2006 News

August 30, 2006

Bucks County Commissioners Back Housing Arrangement, Easing Prisoner Re-entry Transition

In a cooperative venture designed to assist selected inmates with re-entry into the community, the Bucks County Commissioners have contracted with northeast Philadelphia’s Joseph E. Coleman Center to house up to 20 county prisoners.

Those inmates who are eligible for work release can now be more closely located to their job sites the lower Bucks and Philadelphia areas with their relocation to the Coleman Center, allowing for simpler travel to work. The program ultimately aims to enhance prisoners’ re-entry process back into society.

“This arrangement will benefit our inmates on multiple levels,” said commissioners’ board Chairman James F. Cawley. “It will allow pre-qualified prisoners a chance to begin rebuilding their lives, in addition to reducing the need for our county corrections officials to effect inmate exchanges with other counties.”

The Coleman Center received nine initial members of the Bucks County Corrections community during mid-August, according to Bucks County Corrections Director Harris Gubernick. Another half-dozen county prisoners are expected to enter the facility this week as part of a four-month contract through Community Education Centers of Roseland, NJ. The commissioners recently approved that resolution, which created funding for 20 county-designated Coleman beds.

“This is a great tool in that there is access to Philadelphia and the lower end of Bucks County,” Gubernick explained. “Inmates there may be able to keep jobs they secure during their incarceration. Stable employment is always critical for re-entry.”

The Coleman Center currently has 300 beds under contract with various corrections entities throughout the southeastern Pennsylvania region. It recently secured zoning approval to add another 200.