The Supervision to Aid Re-Entry (STAR) program helps with the big problems and the little aggravations that confront someone upon leaving prisonhere is help getting a job, signing up for GED or college classes, dealing with a bad credit history, even getting around without a car. And there is the ever-watchful eye of not just a probation officer, but a black-robed judge.
By Emilie Lounsberry
The Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA — Jumar Smith’s past predicted an uncertain future.
He had a string of convictions when he was caught with a firearm. Under a tough federal gun law, he ended up with 57 months in prison.
But after Smith was released, he was invited into a novel program that seeks to help ex-offenders reenter society.
And Smith credits it with helping to steer his journey from ex-con to entrepreneur.
“It helps to keep me focused,” said Smith, 33, who currently works for his cousin’s cleaning service but is planning his own janitorial company and has been thinking about a demolition business and eventually branching into real estate.
The program, known officially as the Supervision to Aid Re-Entry (STAR) court, helps with the big problems and the little aggravations that confront someone upon leaving prison.
For Smith and the two dozen other Philadelphians now in the program, there is help getting a job, signing up for GED or college classes, dealing with a bad credit history, even getting around without a car. And there is the ever-watchful eye of not just a probation officer, but a black-robed judge.
“It’s an amazing metamorphosis they go through,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy R. Rice said of the convicted felons who regularly stand before him at twice-monthly sessions at the U.S. Courthouse.
Today, the program hits an important milestone as the first six former inmates complete their year of visits to Rice’s courtroom. The judge along with other officials in the justice system will join with program participants to mark the occasion. The early success, meanwhile, has spawned an expansion, with another judge presiding over a second reentry court.
Across the nation, more and more judges have endorsed the concept of specialized courts that mix treatment with punishment.
Philadelphia, for example, has a range of specialty courts. The Re-Entry Court, with input from federal prosecutors, public defenders and judges, is unusual because it is in federal court.
It is also unusual in that it is aimed at offenders seen at risk of committing new violent crimes. Other specialty courts typically deal with nonviolent, low-risk offenders.
There are convicted drug dealers, armed robbers and, like Smith, those with prior convictions who ended up with stiff sentences under strict federal gun laws.
Smith said he had previous convictions for small-time drug sales - so his federal sentence of nearly five years was a stunning wake-up call. But Smith said he made the most of his time in prison, earning a GED and some college credits and developing an affinity for business.
“I have a high for it,” said Smith, who said he regularly follows Bloomberg business reports.
Smith still has about five months left in Re-Entry Court. His reward upon successful completion of 52 weeks in the program: He will get a one-year reduction in the time he will be supervised by probation officers.
Daniel Blahusch, chief federal probation officer for the nine-county Eastern District of Pennsylvania, is encouraged by the program’s first year. “I think it’s working,” he said.
Maureen Barden, a former federal prosecutor who is now prisoner-reentry coordinator, said the program was needed to reduce the chances of ex-offenders ending up back in trouble.
One estimate, she said, projected that nearly half of medium- to high-risk ex-offenders would be in trouble again after three years.
“We’ve got to do better,” she said.
On the bench during the Wednesday sessions, Rice at times sounded more like a personal coach than a judge.
He encouraged one man to look for a better job, suggested that several others start taking college classes, and offered to help one young man repair his credit report.
“Hang in there - don’t get down,” he counseled another who had mistakenly gone to take a test on the wrong day.
Rice listened intently as Smith told him last month that he had spent most of his vacation watching a marathon of Suze Orman personal-finance shows.
What was her best tip, Rice wanted to know.
“Pay yourself first,” Smith replied.
Smith gave Rice an update on his efforts to incorporate his cleaning business.
“When you make it big, I got all sorts of people who need jobs,” Rice told him. “Keep up the good work.”
In an interview, Rice said he tried to inject a bit of levity or talk about sports to put those in the program at ease. “The last time they were in court, they went to prison,” he said.
Outside the courtroom, Smith said he enjoyed his conversations with the judge - and benefits from hearing other participants talk about their various experiences.
“You get to share each other’s story,” he said. “So you don’t feel alone.”
The judge said later that he’d been pleased by Smith’s progress - and his approach to a thriving future.
“He wants to be the next Donald Trump,” said Rice.
Copyright 2008 Philadelphia Newspapers, LLC