Step up to fill the gap left by CCIA

When Gary Hinzman founded the non-profit Community Corrections Improvement Association in 1991, the goal was to create community programs that would break the cycle of crime.

In the ensuing 24 years, the association broke ground on critical issues influencing recidivism, including mental health, housing, community ties, employment and childhood experiences.

The association forged community partnerships and created innovative approaches to support offenders, their families and neighborhoods, with a special emphasis on youth and with the goal of making this community safer for all residents.

Those programs are in jeopardy now that the CCIA has announced it will dissolve at the end of this year, still under a cloud of uncertainty that started when a January 2014 state audit of the 6th Judicial District Department of Correctional Services flagged improper disbursements and resource sharing between the department and the non-profit CCIA under Hinzman's direction.

Pending the release of the second phase of that audit, and despite recent attempts to - appropriately - draw firmer lines between the correctional services department and the non-profit, the CCIA has withered.

The need for the services and programs it traditionally has provided has not.

It's now up to community partners to step in to try and fill this critical community need.

We strongly urge community service providers to consider how they might do their part individually and together, either by expanding existing programming or by taking responsibility for some of CCIA's more successful endeavors.

We are especially concerned about two unique programs - Children of Promise, which provides mentoring for children who have at least one parent who is incarcerated, and Home to Stay, which offers low-cost housing and support for offenders who want to live with their families while adapting to life outside of prison.

We encourage community service providers to recognize their role in supporting the rehabilitation and successful reintegration into our community of those who have served their time, and in recognizing and addressing the unique needs of offenders' families and children, as well as neighborhoods and victims affected by their crimes.

' Comments: (319) 398-8469; editorial@thegazette.com