NYTimes reporter explains New Jersey’s private halfway houses

New Jersey’s privatized halfway houses are the focus of a series of articles in the New York Times this week. The report is the result of a ten-month long investigation by author and New York Times reporter Sam Dollnick, who shares his impressions of the system with NewsWorks Tonight host Dave Heller.

Last Friday, as reported in The Feed, New Jersey’s comptroller released an audit that found inadequate monitoring by the state Corrections Department of the halfway houses. The audit said the state did not take appropriate action against its state-funded halfway houses following inmate escapes, and also found New Jersey overpaid some workers and paid some workers who lack full accreditation. The state is spending $64.6 million this year on the program, which handles almost 3,000 inmates daily.