless from where ever, while on the other hand using the additional count to gain more money, to administer the program, and to accommodate the very same population they claim are being "dumped" on New Haven.
That is taking both sides of the issue.
Sorry, Comments are closed for this entry
Sections
Neighborhood News
Special Sections
Legal Notices
Some Favorite Sites
- African independent
- At Risk for HD
- Branford Eagle
- Brian's Commentaries
- Business NH
- CT Energy Blog
- CT Enviro Headlines
- CT Green Scene
- CT Law Tribune
- CT Local Politics
- CT News Junkie
- CTV
- ChiTown Daily News
- Conn Art Scene
- Crosscut
- Design New Haven
- Folk Alley
- Gina Coggio
- Gotham Gazette
- Hamden Daily News
- Josiah Brown
- La Voz Hispana
- Len's Lens
- Magrisso Forte
- Media Attache
- Medical Intelligence
- Metrocrawl
- MinnPost
- My Left Nutmeg
- NBC 30
- NH Advocate
- NH Register
- NH Review of Books
- OneWorld
- Only In Bridgeport
- Oral History Project
- Pittsburgh Dish
- See Click Fix
- Smartpill Design
- SoWhay Sonata
- Some Stuff To Do Today
- St. Louis Beacon
- Voice of SD
- WFSB-TV
- WPKN Today
- WTNH
- Yale Daily News
- barista
Government/ Community Links
- Advocate Calendar
- Ald. Meetings
- Arts & Ideas
- Arts Council
- Artspace
- Beth El Keser Israel
- Bioregional Group
- Birthright
- Boys & Girls Club
- CTRIBAT
- Chamber of Commerce
- Children's Museum
- City Point
- City of New Haven
- CitySeed
- Citywide Youth
- Columbus House
- Community Loan Fund
- Community Mediation
- ConnCAN
- DESK
- Dariba Referrals
- Data Haven
- Domestic Violence Srvcs.
- Election Volunteers
- Elm City Cycling
- Empower NH
- Ezra Academy
- Friends of East Rock Park
- GAVA
- Habitat For Humanity
- Hill Health
- Hilltop Brigade
- IRIS
- Info New Haven
- Jewish Federation
- Job Finder
- Junta
- LEAP
- Leeway
- Mary Wade
- NH Land Trust
- NH Safe Streets
- NH/ Leon Sister City
- NHCAN
- New Haven 828
- New Life Corp.
- Parents Available to Help
- Planned Parenthood
- Police
- Preservation Trust
- Public Allies CT
- Public Library
- Public Schools
- Public Works
- ROOF
- Register Calendar
- SAMA
- STRIVE-New Haven
- Solar Youth
- Soul-O-Ettes
- United Way
- Urban Design League
- Urban Resources Initiative
- W'ville Synagogue
- Westville Chabad
- Westville Renaissance
- Wooster Sq MT
- Workforce Alliance
- Yale Events
- Youth Continuum
Legal Notices
Flyerboard
Sponsors
N.H.I. Site Design & Development
NHI Store
Buy New Haven Independent Stuff
News Feed
Movable Type 3.35