By Ana Ley
Las Vegas Sun
LAS VEGAS — Nevada’s corrections agencies aren’t preparing inmates well enough to adjust to life after prison, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a report released today.
The ACLU drafted its four-page review after surveying 43 inmates within the Nevada Department of Corrections who were eligible for release through parole. The agency wanted to know why 26 percent of the state’s parole-eligible inmates were refusing to be released or they were refusing to submit a parole plan.
The probe revealed that nearly three-fourths of those surveyed claimed to get very little to no help transitioning to life after prison from the Department of Corrections and the Parole and Probation division of the Nevada Department of Public Safety. About 20 percent of them who said they had refused parole blamed challenges within the corrections system.
Attempts to reach representatives for both agencies were unsuccessful late Thursday.
“Neither NDOC nor the NDPP are providing the necessary resources for inmates to properly prepare for the transition to life outside of prison,” ACLU Legal Director Amy Rose said in a prepared statement. “Inmates who are eligible and want to participate in parole are often denied this opportunity because of a lack of resources and guidance.”
The report claims that:
• Inmates are getting inadequate help from their case workers. About 30 percent of the inmates surveyed had never met with their assigned case worker.
• Inmates aren’t aware they can take classes to help them prepare for life on parole. None of those surveyed knew about monthly courses offered by NDOC.
• Potential parolees aren’t getting enough help finding affordable housing. More than 80 percent of those surveyed said they were worried about not having enough money to pay for a place to live after prison.