Michael Swayze's Community Resources

Author: Michael Swayze

  • Newark, New Jersey Seeking Chief Sustainability Officer

    The following post appears on a City of Newark, New Jersey government website.

    Job Posting: Seeking Chief Sustainability Officer

    The City of Newark is recruiting a Chief Sustainability Officer who will work closely with an interdepartmental Sustainability Team drawn from key city departments, the Newark Environmental Commission, community partners, and businesses. The team is charged with achieving a healthier, greener Newark in all five wards. The Sustainability Team will build on the framework of the Newark Sustainability Action Plan, guided by principles of environmental and social justice, to ensure all members of the community benefit from the city’s progress.

    See job description here.

    Applications submitted before July 25, 2016 will be given priority. Position will start in mid-September.

  • Disparities in New Jersey Prison System

    A report by the Sentencing Project provides a mixed picture of the social justice system in the state of New Jersey.

    The report states,”Truly meaningful reforms to the criminal justice system cannot be accomplished without acknowledgement of racial and ethnic disparities in the prison system, and focused attention on reduction of disparities. Since the majority of people in prison are sentenced at the state level rather than the federal level, it is critical to understand the variation in racial and ethnic composition across states, and the policies and the day-to-day practices that contribute to this variance. Incarceration creates a host of collateral consequences that include restricted employment prospects, housing instability, family disruption, stigma, and disenfranchisement.”

    Key findings include:

    • African Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at a rate that is 5.1 times the imprisonment of whites. In five states (Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, Vermont, and Wisconsin), the disparity is more than 10 to 1.
    • In twelve states, more than half of the prison population is black: Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Maryland, whose prison population is 72% African American, tops the nation.
    • States exhibit substantial variation in the range of racial disparity, from a black/white ratio of 12.2:1 in New Jersey to 2.4:1 in Hawaii.

    On a positive note, New Jersey has witnessed and been a leader in reducing its prison population. Since 2000 the state has reduced the number of individuals in prison by 28%. It also has Re-entry Task Forces in a majority of counties. For more information on these community, county based groups contact the NJ State Parole Board by writing to: NJSPB_Public_Info_Office@spb.state.nj.us.

    You can take action to help reduce racial disparities in our criminal justice system. Ask your State Senator to support bill S677. The text of S677 is available online.

    Special thanks to NJ Advance Media reporter, S.P. Sullivan for his recent article, “Racial disparity in NJ prison rates highest in U.S., report finds”.

    The Sentencing Project is a national non-profit organization engaged in research and advocacy on criminal justice issues.

  • NJ Housing Choice Voucher Enrollment, Part 2

    Beginning today and lasting until Friday, June 17 5pm, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) will be accepting pre-applications for the Housing Choice Voucher Program (previously known as Section 8 rental assistance). Application can only be made online at https://www.waitlistcheck.com/NJ559.

    A number of questions have been raised with respect to the application and screening process. Here are a few questions with answers supplied by DCA’s Division of Housing and Community Resources.

    1. If the household income listed on the HCV pre-application is over the income limit will the application be rejected immediately?

    If the income listed on the pre-application is over the income limit, the applicant will be notified that the pre-application cannot be accepted. The applicant will have the opportunity to correct their entry on the pre-application if they made an error.

    2. Somewhere I read, “only one pre-application per household per county will be accepted”. Does this mean a person may apply in more than one county?

    Yes, a household may submit pre-applications for multiple counties.

    3. How is county of residence a screening factor, based on self-disclosure?

    At the pre-application stage, the applicant is asked to list county of residence. Should the pre-application be selected for the waiting list, when the applicant is selected from the waiting list, they will be required to verify all information submitted. Misrepresentation of information is grounds for denial of entrance into the program

    4. Would a person considered homeless be able to choose which county to apply in?

    A homeless person may submit applications for all counties, as any other applicant may do. In terms of the county of residence, a homeless person may submit as their county of residence the county in which they stayed on the night before the submission of the pre-application.

    5. Can you explain sorting preferences?

    As described in DCA’s Administrative Plan, preference points will be awarded to the people who are disabled, victims of domestic violence and to those residing in the county in which they submitted a pre-application. Should a pre-application be selected for the waiting list, the applicant will be required to verify all information submitted. Misrepresentation of information is grounds for denial of entrance into the program.

    6. A person accepted should continue to furnish updated information, especially if there is a move on their part. Should they report changes/update information to a local DHCR field office?

    All applicants are responsible for keeping their contact information current with DCA, so that DCA may contact them when their application is selected from the waiting list. Applicants may update their information through the waitlistcheck website, or through DCA’s customer service unit, which may be reached at 609-292-4080 or via email at customer.service@dca.nj.gov.

    Other questions and answers may be obtained by reading the Housing Choice Voucher Program FAQ (English) or Housing Choice Voucher Program FAQ (Spanish).

    The Housing Choice Voucher Program’s Administrative Plan FY2017 is also available online.

    Keep in mind the waiting list website may be slow due to the number of people trying to access the site. DCA issued the following announcement this morning, “Please note that the waiting list is lottery based and the date and time that you apply will not affect your chances of being selected, as long as your application is submitted before Friday, June 17th at 5 PM. Any pre-application submitted by 5 PM on Friday, June 17th has an equal chance of being selected for the waiting list.”

    DCA added, “You will receive confirmation once your application has been received. If you do not receive confirmation within 90 minutes of your application submission, it’s possible that your application was not received and you should apply again.”