While Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s decision to cut $87.5 million of the $175 million one-time education funding the legislature approved attracted significant attention and headlines, it was just one of 46 line-item vetoes totaling $200 million. This is the second in a series taking a look at some of the other vetoes beyond the budget line language and figures.
THE VETO
Dunleavy eliminated $750,000 of a proposed $1 million increase in Alaska Department of Corrections funding for re-entry housing for citizens leaving incarceration.
WHY IT MATTERS?
Currently, the Department of Corrections, with an annual budget of more than $400 million, has around 4,700 people in custody. And that number has been trending up for the last half decade.
“Alaska has a mass incarceration problem,” Megan Edge, director of the ACLU of Alaska’s Prison Project, told the Alaska Beacon. “It’s growing.”
As individuals serve out their sentences and are released from custody, one thing is certain: The majority of them — approximately 95% — will return to their communities, according to the National Institute for Justice. If they are able to find housing and employment and address other critical needs, they are more likely to be successful in the community and not return to custody.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Housing is a key predictor of successful community reentry: Returning individuals that don’t have access to safe and affordable housing often experience a downward spiral following release from incarceration, which increases the risk of recidivism. Re-entry housing can be a key aspect of public safety and relieve the costly stress that recidivism places on Alaska’s courts and prisons.
BOTTOM LINE
Dunleavy’s veto will leave Alaskans leaving state custody without a critical pillar of support as they work to re-enter our communities, reducing public safety in the process and proving more costly to Alaska in the long run.
