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Issue 12—June 30,
2006  Welcome
to SAVI Connections, the bi-monthly electronic newsletter regarding the
SAVI system. SAVI Connections provides news about SAVI, demonstrates
various ways in which SAVI can benefit your organization, announces
release of new data, showcases new tools, highlights a variety of SAVI
users, and broadcasts user support and training options. The Polis staff
encourages your ideas and feedback. Please address comments to: skandris@iupui.edu. View past newsletters at: http://www.savi.org/savii/about/news.aspx
All classes are offered FREE of charge and will be held at The Polis Center. Space is limited. Visit the training website to view a full description of each session and to register: http://www.savi.org/savii/support/training.aspx. You may also register by calling 274-2455. SAVI Basic Training: Level 1
SAVI Basic Training: Level 2
SAVI Basic Training: Level 3
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Each year in the United States, over 600,000 prisoners re-enter society. Their release poses numerous potential problems for the communities involved, including an increased risk to public safety, limited availability of jobs and housing, and greater demands on already strained social services. Metropolitan areas such as Indianapolis experience prisoner reentry more acutely than do smaller communities because the volume of returning prisoners is greater. Compounding the problem is the tendency of released offenders to return to a handful of neighborhoods within larger cities. Mapping is a powerful way to understand the concentration of the re-entering population, as well as to chart its patterns over time. Neighborhood-level data is especially important because this information allows community leaders to understand the local dimension of the issue. It also improves the timely delivery—and the effectiveness—of social and support services. SAVI contains the data and tools to help Indianapolis agencies deal with the growing demand to serve re-entering prisoners. It contains detailed information on the demographic and social service environment of neighborhoods most affected by this problem. SAVI also has a toolset that allows the uploading and mapping of data specifically on the re-entry population. With these data and tools, it is not surprising that the city has emerged as a key player in the Reentry Mapping Network (RMN), a nation-wide alliance of 12 metropolitan areas and the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C. think tank. RMN partners (click here for list of partner cities) collect and analyze local data related to incarceration, reentry, and community well-being. They use these findings to develop policy options and to engage community stakeholders toward community improvement. The Indianapolis Reentry Mapping Network is a coalition of six partners (click here for list), led by United Way of Central Indiana and funded, in part, by a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It began in 2004 when United Way joined the national network with the goal of improving local services and involving local communities for successful reentry. In a report to the national RMN conference in January 2006, Cynthia Cunningham, consultant to the project, outlined what SAVI mapping and other analysis had revealed about prisoner reentry in Indianapolis. Among the findings was considerable overlap of concerns among three neighborhoods, but the demographic and cultural differences among them suggested the need for separate approaches. Also, the mapping of information was important to understanding the dimension of the problems (click here to view an example of maps and data analyzed) and to developing appropriate solutions. One outcome of the work-to-date has been the development of a directory of reentry services in both on-line and hardcopy forms. SAVI is an important resource for understanding the dimensions of issues that confront Central Indiana. Its vast data warehouse and mapping tools allow users to understand both the size and geographic scope of a variety of problems. Visualizing data on a map allows communities to recognize how the problem affects them, and locating the services available to address the problem helps agencies to see areas of overlap as well as the potential for coordinated services. Finally, mapping is an excellent way to communicate information; in complex matters such as prisoner reentry, a picture truly is worth a thousand words. SAVI offers training in how to use its data and tools to analyze social issues. See the SAVI Training Schedule in this issue for dates and times.
Last year we had over 100 people in attendance at our inaugural users conference. This year promises to be even better than last. We listened to your feedback and are planning an exciting, interactive event with opportunities for hands-on workshops, group discussions, and more! There will be something for everyone, from those new to SAVI to those that have been using it for years. Stay tuned for more details. The conference is a great opportunity to learn about SAVI, learn how it can benefit you and your organization, network with other users, share your experiences, and provide suggestions for SAVI’s future. What: Second Annual SAVI Users Conference When: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm Friday, September 22, 2006 Where: IUPUI Campus, Lecture Hall Building (LE) 325 University Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46202 Who: All SAVI users and anyone interested in community information Cost: Free | |||||
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SAVI is a community information system administered and maintained by The Polis Center, a unit in the School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI. SAVI is supported financially by the following organizations: Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust; Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, Inc.; Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis, Inc.; Indianapolis Foundation, an affiliate of Central Indiana Community Foundation; Annie E. Casey Foundation; Lilly Endowment, Inc.; United Way of Central Indiana; City of Indianapolis, Department of Metropolitan Development; Marion County Health and Hospital Corporation; Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI). |
| For more information about SAVI, please visit the website at http://www.savi.org/. |
| To subscribe to SAVI Connections, send an e-mail to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU with no subject and only the following in the body: SUBSCRIBE SAVI_NEWS-L |
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| National Reentry Mapping Network Partners and Their Work |
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Denver, CO: The Piton Foundation is the lead RMN partner in Denver. They are working closely with a Community Advisory Committee, which has identified five priority areas to focus both the research and the community outreach: employment, housing and homelessness, substance abuse, mental health, and family support. Des Moines, IA: Using data from the Iowa Department of Corrections, The Child And Family Policy Center (CFPC) has completed two reports for their Neighborhood Learning Partnership, analyzing current prison populations and the effects of incarceration on local communities. The CFPC continues to participate in strategic planning sessions with local service providers. Hartford, CT: The United Way of Central Connecticut is providing research and planning support to community partners working to better coordinate reentry-related services for ex-offenders in Hartford. Indianapolis, IN: The United Way of Central Indiana is mapping incarceration and reentry patterns in Central Indiana to help community organizations better understand and respond to prisoner reentry issues. Louisville, KY: Making Connections Louisville, and the Community Resource Network (CRN), have provided research support to a local Justice Reinvestment Planning Commission. They also are working with community groups to analyze the availability and adequacy of support services for ex-offenders in Louisville. Milwaukee, WI: The Nonprofit Center Of Milwaukee is analyzing longitudinal data on ex-offenders returning to Milwaukee from 1997 to 2004. They are using these data to develop reentry related indicators for neighborhoods to use in measuring their progress towards improving outcomes for ex-offenders returning to their communities. Oakland, CA: The Urban Strategies Council (USC) is producing a regular community report with basic information on the reentry population, their service needs, availability of services to meet their needs, and the costs of various strategies for public safety. Providence, RI: The Providence Plan and The Rhode Island Family Life Center have used reentry maps to analyze the impact of voter disenfranchisement and to analyze the impact of restrictions on ex-offenders from receiving public benefits. They have also used reentry maps in a community education program that reached over 400 people in neighborhoods with high concentrations of returning ex-offenders. San Diego, CA: The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office and The San Diego Association of Governments have analyzed information on the previous residences and criminal histories of ex-offenders. They are working with an advisory committee to use these data to better understand the needs and resources of ex-offenders in San Diego County. Seattle, WA: Public Health-Seattle, King County, in partnership with Making Connections White Center/Boulevard Park and Seattle Goodwill is assessing reentry patterns on the basis of race, immigration, socioeconomic status, gender, and the presence of dependent children. They are collaborating with community representatives in using this data to identify and improve services for ex-prisoners. Washington, DC: NeighborhoodInfo DC has analyzed data on where ex-offenders are returning in the District of Columbia and is working to use those data to better understand and plan for the housing needs of returning ex-offenders. Winston-Salem, NC: The Center For Community Safety (CCS) has provided research support to a community coalition planning process for the creation of a new Reentry Network Center, designed to serve as a central location for both service referrals and on-site services to accommodate the needs of returning ex-offenders in the Winston-Salem community. http://reentrymapping.org |
| Indianapolis Reentry Mapping Network Partners |
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