2019 COD Network Conference

Staff from the Tribal Defenders Office (TDO) will discuss the creation and implementation of their Flathead Reservation Reentry Program and how supportive services provided by public defenders is a successful method to assist reentering clients. We will share experiences, including struggles with stakeholder buy-in, and surprising collaborations that contribute to client success. You will hear from our apprentice case manager about overcoming barriers to success and ways for public defenders to engage clients. We will also open discussion with other public defenders about data collection and problems with having to report recidivism. TDO clients are particularly challenged in a jurisdiction policed by several law enforcement agencies and where native people are disproportionately represented in the state criminal justice system. We will talk about how to measure success, valuing process, culture, and client resiliency.

Join this panel discussion with men and women who were sentenced by the Maryland Courts to serve life sentences, but who were released after spending decades behind bars. In the past few years, more than 188 Maryland residents sentenced to life imprisonment have been released as a result of a 2012 court decision (Unger v. Maryland), and others have had their sentences modified or commuted, which resulted in their release after serving decades. They will talk about adjustment to society after serving decades in prison. These panelists will share their personal stories of endurance as well as how they have developed and designed strategies to help others through faith, education, activism, treatment, and support. These men and women had hope, even when there did not appear to be a realistic possibility of getting out. Hear their stories of strength and survival.

This discussion group will open with a brief presentation on the Breaking Barriers Pro Bono Project, which helps clients with post-conviction relief to overcome challenges to employment and educational licenses, and the coordinated effort of our county to further enhance re-entry programs and services. Then it's time for your stories, experiences, and struggles with reentry issues. Let's talk this through and come up with some workable solutions.