PROPOSED PROGRAMS & OPERATIONS
Citizens
United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (C.U.R.E.) is a membership
organization of families of prisoners, prisoners themselves, former prisoners
and other concerned citizens who work to reduce crime through criminal justice
reform for all of Texas. Texas CURE
board members work together for the vision of this organization on both the
national and state levels. Texas CURE
provides service through various avenues currently working through two
locations:
|
|
4121 Burning Tree Lane Garland, Texas 75042 |
Texas
prisons are without air conditioning.
In the Texas heat many prisoners are subjected to heat exhaustion, heat
stroke, and even death. Texas prisoners
do not earn a wage and have no way to purchase a fan from the prison
commissary. Sixty percent (60%) of the
160,000 prison population is indigent.
Texas CURE started the fan project in 2001. Indigent prisoners can write to CURE and request assistance for a
fan. The waiting list is long and the
funds are short. Something as simple as
a fan can save a life and reduce the prisoner’s medical cost to taxpayers.
Texas
CURE produces a quarterly published newsletter to a mailing list of
approximately 2,400 Texas members, currently. Prisoners receive a free publication while free-world members pay
a $10.00 basic membership fee. The
newsletter consists of informative criminal justice information that is important
to taxpayers, prisoners, families, and individuals interested in T.D.C.J., or
criminal justice policies and proposals. Texas CURE publishes 3000 newsletters
every quarter.
GRAD
Program deals with prisoners that are classified as gang members that have a
desire to change their lives and renounce any gang affiliation. Until a prisoner has completed the 9-month
GRAD program, they are to remain in Admistration Segregation with a loss of
privileges, such as education. However,
currently, the GRAD program can only accept 90 prisoners every 9 months, which hardly
puts a dent in the 2,000 prisoners trying to get in this rehabilitative effort.
Currently, the State of Texas
provides the financial burden of one TV per prison dayroom. Texas CURE proposes each prisoner may
purchase a small in-cell TV from the unit commissary. Prisoners earn the privilege of recreation (TV) by good behavior
and becoming a model prisoner. The
benefit of this would be lack of violent confrontations between prisoner to
prisoner, and prisoner to correctional officers. The noise level would be reduced, as well as stress levels.
·
Tape Recorder
Proposal
The tape recorder proposal would
promote prisoners to achieve higher education through audio correspondence
courses, as well as, a form of correspondence to keep the family structure
intact. This would help T.D.C.J.
mailroom personnel to audibly scan prisoner’s correspondence.
·
Pay Phones and
Phone Cards
By placing pay phones in prisons and
selling phone cards in the commissary, the State of Texas creates revenue to
help with the T.D.C.J. budgeting issues.
Other Operation-Related Issues
·
Texas CURE communicates
by correspondence, email or phone with 160,000 prisoners, their families, the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice, University of Texas Medical Branch, Texas
Tech, and Ombudsman of Texas.
·
Texas CURE provides
additional copies of legal materials needed for prisoners that are in
litigation proceedings.
·
Photographs and printed
material document the work of CURE.
·
Mediation between the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice, University of Texas Medical Branch, Texas Tech,
and families of prisoners.
·
Resource rehabilitation
locator for families and prisoners.
·
Encouraging
rehabilitation correspondence with 160,000 prisoners.