Cleveland Jail Warden Dismissed After Asking for More Reentry Assistance for Detainees
According to a report on December 7, 2023, when Warden Jeremy Everett sounded the alarm two months earlier over insufficient reentry assistance at Cleveland’s Cuyahoga County Jail, the administration of County Executive Chris Ronayne demanded Everett resign.
Reentry programs reduce the likelihood of repeat offending, and other Ohio counties have good ones: In Franklin and Lorain counties, comprehensive reentry programs help prisoners leaving custody to obtain housing, employment and health services. Cuyahoga County’s program, however, is housed in an office six miles from the jail and offers minimal support to individuals leaving the aging facility. The Cuyahoga Office of Reentry (OOR) has a budget of $2.8 million but was not open to the public when investigated by nonprofit prisoner advocacy The Marshall Project (TMP). It also found that OOR’s website was out of date and did not list current meeting dates for its reentry coalition board and members.
OOR describes itself a “funder, convener, and collaborator in the reentry space,” yet TMP found that its work “is seemingly anonymous. They don’t conduct outreach or meet directly with people leaving jail.” Newly appointed County Sheriff Harold Pretel did not even know it existed until TMP informed him. After that, he pledged to create an effective reentry program based on successful models in other Ohio counties.
But Warden Everett’s sudden departure from the jail raises questions about transparency in County Executive Ronayne’s office, failing to provide clear reasons for requesting the resignation at the same time that there is growing recognition about the importance of reentry services to reducing crime rates and lowering jail populations.
The Ohio Supreme Court Reentry Task Force, formed by Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy in April 2023, is studying needs and services for the reentry population and is expected to report findings by June 1, 2024.
Source: The Marshall Project
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