Um, uh, my name is Ben Weber. Uh, I'm the District 6 city councelor and the I'm also the vice chair of the Boston City Council Committee on Government Operations. Today is November 26th, 2025 and it is now 10:04
a.m. Uh, in accordance with chapter 2 of the acts of 2025, modifying certain requirements of the open meeting law and relieving uh public bodies of certain requirements, including the requirement that public bodies conduct its uh meetings in public in a public place
that is open physically accessible to the public. The city council will be conducting this hearing virtually by Zoom. This hearing is being recorded. It is also being livereamed at boston.gov/city-consil-tv and broadcast on Xfinity channel 8 RCN
channel 82 FiOS and FI FiOS channel 964. Uh written comments may be sent to the committee email at ccccc.go.gov. gov and will be made part of the record and available to all counselors. Public testimony will be taken at the end of
this hearing. Uh individuals will be called on in the order they sign up and we'll have two minutes to testify. If you wish to sign up uh for public testimony, you've not done so, please email our central staff leazison, Michelle Goldberg at Michelle.
Agoldberg. Uh it's mic hle ag boston.gov for the Zoom link and your name will be added to the list. Today's hearing is on docket number 0138,
an ordinance codifying the office of returning citizens. This matter was sponsored by uh Council President Russi Louie Jen and was referred to the committee on January 8th, 2025. Um uh for background, the office of
returning citizens was created in 2017 uh by an executive order uh by then mayor uh Marty Walsh and has since provided uh uh muchneeded re-entry services to returning citizens under
actor acting mayor Janie and current mayor Michelle Woo. Uh, in 2023, Michelle Woo celebrated the opening of a new dedicated office space for the office of returning citizens, which has been under the direction of Ashley Montgomery since 2024.
This office has been vital to those in need of re-entry services and has provided grants to multiple nonprofits working in this space. Uh, I think I speak for all my colleagues when I and I say we're looking forward to this conversation and are uh generally in
support of codifying this office into the municipal code. Um I uh I I guess I want to inform uh all my colleagues that we have received a redline version of the order ordinance from the administration uh that um you can find in the folder
and then I think we'll be sharing on the screen uh later in this discussion. Um these red lines were done in in partnership between the sponsors and the administration. Today I'm joined by co my colleagues in order of arrival
uh Council President Russi Louie Jen. Uh I don't know if anyone else is on here. Um uh no, not yet. Uh uh so let's see. Uh I'll now pass it over to lead sponsor uh Madame President for any opening remarks
she may have and then go to uh my colleagues. or actually I think we'll just have one opening statement and then uh we can um maybe bring up the red lines to discuss or however you want to proceed. Madam President,
>> awesome. Thank you so much u Mr. Chair and thank you for um I know vice chair of the committee. Thank you for your willingness to hold this hearing. I want to thank the administration for being here at this hearing that we will all go over red lines so um we can make this more u efficient. I just want to thank
um Chief Maso and um Director Montgomery for your leadership in this space. Um when I was first elected, there were three things that I committed to. Affordable home ownership, investing in affordable home ownership, investing in affordable rental housing, and building up the Office of Returning Citizens. I committed to that as a candidate and
wanted to make sure that we saw it through. So, making sure that we strengthen the Office of Returning Citizens with increasing its capacity to hire more employees. Um and by uh first time ever being able to issue grants to nonprofits and organizations that are
led by folks who themselves, you know, have experienced incarceration or know about incarceration. Um especially organizations led by black and brown women. It has been a profound sense of pride for me to see this office grow, for me to see the investments and partnerships in community. Um and we
want to make sure that this office remains part of our uh city's fabric. more than 3,000 people return home from incarceration every year in the city of Boston. We need to make sure that um we keep them home and we do that by making sure that we invest in this office. Um
that we are reducing the recidivism rate, everything from employment to help with IDs to um housing. Um and I've been proud over my four years on the council to see that happen and to see this office continue to grow. Um so this is a codification and we've worked in partnership with this. I want to
continue to see the office grow. I want to make sure that we continue to center folks who are formerly incarcerated, not just as um people who are um recipients of the work of the RC, but also in leadership roles at the RC. And I think that's work that we will continue to do. But just happy to be here. Happy
Thanksgiving. Thank you to everyone and apologies because I know this is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, but we want to make sure that we're ready to go next Thursday, next Wednesday when we have the council meeting to hopefully pass this forward. So, thank you, uh Mr. chair. Um, and thank you to the administration and to central staff also
for being on and being present. Thank you. >> Yeah, thank you, Madam President. Uh, I'm going to shift to the panel. Uh, we've been joined today by Chief of Human Services, Jose Masso, and Executive Director of the Office of Returning Citizens, Ashley Montgomery.
Uh, I believe you have a presentation. So, uh, I'm going to hand it off to you. Uh, and we'll, uh, you know, resume resume our back and forth after your presentation is done. >> Great. Thank you so much, Council Weber.
Uh, and good morning to both of you. I'm Council President Luis Jen. Uh, just for the record, my name is Jose Maso and I am the chief of human services. Um I'm grateful for all of you being here today uh the day before holiday as council president mentioned uh to hold a hearing on this important order. I'm especially
grateful to council president Fusi Lu Jen for filing this order and for others who joined her in support of it. I'm joined today by my colleague Ashley Montgomery who was the executive director of the office of returning citizens. In a moment director Montgomery will provide an overview of the work that ORC is doing. Before that,
I wanted to provide just a little bit of context for the office and how it's evolved underneath the leadership of Mayor Wu. The Office of Returning Citizens provides case management, referrals, and specialized assistance and housing and employment to Boston's returning citizens. This office came
into existence, as was mentioned, under the Walsh administration, but it has flourished under Mayor W's leadership, who in partnership with the city council increased the budget and staffing significantly. In the past four years, the OC has been transformed from a staff
of two to a staff of 11. The budget has increased 10fold from roughly 200,000 annually to just over 2 and a.5 million annually. This investment has enabled the office to take on more clients and to increase its capacity in certain areas like housing and employment where
the need is especially high. As someone who believes deeply in second chances and in the need to invest in returning citizens so we can break the cycle over recidivism, I am proud of the work that the team at the RC does every day and the successes that they've had in supporting clients to find opportunity
in Boston where there once was nothing. I think codifying our office is a step in the right direction and that it moves us closer to making a permanent commitment from the city to support our residents who are returning home from incarceration. With that, I will turn it over to Ashley to share our presentation. Thank you all.
>> Thank you, Chief. Um, I'm just going to Do you guys Am I going to share on my end or does that work? Okay. Uh, just give me one second. Sorry. Just making sure that everybody can see the presentation. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Thank you again. Thank you, Chief.
Um, thank you, counselors. Um, again, good morning. My name is Ashley Montgomery. I'm the executive director um with the Office of Returning Citizens where we support individuals coming out of incarceration back into the city of Boston. So appreciative of this opportunity to be here to present to you
all. Um as Chief indicated, um as of April, we're currently fully staffed with a team of 11. Um we also have a social work intern from Boston College. Um, our three case managers report to the director of case management services and our three specialists report to the
program director. We also have an operations director and office assistants who um help to ensure that our internal processes are streamlined. So, our main focal point in our office is our case management services. Once an individual registers with our office,
they're assigned a case manager who conducts a needs assessment and works with them to create individualized goals. These goals form the basis of their personalized plan which you can see outlined in the infographic to the right of this slide. We currently have about 680 active clients enrolled in our
services. Each case manager supports nearly 200 clients in different capacities. On average, our clients stay engaged with us for about 368 days, receiving varying levels of support even when they're considered stable. Though OC received roughly 15
new registrations each week, we also offer open office hours two days a week where clients can meet with a case manager as they sign up for services. Because of this process, we do not currently have a wait list. Co clients may wait up to 14 days to be formally assigned to a case manager, but they're
registered and receive an initial needs assessment right away. our client is um is assigned a case. Once the client is assigned a case manager, they can be referred to our employment or housing specialist. To ensure we clients up for success, we use a referral form that helps us understand where they are in
the process. For example, we don't want to move somebody into housing if they don't have yet the income to sustain it. And we don't want to place someone into employment if they're not employment ready. This is why we also offer workshops to support individuals with throughout their journey. I'm just going to go to the next slide. Um so these are
some of the reoccurring workshops that our office offers. Um so we do um a working credit workshop that just helps to repair credit. Um we do digital literacy. We have u suits to smiles room where we offer suiting to u males as they come in so that they can be ready
for interviews. And then we also work with BPL to provide library essentials. something as simple as a um library card but more complex as more digital equity digital equity um or digital lit literacy training. Um in addition to those workshops that are outside of the
reoccurring, we also offer entrepreneurship workshops, Corey ceiling, housing and employment workshops. So, our employment specialist not only supports clients with their resumes, softsklls development, and mock interviews, they also build a pipeline to employers for direct employment
opportunities. This year alone, our our employment specialists created 29 employ new employer partnerships. And since these slides were created, we placed two additional clients in jobs, bringing us to a total of 86 clients employed year to date. Our
housing specialist um is currently working with 92 clients during and during fifth school year 2025 she placed 49 clients into housing. Of those placements, 61% were secured through BHA f housing vouchers and 24% were in
single room occupancies. In addition to housing playment housing placement, our specialists also assisting clients with a range of um applications including raft and furniture assistance. As you guys indicated at the beginning of this um hearing, our office has also
created grant opportunities to support our community partners. From fiscal year 23 through fiscal year 25, we awarded more than $4 million to organizations serving our community. In fiscal year 26, we participated in the city of Boston's participatory budgeting process
through which we awarded $250,000 to 12 different organizations and this was focused around the youth re-entry grant. We also currently have two additional grant opportunities available for this fiscal year and they're focused on expanding housing and general re-entry support which total to about $950,000
through our grant opportunities. Um we do site visits and advisory groups. We and we also remain committed to breaking down silos and removing barriers within the re-entry space. And um listed on this slide are some of the some of the collaborations that we're currently working on.
We've also been working to ensure that our office is more embedded in and actively um involved in the community. We've been intentional about creating events that foster connection and a sense of community among the re-entry population. This summer, we hosted a family cookout and more recently we held a community Thanksgiving gathering along
with a turkey giveaway for clients and their families. Earlier this year, um we partnered with justice system partners um where they conducted a needs assessment with 312 part participants. Um some of the key barriers that they identified was
transportation, digital equity, housing and social supports. And in response, our office has been extending our hours beyond um our office hours beyond Demick Street to increase accessibility. We also enhanced our housing support through the voucher program. In addition to um additional grant opportunities,
we've been hosting, as I mentioned in the last slide, some family friendly um community events aimed at returning citizens as well as the broader Boston community. Um we are also working on developing a peer support program in order to strengthen our client networks.
And then as I also indicated in previous slides that we work the with the city's digital equity team to host bimonthly drop-in sessions for our clients. Um, justice system partners also conducted f focus groups with community partners and individuals who are currently incarcerated and those who
were formerly incarcerated. Some of the key themes that were emerged were that our office has strong leadership and highly dedicated staff. participants also noted a strong willingness to uh to collaborate and that the OC prioritizes inclusivity amongst partners and um are
also partners also feel shared that they feel valued, heard and included. And again, I just want to say um thank you. Um the office of returning citizens continues to grow not just through the work that we do directly with those that we serve, but by being present in the community and a trusted resource for our
partners. I thank you for the opportunity to ensure that this office remains a permanent support for individuals returning home from incarceration. I'm so going to stop sharing. >> Okay. Uh thank you very much. Uh I just want to know we've been joined by uh
Councelor Brian Warell. Uh, Council Warl, I think we we just got finished with a a presentation and we're going to move on to uh red lines. If you do you have a something short you want to say uh before we get to red lines or uh just
leave your questions for later. >> Yeah, I'll leave my questions for later. But thank you, chair. Thank you to the panelists uh for being here. all the work that that um Chief Moso and Director Montgomery um that you're doing in this space. Um just looking to make
sure that we're bringing all the resources and support to our returning citizens. So just happy to be engaged on this work. Thank you. >> Okay. Uh so uh I think because we're you know we're trying to uh get this ordinance uh over the finish line here.
Uh I usually kind of talk about questions about your mission and stuff like that. I think we'll just get to the language of the ordinance. Um, uh, I guess council president, you had you have a question or >> happy to get to the language of the ordinance because I want to do that too,
but I was wondering if I could also like ask some questions just based on their presentation before we dive in. >> Yeah, absolutely. So, I guess we'll we'll leave it to uh if you have some questions and then I don't know, I guess Brian if you have any follow-ups after Madam President,
but so Russy or Council President Louis Jen as you're formerly known. Um uh I I don't know like five minutes for questions. U >> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um and thank you, Director Montgomery, for that
presentation back. Um, I'm really excited to hear about like just to see the growth knowing from where where it started um and from when I started to see like the growth of the office and the work that you've been able to do and the impact. You mentioned three areas of
continued challenges or was it four? I can't remember the slide. It was transportation identification and there was a third one. Do you remember that slide? >> It was based on the needs assessment you're referring to. So, the transportation, uh, digital equity,
>> um, social supports, and, uh, Ashley, I forgot the fourth one. >> I I think it was identification. >> No. Um, yeah. So, my my question is, and I like I love the progress that we've made on housing. I love hearing that to date,
I think it was 368 people. I'm not sure, but a good number of people who were able to find employment or 86, I forget the number, um, via the Office of Returning Citizens. That's what we want to hear. Um, we love that there are these great opportunities that remain outstanding for folks when it comes to
housing, but of course when you identify the challenges, I want to know what we're doing to help to um rise to the moment for those challenges. >> Yeah. So, the general social supports are >> Yeah. So, the four um key uh barriers
that were identified were transportation and when they talked about transportation, it was really transportation to getting to our office. Um, so as indicated, our response has been just being more embedded in the community. So ensuring we're not just at 30 Demick Street, that we're just in different spaces so that people have
accessibility to us. And so what we're finding is that the majority of our population is released in Roxberry, Fenway, and Matipan, Dorchester areas. So we're being intentional and and not just situating ourselves in Roxberry where our office is located, but also situating ourselves in Dorchester and
Matipan areas so that people can have that access. So that was kind of the first um barrier that was identified and that's the way in which we're um kind of alleviating that. In addition to we're working with our community partners in order to provide bus passes so people have accessibility to getting to us and not to us but to other areas that they
need whether it's to employment or to um different interviews that they that they might have. Um the other thing that was identified was actually digital equity. So we our response was working with a digital equity team which is internal to the city of Boston. They actually come here bimonthly to conduct um to conduct
workshops. And then we also work with the Boston Public Library um and they also do some workshops to help with digital um equity. Um the other barrier that we identified were um was housing. And so the way that we've done that is not only through our voucher program,
but also through grants. So right now um I mentioned that we have two grants that are currently out. One is around re-entry support services which closed on December 1st. Oh no, that one already closed. I'm sorry. And then our other one is housing grants which closes on December 1st. I'm sorry. Um and so that
is to kind of uplift and ensure that we're able to get our clients housing. Um and then the final um barrier was actually social supports. And so I kind of mentioned that we're cultivating events to ensure that people feel empowered and um are able to be
supported. So one thing that we did in the summertime, we created a family cookout where we the the basis is family reunification. So like really bringing um different people into the fold but also having resources available for individuals impacted by incarceration.
And then this past weekend we had a family gathering um which we did in collaboration with Haley House just to build a sense of community so that people can get together especially during this tough time around the holidays. And then on Monday we also had a turkey drive again just fostering that social support and that sense of
community. Um and so I'm not sure if that that answers your question. I know you alluded to the employment piece. Um so it actually is 86 individuals that we've gotten employed so far. Um and so and we continue to kind of >> calendar year >> this calendar year. So from January to
now so we are still and again you know our employment specialist has created 29 additional um employment pipelines to get our clients employment. >> Thank you. Um with respect to the social supports um I I love the idea of the family unification especially with
giving with the legitimacy of the city behind it. I think that could be really helpful for a number of of people. Um, is that for them for folks who are formerally incarcerated where they could also bring income with their families as well. >> Correct. >> Great. Um, on transportation, I remember
when you all were over at dry dock. Even I was like, where where is this? And I remember that was a struggle. Now you're basically Jackson Square, a 9 minute, 8 minute, 9 minute walk from the from the train. And so I guess I want to understand what the tren what the
barriers are for folks who are or right like is it a 29 and there are a number of buses that that basically stop right there. So I'm just trying to have a better understanding of what those tren like people who want to drive who may not have access to a license like what what is the nature of the transportation barriers that people are identifying?
>> Yeah. And so just to be clear it's not just transportation to our office. I think it's just transportation in general. So just not having the funds to not even having access to get a bus pass. right? Because they just don't have the money to. And so that's why not only are we getting out of our office, but we're also like we collaborated with
City Church in order for them to be able to provide bus passes. We also work with Mass Hire. So there's different organizations because, you know, we can't be all things. So we really have to tap into our community organizations um to provide bus passes for those that need them in order for them to get out and be able to get to their employment,
get to their housing appointments, get to whatever appointments that they might have. And I know the fountain fund, I don't know if you've connected with Jay the law with the fountain fund that they have a lot. I know that, you know, because of the anti- aid amendment, there's stuff that we can't do, but there's work that nonprofits can fill in
the gap for us when it comes to things like bus passes that I hope that we're able to lean on them more to help do that direct direct service work um and helping people in a way that we may not be able to. >> Yeah. And of course, like that's why I kind of mentioned those two organizations. I mean, Felton Fund, amazing. um they're more of a loan based
provider, but we do also work with the fountain fund in different capacities. So, for sure. >> Awesome. Well, I'm really um excited. And and lastly, they're fully staffed right now at 11 employees. How many of those are are returning citizens or formerly incarcerated folks themselves?
>> We have one individual um our director of operations that is formerly incarcerated and then we have another individual, our employment specialist, that has been in DIS custody before. And then we are in the process of um contracting um some peer support which would be a formerly incarcerated individual.
>> Thank you. I do think that I see that as one area I mean not that we we should all always be growing but as one area of growth is that making sure that those who are directly impacted are also the ones helping who have been directly impacted are the ones helping to lead decisions. I hope hopefully I sound like a broken record on this issue because
it's something that's really important. I was with um Healing Our Land last week and they they do a lot of work in our incarcereral system and they wanted to make sure that they you know that that's something that we continue to highlight that this is an office um that continues
to center in every way those who are formerly incarcerated. So >> yeah, and most of our staff is also formerly incarcerated adjacent, right? And so we also have been impacted in different ways. Yeah. Heard. Thank you. >> Thank you. Those are my questions, Mr. Chair. >> Okay. Thank you, Madam President. Uh,
councelor Warell, I see we've also been, uh, are joined by councelor Flynn. Uh, councelor Flynn, we've had a presentation. We are going to get to a an ordinance with red lines, but we have a couple minutes for for questions. Uh, so you're on deck, councelor Flynn.
Councelor Warel, uh, do you five minutes for for questions? >> Uh, thank you, Chair. Just a couple questions around the housing piece. I know um that the office was able to secure 50 vouchers for returning citizens over a three-year period
starting in 2024. Um have they all been maxed out? Have they all been used? Were we able to house 50 individuals? >> So they have not all been used and for various reasons whether somebody is in mitigating currently. Um, so I think six people are currently in waiting to get
their mitigation letters. And then we have and for again various reasons, we have four individuals that we are now recommending for vouchers. And the reason why we still have those four is that sometimes they just weren't approved for housing. Sometimes they just don't respond. So there's various reasons. So no, we haven't placed all of
those individuals. Um, but we are we are adamantly working to do that. >> Awesome. And then um I know you talked about the housing grants. um that the office is is that direct assistance or is does that also cover administrative
costs for like the nonprofits or is that just centered around making sure that we're getting you know rental assistance into the hands of um you know the returning citizen? >> All of all of the above, right? And so sometimes the grant they do ask to just do the administrative cost, but a lot of
it is like doing the rears um you know ensuring that there's like that long-term stability and housing support. So that is kind of the focal point of the housing grant. >> Got it. And is and in the RFP is there, you know, X amount like X percentage needs to be administrative then X
percentage needs to be direct. >> No, there's no um direct cost of how much needs to be allocated where. Um but we for the overall grant is for $250,000 and um organizations are able to receive up to $100,000 under that grant opportunity.
>> Got it. Yeah. And I know housing as you mentioned is one of the biggest barriers. So, I'm just trying to find ways to make sure that, you know, we are supporting um individuals in every which way to make them as attractive as possible, you know, and give them a leg up in that rental process. Uh no, no
further questions. Thank you. >> Okay. Uh thank you very much, Council Ourel. uh councelor Flynn uh you know and so just uh we we we are we do have an ordinance to codify the the the office that we'll be reviewing but uh
five minutes for questions about um you know general uh operations of the of the office. >> Thank you Mr. Chair and I strongly support this ordinance. I know how important it is. Um, this is an issue
I've worked on, um, as a probation officer really at Suffach Superior Court for 8 years. Uh, supporting returning citizens, uh, giving them an opportunity to, um, get back on their feet, but have the
critical support and services um, they need to be to have a healthy and successful life um, here here in the city in in the Commonwealth. Um my my question would would be around employment
opportunities. Do we have any specific data as it relates to um how are we supporting returning citizens here in the city of Boston with with employment opportunities in various various departments. That's something I've I've
advocated for a long period of time trying to place returning citizens into um appropriate positions in city government. Yeah, sure. So, we do we do have a direct pipeline um particularly with parks and recreation, but you know, we
are working closely with our um chief people officer to ensure that we're continuously getting returning citizens employment within the city. Um so, we're heavily um involved in just what Corey policies mean and how to ensure that we're uplifting um our returning citizens in city government. But in
addition to that, you know, outside of civity government, again, you know, we are working and people are there's a lot we're they're receptive to to us and hiring returning citizens. But in addition to that, we do have 165 different employers that we work with um to place returning citizens into.
>> Thank you, Ashley. when when I was a probation officer, um getting someone a job, a returning citizen, a job, um was was always challenging, but what was more frustrating and challenging than
that is when the person got a job and was doing well on the job and then their Corey background check would come back and then they would be um fired basically because of the the Corey
um what what are we doing in terms of working with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on Corey reform, but also trying to um be more welcoming to returning citizens um as it relates to the Corey aspect
itself. >> So, I'll be honest, we're not currently working with Massachusetts in general. we are building the capacity in order to you know do some more policy implementation especially as it relates to Corey. Um but what I will say is you know we are working to to one create an
employer advisory group just to educate people um and like you know kind of bring people into the fold that are formerly incarcerated and are in really good positions um even you know some of our community partners bringing them into the fold of the success stories. So, we're working on doing that so that employers are more willing to hire
people that are forally incarcerated. And again, continuously building on that employment pipeline. Like I said, we currently have a 165 different employers that we work with that we kind of are like just keeping our finger on the pulse. And we also created 29 additional employment employment pipeline
opportunities just this year. So, we're constantly just having conversation. and our employment specialist goes out into the community twice a week to have these conversations as it relates to employment to ensure people are aware of Corey, to ensure people know how to read a Corey. Um, and just being like transparent about what our office does
and the work that we're looking to do as it as we move forward. >> What what is the conversations that we're having with um Suffach County Sheriff's Department or Mass Department of Correction before people are released
from jail or prison? What type of um support are we providing them if any while they're still um being held in custody or in incarcerated? >> We actually go up to their re-entry panels. So we were so Suffach County host a re-entry panel once a month. So
we actually attend those. So we work in collaboration with their re-entry coordinators. And then more recently, both our employment specialists and our housing specialists actually did a um tour throughout the all of the DOC facilities to ensure that these are the services that we offer, these are things
that we can do. And we also work in collaboration with the DOC um re-entry director. So, we're constantly keeping our fingers on the pulse and ensuring that people know that the work that they we do and how we can cross have some cross collaboration. >> Okay. Um my final question and and and
thank you for giving me this opportunity and apologize for being late. I'm over here at West Roxbury at the VA facility. Um but so when when a person is coming out of jail or prison and they're
getting recovery services um while while incarcerated, what is Boston doing to support them in terms of recovery services after um once they're released from jail or prison? How do we how do what are you doing
specifically to support them um in their recovery services um support? >> Yeah. So we have a we that's another place where we have direct pipelines. I myself I used to work at the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services. So I I we have our own connections. Um we h we
refer to our MABA website. Um in addition to um we are situated on the Dimmick campus who also has recovery services. So we're able to do some referrals there. We're also not that far from Whittier, which we also have a um collaboration with. So, we have a lot of different collaborations with the people
that do do the recovery work that we're able to kind of tap into them and ensure that that recovery work consistently happens even after somebody is released. >> Is it is it working? >> Yeah. Yep. >> Do do you have the results of of the people that you're tracking in terms of
how many people are remain in recovery services and um and just just keeping that data? So, we don't track how many people remain in recovery services, but we do track our referrals to those type of services, which I didn't pull, but I can always pull and um get you that
number. But we do track how many people were referring to different services. Um so, and we constantly, like I said at the beginning of the um slide deck that we on average stay with our clients for at least 368 days. So, that's over a year that we're kind of like ensuring that our clients are being supported and
sometimes it's longer than that. That's our average number. Um, so we're c we know when somebody is not no longer being involved in their recovery and we try to keep our finger on the pulse on that. >> Well, Ashley, thank you for the important work you and your team are doing. It's greatly appreciated and um I
know you're very professional and hardworking. So, just wanted to acknowledge you and and your team, Mr. Chair. Thank you very much. >> I appreciate that. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh I just I just have one quick followup. Uh and then if anyone had a follow-up question would go to
them. Uh I just Ashley in terms of um you know in my background as an employment lawyer uh if somebody feels like they're being singled out because of Corey or like what do you tell them? Because I'm assuming that you know we we
have this employment at will system where you know you can you can be you can leave your job at any time, you can be fired at any time, you know basically for any reason as long as it's not illegal reason. I don't know what the law says about if you have a criminal record uh and you're fired or not
offered a job because of that. So, what what do you tell people when they feel like they're being singled out uh by an employer? >> Yeah, we work with them through it, right? And to understand what the gaps are and the barriers. Um we also one funding source, one organization that we
do fund is well two Lor's Clearing House and um Greater Boston Legal Services. So, we also tap into our partners in case there might be an issue that we need to kind of um keep our finger on the pulse on. I will say that that hasn't come up for us really. And I
think just because we've already kind of created most of the time when we're putting people into employment opportunities, they're employment opportunities that we've already created that pipeline too. Um so, yeah. >> Okay. Okay. Well, thanks a lot. Uh so yeah, just if anyone has a follow-up, I
see councelor uh Louis Jen, do you have something? >> Yes, I do have a follow-up question. Thank you, Director Montgomery. In the beginning of your presentation, you stated that 86 people, which I think is a phenomenal number. Um so far this calendar year have been placed in permanent employment. Do you know how
many of those 86 people are with the city of Boston? I think we have three at uh parks and recreation, but I can get you that number. Um yeah, I can get you that number. I think it's three out of the 86 are with the city of Austin. >> Awesome. Thank you. And I I think it's really important for us as a city when
it comes to employment issues. Um as much as we're trying to get others to hire those who are formerly incarcerated that we also continue to be a model for what that looks like, understanding that no one is the worst thing that they've ever done. And we do that by modeling as a city both when we're fighting as my
office has been fighting for uh a minimum wage for this first city employees that we also do that when we're modeling what it looks like to really believe that those who have quaries and those who are either formerly incarcerated have the potential to be contributing members of our society and there's no greater way of
showing that than with our city and I just want to thank you for your leadership. I want to thank Chief Lawrence and the people office and you, Chief Maso, for thinking really critically and um and holistically about what that looks like. I think so many times when we're encouraging others to do things, we have to do it so that we
can be the model and be the proof point for it being successful. So, I just want to thank you for that. >> Okay. Thank Thank you very much. Um uh Okay. Okay. I don't know if anyone else has any anything else to follow up. Okay. Uh I I guess Ellie,
can can we bring up the the red lines? I'd like to go through that. Council Lu Jen, I see your hand is still up on this, but um >> yes, I No, just for the red lines because I think um there are some there I have I have additional questions and things that I'd like to bring up, but I think I'd be able to do that more
efficiently via the red lines. >> Yeah. Okay. Uh, I'm just saying your hand is up so >> Oh, sorry. I will lower it at this moment, Mr. I I didn't know. Um, okay. Uh, do you mind zooming in? Uh, Ellie, so
age challenged people can read this. Um, uh, great. No, no, that's now you're embarrassing me. Um, uh, so I I just, so we're codifying the the the officer returning citizens. Um and I'm just I'll
go through uh you know uh I don't know if I have to read this whole thing. I'm going to skip the first sentence. Uh the the section one is the purpose. So you hereby established within the city of Boston uh the office of returning
citizens which shall provide support services for the formerly incarcerated uh to assist in their successful reintegration of the community. The office shall work to promote equitable access to services and opportunities in the areas of employment, housing, healthcare, education, and social
services. Here there's been a red line changing it from uh formerly uh you know to provide services for formerly incarcerated to assist them as opposed to ensure their successful reintegration. I I I don't know. I guess
I'm asking the the filer, do you are you okay with this uh red line from the administration? >> Yeah, I understand it and I'm fine with it. >> I think it's just it's hard to ensure things. Um that sounds fine. Uh okay.
Section two, duties of the office. The office of returning citizens shall serve as an advocate for returning citizens by addressing barriers to reintegration, including employment, housing. I'm just going to include the original legal aid and access to health and mental health
services. The red line is to take out uh serve as an advocate uh uh by by addressing barriers to legal aid to take that out. Uh I guess uh Madame President, do you have any thoughts on that? I mean, um, I
understand why, um, and I think that hopefully at a later point this can be an area for growth for the office, but I understand why that language was really >> Okay. I Ashley, do you do you know why this is taken out? I'm just uh
>> I think just so because we aren't able to provide legal advice, you know, again, we we do kind of outsource, but internally we're not able to provide legal advice. So that's why I think it was removed. >> Okay. I mean we don't provide housing either uh or mental health services. So
but it's like >> we do advocate we do we advocate for housing though. We have a housing specialist that you know kind of puts people into housing. We give vouchers um you know do employment and then we do provide access to health and mental health services. So
>> Okay. Well, yeah. Uh I mean I but you doa if somebody you I think you just mentioned like we will refer somebody to Greater Boston Legal Services or or something like that, but which I encourage. >> Um uh Okay. Well, uh hopefully that
won't stop. Um uh okay. And then the next bullet point is uh to coordinate re-entry services across city departments. uh it's been sort and nonprofit organizations um uh to support returning citizens.
What's been taken out is uh to uh coordinate services with community partners also and ensure returning citizens have access to necessary resources. Um, you know, I think the ensuring part, you know, I think we we can't, you
know, guarantee you we're we're trying to gr have access to those things. I But in terms of community partners, council president, uh, do you have any thought with taking >> I'm fine. The language nonprofit um nonprofit organizations in there.
>> Okay. Okay. Uh, okay. Then next bullet point. develop and promote programs that support the employment and workforce development of returning citizens, including and the original was partnerships with uh with employers, job training programs and Corey friendly
employment opportunities. That's been changed to including collaborations instead of partnerships uh with employers job training programs and Corey friendly employment opportunities. Any questions there? >> Seems straightforward. >> Okay. Uh next bullet point. Uh, I will
I'll just I'll go with the original and then I'll tell you what the red line is. Assist return. >> I don't see the language on the screen and it could be helpful to have that up instead of Could Do others see the language on the screen? >> Oh, do you not see it? I I have it. >> Yeah, I I see it.
>> I see it as well. I mean, I have it open in my other doc. I'm having a I might just I might just log off and log back on. Okay. >> Yeah. I mean, Ellie, take off the block council president. a filter. I'm just kidding. Uh but um uh
>> do you want to you do you want a minute to to grab the the red line? >> Oh, wait. I kind of see it. I don't know what's happening. Oh. Oh, okay. All right. I'm good now. I'm sorry. >> Okay. Uh so the uh the next bullet point
is assist returning citizens in securing stable housing uh through partnerships with housing providers and programs such as the department of corrections housing voucher initiative. The red line changes that to instead of partnerships,
collaborations, you know, through collaborations instead of, you know, with the housing providers and programs and and just has taken out uh programs uh taken out such as the Department of Corrections housing voucher. So, it's just taken out an example of one of
those. Uh obviously, they can still work with that program. Uh and we're working in collaboration, not in partnership. Uh, council president, any thoughts on that? Okay, those are they got two thumbs up. Um,
uh, the the the next one is I'm just going to go again with the original and then it get to the red one. The original was ensure access to health care services including mental health and substance uh, use treatment by coordinating with health care providers,
insurance services and community health organizations. The red line version is work with organizations to improve access to health care services including mental health and substance abuse treatment and takes out by coordinating
healthc care insurance services and community health with community health organizations. Um again I think this if you have any I I think this just uh allows them to do the same thing but your hand is up. So council president
>> I have a question. Thank you Mr. trans actually not on the language I it's something I meant to ask before from the transition from dry dock and maybe chief mas you'll have more insight because I don't think I don't think um director Montgomery was over at dry dock to now being at 30 demick are you seeing an
ability to really to to increase the health care like the ability to connect returning citizens to the need to healthcare needs given its situation it's your physically located epidemic have you seen an improvement there >> yeah well we weren't able to have a comparative data just because we didn't
have mechanism to be able to capture that when we were at dry dock. Um however uh it was intentional in terms of choosing demic um was for those purposes. So the strong partnership um you know with the demic president and um the community in turn as Ashley referred
to uh like ways that we're able to assist folks with substance abuse treatment uh to have that on site um in addition to not too far away at Whittier Street as well. So that was an intentional decision in in placing the office at the demic location. Uh but in
terms of an increase or anything else like that, we just don't have that data to be able to um to compare unfortunately. >> But is it happening like you are actively connecting people to these? Okay. >> Oh, I I was going to say I can answer it, but yes. Yes, we have a um direct partnership with both Demick and
Whittier. >> Great. >> Okay. Okay. And yeah, I guess yeah, just for Chief Maso or or or Miss Montgomery, uh do in terms like the difference between collaborating and and partnering, is is it just like a you
know, form you don't going to guarantee like a formal relationship, you know, document just you're trying to collaborate with them? I assume that's the purpose, but >> yeah, it's it's worth smithing at this point, but exactly to your point, that's exactly what it is. >> Okay. Uh okay, council president can
move on. Yeah. Okay. Uh and then the the next one, again, I'll I'll go with the original and then describe the red lines. Promote financial independence by offering financial literacy programs, entrepreneurship opportunities, and
assistance with accessing financial services. that's been changed to promote financial independence by offering workshops and training and has removed the specifics uh you know financial literacy programs, entrepreneurship opportunities and assisting assessing
with financial services. Uh council president any any questions about that? >> Yeah. >> Okay. Uh yeah and again I think it just it's sort of they it's this they're still can
accomplish the same goals. It just you know through the vagueness allows them to do other things or uh figure out what works. I think that's I assume that's the purpose. Um uh okay, next uh bullet point is again the original is engage
with local communities and stakeholders to raise awareness of the challenges faced by returning citizens and encourage public participation in supporting re-entry initiatives. The red line just takes out stakeholders. So it just engage with local communities, not
communities and stakeholders. Uh I don't know. Uh council president, any questions? No, that's fine. >> Chief, what do what do you have against stakeholders? No, I'm just I'm I'm kidding. But uh again, like the purpose
here, correct? Is just to sort of, you know, allows you to work with you obviously will be working with stakeholders. Uh that's included in communities, I guess, right? >> Correct. >> Yeah. Okay. Uh next bullet point, and
I'm going through all these because this is relatively short. So, uh, maybe with a longer one, we wouldn't do this, but the next bullet point was collect and maintain data on returning citizens served by the office and provide an annual report to the mayor and the city
council detailing the office's activities, outcomes, and recommendations for policy or program changes. This has been just completely removed. Uh, I think we might have to have some uh explanation here, but uh by
by the panelists, but council president, any questions? >> Yes. Yeah, I'd like a little bit more detail here. >> I'm sorry. >> I would I would like a little bit more detail here on this. >> Okay. Yeah. I don't know. Either of the panelists, can you explain why this uh
has to be completely or why you want it completely out? And then this is you know to this is basically to provide a report on a once a year on just you know all the honestly you know the good things you're doing
the challenges you face uh just how to I my I see this as like how to help us help you uh uh with a report but um anyway that's been taken out Ashley or or Chief Maso
Did you want me to go chief or >> Yep. And I'll stop I'll chime in at you. >> Yeah. And so I think the intention of it being taken out is not restricting us, right? And so in restricting how we're reporting on the data that we have for our returning citizens. Obviously, you know, we just um transitioned to a
apricot system. So we do have data. So we're not opposed to sharing it. I think we just wanted to be protective of the data that we are sharing. Um so that's from what I understand when we had conversations on this, but Chief, we'll defer to you. >> Yeah. I mean and as part of this process we work closely with corporation council
as well and so I think they um have flagged some uh restrictions around feasibility and so we really want to make sure that we don't pigeon hole like all of this is to ensure like nothing that we do gets pigeon holed and we actually have to do this I think we do this uh we do this every budget um
season you know so we're able to report out um both in numbers and other data as well whatever so I think this happens um organically uh but this and again is in the essence of not pigeon hole any future you know staff members saying
like this has to happen I don't believe any of the other departments have to operate in that way either so it's just again I think the budget season is the purpose in and the time in which this information is able to be um be provided >> office of blackmail advancement does provide an annual report to us as a city
council um my apologies >> there are models for this happening >> got it uh I wasn't speaking on behalf of outside requirements. I was thinking within my cabinet, but you're absolutely uh correct. My apologies. >> Um and basically the information that the PowerPoint that Ashley just
presented was basically the equivalent of I think what we would be looking for in the form of an annual report. >> Okay. Can we um run that by council again and then just figure out uh Okay. >> Yep. >> Yeah. It's not meant to be like a huge
lift, but it's also how we can, you know, I think they would want it to Yeah, maybe it's more the language that it would be over like maybe it needs to be more overarching. Um, but yeah, because I I mean I do hope that you are collecting and maintaining data on
returning citizens served by the office, right? Um, correct. And and then that could be a ball point and then provide an annual report. I'm not saying that all that data is data that you need to turn over to the city council, but you know, the provision of in um in your
report um could also I mean I I I can see how it can be sort of you don't want to pigeon hole anyone, but it could also be sort of like a way also of keeping the office on task. Not saying that you needed
that, but it could also be a way of and maybe may maybe maybe the annual report always happens around budget season, right? Maybe the annual report is something that you deliver to the council around budget season because there's already that preparation being done for the budget.
>> Yes, in full agreement and we'll definitely uh figure out a way to work with it. Uh that is the expectation I do have of uh the departments as well. was just that they do provide some type of annual update uh for the great work that they do. But to your point as far as accountability um that's something that
we ensure but to ensure for future um leaders to make sure that happens as well. We could definitely think more deeply into that. >> Yeah, I am very sensitive about what data like like there's certain data that I don't you know and sensitivity that we don't necessarily need to have. So if divorcing those two lines too is also
helpful, I'm more than willing to do that. Um, yeah. And it just might it might uh Yeah, it's either annually. I mean, it could be just to the mayor, I don't know. Uh, or to to be available to the
city council on request or, you know, or that in an annual report which maybe, you know, simply by reporting a budget. I don't I feel like there's some ways to do this but definitely I like your idea council president of separating the
collecting and maintaining the data so they actually have it uh internally and which they you know of course >> right >> um uh and just in terms of I think some other uh things like this we see on the
council like have you know entire like separate bodies created to committees or count advis advisory councils created. Not that that's bad, but um you know here the the lift is pretty light uh I
would say uh to the chief here. We're not creating a separate advisory council to issue a report on what work you're doing. This is just simply like internally make sure you have the data and that you know we can uh we can track it if we if we want. uh that would be
used just you know in terms of making sure that we're providing the services that we all want to see get provided. So I don't know uh I guess council president you we're we're on a tight deadline for next week. Do you >> do you want to propose a revision or
something? >> Collect and maintain data on returning citizens served by the office. Period. Another bullet point. Um, >> and and Ellie, you can track this in your um, >> I mean, I don't see anything wrong with
providing an annual report to the mayor and the city council detailing the office activities, outcomes, and recommendations for policy and recommendations for policy or program changes. Um, I I see I don't see anything I think that's a I see that as an asset. Um, and it also doesn't give
you a deadline of when it has to happen. It just has to happen every year. And I think any good office that wants to Yeah. And I think like the effort of codifying the office is because we believe in the office and we believe that it should continue to grow and be something. >> I don't want the annual report to sound like it's this huge it shouldn't be this
huge enormous task. >> Um, >> and and push back director if you believe that it will be or if Chief Muso if you believe that it will be. But your presentation like I just did, >> you know. I want to know I want to have something that says look at what they've done. 86
people have been employed by the office of returning citizens this year like this office has been it's a success to you know our residents and like you know will next year will that number be at by this point to date will that be 96 or will it be 75 if it's down to 75 like
okay what do we got to do to make sure that we are on pace and on track. So >> uh council president 100% agree. I think um I mean uh just to model uh many of the other departments uh within the cabinet uh that's something that we do amplifying. So uh I am in a space in
which I'm able to hold you know our departments accountable and also ensure that you know we're reporting out on the data um and all the great work that everybody's doing. And so again that typically does happen with you know during the budget season. Um, I think for the purpose of this, we heard and understand like we're not in
disagreement. I think it's just we would have to think through uh in partnership with council um just to get their report back on what the concerns are and if they're okay with it, then hopefully we could turn this around pretty quickly. >> Yep. Awesome. And if not, I'm happy to talk to anyone and be like, you know, um
I am concern my my biggest concern because you know, I know that there's like no legal issue here, but um like I don't want it to be seen. I don't want it to be a burden. Like I don't I I'm not I'm not a fan of paperwork for the sake of paperwork, but I do think that
this is something that could be beneficial to both your office and our office. And so continuing to support your office, right? Because like look this year we haven't had a hearing dedicated on OC. There have been topics where OC has been brought in and maybe it's during budget season but during budget season it's also like you know
everybody. So I mean now I want to like be like should we have a date in here? But I I I you know I want y'all to get I want to get y'all to agree to this and maybe maybe we should actually just say >> annual update like provide an annual update. I'm not
sure like report I think you know if you think uh future thinking counselor um like it could get into semantics in terms of like what people mean by that. So there could be some future expectations that folks actually present like a a physical report that may not be as feasible as what is that we're
detailing at the moment. So today it may sound like hey it was the presentation that you just presented five years from now I'm just saying folks may have this expectation that they have this 20page report and things like that. So right you understand >> um I'm I I don't love the word update but I'm fine with scaling back from
report um and now but I am going to say that I do think it is irresponsible not to have a date attached to it. So um that's the one thing I would like to add. So I'm I'm fine with scaling down from like a report like an annual written update. I don't like the word update, but if there's another word that
we can find um in it doesn't have to be presentation, but in any analysis, I don't know. Um update could be like, you know, an update. I don't like update seems too informal and I understand that report may seem too much of a task, but
we got a Ben, Council Weber, do you have any recommendations for a word that could could be better to that Liz? I I was going to just say like maybe during the like
during the budget process we'll provide data but but you want recommendations also. So I feel like that's a report but you get off easy in the you know labor committee we have the the Boston and
residents jobs policy they we have to have two hearings a year on that. Um, so you all you have to do is produce the report. I I feel like that's not so bad. Um, >> how about annual annual written review?
uh provide a annual re uh >> you two are the lawyers and so Ashley and I would defer to what is that you all consider and then we'll definitely share it uh with the lawyers on our side as well just to think through but um definitely heard and so um council president just to
>> um for clarification you do believe that a date should also be provided in this as well or >> Yeah I do just because it's just too flimsy without without it right and like who's keeping that to account, but I'm not opposed to it being like, you know,
by June 1. So that like we know that budget starts earlier than that. So most of the times we'll get it by like April one or something or a date earlier, you know. >> Mhm. >> So that could be attached to the budget or we could do April one if that's more
authentic, which probably is, you know. >> Yeah. It's basically like a fiscal year. Um, I mean you you would want going back like 12 months, right? Or 10 months >> and that could even and that review
could be I mean I mean doesn't have to be for every department but that could be your budget presentation. Would it be helpful to just put an end of fiscal year report >> so that it is outlining that it has to be done by the annual end of the fiscal
year but it also isn't subjecting it to a date for any anybody in the future. >> Well, you tell me given that we know that the end of the fiscal year is June 31st, right? But you are usually like so that would mean that would come after that.
I'm fine with whatever, but I'm just thinking of you futuristically, but I I'm fine with whatever you guys >> I I I think what the council president's talking about is so during the budget season, if we're we're talking about, hey, we need we need more resources in
the office of returning citizens. It would be great to have that report, you know, that data in April, uh, as opposed to July, which is after the budget's been set. So it helps us again like u
make the case for your office uh getting more resources. So I I do think April 1st or May 1st, June 1st, whatever deadline would be would be good. Um
uh and yeah, I I don't know a review. Uh but um uh I guess in terms of like what you could you feel like you could produce without having to
detract from your you know your actual work helping returning citizens. Um I don't Yeah, I don't I don't my my say fine with whatever. So >> yeah. Yeah. >> In terms of the above bullet point for
collect and maintain data on returning citizens served, do we want to include outcomes in that bullet point or like do you have data on the outcomes? I assume um because if it's just numbered served I
uh would there be data on jobs found or >> Yeah, we collect data on jobs found housing placements >> housing placement. >> Yeah, >> we have all that. I mean referrals made. Yeah. And uh council Weber, we also have preparator data which is I think you
know to ask uh director Malcolm Reese's point earlier about uh switching over to the data collection uh program that we now have and so we'll be able to have that. Um just for my line of sight um we'll definitely review these two things in order for like next for this be able
to turn around by next Wednesday. I'm assuming you'll need it by um by Monday or Tuesday the latest. Correct. >> Uh Monday morning. >> Okay. line. >> Well, we have to Is that true? Yeah, we you we have to file have to file
something for >> Okay. >> Okay. >> Okay. Um so if we do want to I mean again I think from you know our internal processes um budget season is typically the time in which there's a lot of reporting out and so and to your point
council president if you um if you do want to keep to like around that time frame um you know just so it's not too flimsy uh I think that'd be appropriate as well. I'll >> put April one
Right. I think this is we're doing codifying to to to make this office like in the city and so I wanted us to do it the right way and to do it well. So I think April one works. So just collect and maintain data on returning
citizens served by the office. Period. new line provide an annual written uh review uh to the mayor and the city council by April one detailing the office's activities, outcomes, and recommendations for policy or program changes.
You can even put if any at the end so that it's not a requirement to give us recommendations if you don't want to give recommendations. Although I think it's important to do so, but I think there can also always be some weird back and forth on that. So, I'm happy if you
provide to us, you know, even just the review um and if you want the council or anyone to be the one that recommend has recommendation policy program changes, but I do want to create the space for you all to offer that as well. So, you can say if any at the end.
>> Okay. Uh I don't know. I just like April one better than April one ST, but I don't know, Council President. But um >> yeah, I never like I never like the STS or the T. >> Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Um >> I would also put I would also put
outcomes and comma if any comma recommendations or policy or program changes rather than if any at the end which is what I said originally but then it can get lost and you're like what does the if any identify? >> I would put the if any after the and uh
Ellie the comma. Uh yeah. and if any recommendations for policy or program changes. Yeah, I think yeah, that's good.
Okay. Uh, and then I guess uh the chief will get back to us um during Thanksgiving dinner uh with uh your thoughts. Um so quicker. So let's get to the end of this so we can uh get that process started. Section
three. Uh uh if I don't know I'm going to have to you could you zoom in just slightly. Um great executive director. Okay. So this is uh the office of returning citizens shall be headed by an executive
director uh who shall be appointed by the mayor. The executive director shall serve as the principal adviser to the mayor and the city council on matters related to the reintegration of returning citizens. That's unchanged. Then then the next bullet point uh the
original oversee the daily operations of the office including staff management, budgeting and the implementation of re-entry programs. that has been changed to just oversee the daily operations of the office. All the specifics have been removed. Any comments? Uh, council
president? No. Uh, then the next bullet point originally was the executive director would establish partnerships with public and private organizations to enhance the services provided to returning citizens. That's been changed to take out established partnerships and
just now collaborate. I think we talked about this before. Council President, any any comments here? No. And then the last bullet point was ensure compliance with all relevant laws and policies and advocate for legislative changes to
improve outcomes for returning citizens. That has been just, you know, removed entirely. Uh, Council President, any thoughts there? I do I do think we need to lobby more for for legislative changes. It seems
like a good uh thing for people to do. I don't know if that's the executive director uh or IGR or who whoever, but um I I feel like we need help. I think we heard from councelor Flynn. What are we
doing on Corey reform uh at the state house? you know, uh it it is uh seems like a worthwhile responsibility to have, but um I I guess I I don't know, Chief Maso or or Ashley, any any
thoughts on >> Yeah, I agree. Um two twofold. I think the uh the bullet above the collaborating with public or private organizations captures that. Um to your point as far as either folks advocating or lobbying, uh you know, we can definitely, you know, exercise those through our partnerships. Um I think you
know Ashley referenced that earlier as well just in terms of like a lot of the partners that we work closely with to be able to make sure that it happens. Um and then you know the compliance with all relevant laws and policies that's um I think that's captured when this person is appointed to the position that also
covers like your responsibilities as a city employee within city of Boston etc. Like you are bound by ensuring that you are following the laws and regulations and the policies as well. So I think that is also captioned and part of the reason why I was probably removed here. Um >> it's just my sense but I'm asking
anything else to add to that. >> Sorry button but no thank you. >> Okay. >> Yeah. Council president where do you have any any thoughts? >> I'm done with that. >> Okay. Uh then there's a severability portion. And I'm just going to provisions are severable if any
provision or portion thereof is held to be unconstitutional otherwise invalid by any court or competent or of competent jurisdiction. Such unconstitutionality or individuality are invalid invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions which shall remain in full
force and effect. Uh I don't know that's uh my Yes. Your your hand. Oh, are you done with the I have two comments. One to go back to something and one general comment whenever. >> Okay. Uh yeah, I just I don't know. I get concerned when I assume that's the
proper use of a effect and effect. But um >> hold on. >> Uh I have to take out my shrunken whites elements of style book for the difference >> effect, right? Effect a with the A is the action verb and effect. Take effect is like a verb of itself.
>> Any effect. Okay. Um, yeah, seems fine. Uh, effective date, uh, 90 days after passage. Assume that that's part of the original draft. Um, seems normal anyway. Okay. So, council
president, you had something you wanted to revisit or visit? >> Yeah, just want to correct that like any changes, any like corroboration on changes the the government operations. Um, correct. they they would want they would need it on Friday. So, um and I'm
happy to help shepherd any conversations that need to happen. I know it's a quick turnaround. I know it's the holidays and I apologize. Um and then lastly, there's language that I wanted to add, but um I I forgot to mention it at the beginning. Um and hopefully it it it's fine. But it's I think again um just in the
conversation and the work that you know I so humbly in partnership with community have been able to do to help build the office. I do think that it's important in um when you talk about the purpose of the office um to add language.
Where is it? Okay. Um at the end and this is and I and I spoke to this a bit but just at the end where it says section one purpose the office shall work to promote equitable access to services and opportunities in the areas of employment, housing, healthcare, education and social services.
I think adding a line that says um the office recognizes the value of returning citizens um as both recipients of services or as clients. I think Dr. I mean Dr. All right. Hey, maybe that's a maybe that's a calling. Okay. Um,
Director Montgomery um in the office both as recipients of services or clients and as leaders helping to shape the vision and work of the office. That addition if I can read that again. Um, uh, recognizes the office recognized
the value of returning citizens both as recipients of services and as leaders helping to shape the vision and of the office. Can you repeat the last part, Madam President, just to make sure I got it right? Yep. Um, and I'm happy for any word smithing or any thoughts. So um the
office recognizes the value of returning citizens as both recipients of services as both clients and as leaders helping to shape the vision and work of the office. chief or director, any any thoughts? Um, I don't have any knee-jerk
reactions. Just trying to get a sense of whether or not this is captured elsewhere. Um, I do I do understand um the gist of what it is that you're providing. Um, can you explain a little bit more just in terms of like what is that you're trying to capture here and like what's
missing from what's already provided? >> Yeah. And I can take a quick look again. I don't I I would say that the gist isn't provided. Um, but it's it's it it it's sort of say it's like stating that yes, this is an office that works with
returning citizens but understands the values that they bring to the table in terms of informing the work, right? And I think it's important for for that informing of the work to to to happen, right? Those closest to the pain, closest to power as Congresswoman
Presley states. And I think stating that in as neutral of a way as I could think of in like two minutes. Um not not saying directly that you know we we encourage although I I do hope that we encourage returning citizens to be part
of the office in terms of employment. This is a more general I think mission statement in the purpose of the ordinance. So that's what I was trying to get at is something trying to say like hey we value you not only as beneficiaries of
the service but as people who are helping to shape the vision of this office. >> Got it. Definitely heard. I think the only my immediate cut reaction without thinking deeper on this and so please just receive it as is. Um just to space around like the shaping the vision. I think the only cautionary piece I have
with that is that in the event that folks are advocating for something that cannot happen like the office cannot do is where I think it gets tricky. Um, I think, you know, in a broader sense, citywide, we say that our residents shape the vision of the work that the city of Boston does, right, on a daily
basis by, you know, uplifting the things, their concerns, uh, problems, solutions, etc. Um, so I'm just trying really trying to figure out that's that's the only word I think I'm I'm responding to at the moment. But again, uh, just receive it as I'm providing it just in real time. But I would
definitely want to think deeply on that, just a little bit deeper on that. >> Yeah. Uh but but do I I 100% agree and understand your sentiment. So I I just want to make sure that we're in alignment with that. >> Yeah. And I'm I'm happy to like we can change shape the vision to work at the
office. But also in the same way that you soften language for it to not be partnerships for it to be collaboration. I don't think that there's anything in that what I stated that is going to be like a requirement to then therefore say okay they're saying that we have to do this that we must do this right because
it's it's it should already be part of the ethos but it's just writing it as part of the ethos and so that people can see that it's part of the ethos and I think especially for this population again not saying that all the time everything that is offered or said needs to be accepted or in um ingested but
like making it clear that we see the value that you bring to helping bring ideas and and and you know what I really wanted to say is that we encourage leadership to reflect the the the population but this is like a broader way I think of all of that. Isn't it
centering the voices or uh you know of returning citizens? I don't know. But that that that I don't think that language is any better, but I'm just in terms of the spirit. Um and also so is are is I I just is the word clients is
that redundant to recipients of services? I is there a difference between clients and recipients of services? Yeah, I mean ask please chime in. The way I interpret it is that there's folks who may not be active um clients um you
know with our our case workers uh but still be able to receive services. So there like we opened up our training opportunities etc to the broader network and it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to be a client from the office of returning citizens to be able to receive those training opportunities those workshops etc. So that there is a
difference there actually would you agree? >> Yeah that is correct. Okay, sounds good. Um, >> so even if uh people aren't actively in our services and we also promote it on our social media, so as long as you're a returning citizen, you can engage in programming. >> Okay.
Yeah. I mean, I Okay. I mean, it seems like So, yeah, you uh chief, I guess, would need to are generally in favor, but need to speak to legal or whoever. >> Yes. So, um Yes. So, just to be clear,
so it's the the three areas that I think we're all in agreement with everything else that was red line. Um, it's just this one added sentence and then the other two bullet points. Um, I'm not sure who's managing sharing this document. If you could just scroll down, please. >> Yeah, Ellie, just to the bottom two
bullet point, the ones we added about data and the report. >> Yeah. So, just just Yep. So it will just be these three um uh portions that will definitely uh run by and um to matter president's uh point uh
make sure that we turn it around uh by Friday >> and I'm fine it doesn't have to say and for consistency with that section if you want to say recognize the value of those who are formally incarcerated instead of clients like I'm I'm
yeah I mean if we wanted to consistent in that section. At least I'm fine with that as well. >> I'm okay with that, Ashley. >> I'm good. Yep. >> Um Okay. Well, I I think uh to to get this going, uh I think we've gone over
everything. Council President, um, you want to close this and send them on their way? Any other issues? >> Sorry. I think that, sorry, this is this is me being a stickler for section one. The office recognize the value of returning citizens. I think you don't
capitalize it in this instance or you say the office recognize the values of those. I think I think we should just say yeah, it does actually doesn't matter because it's the office. It doesn't matter. with advisor returning citizens of services clients and as leaders helping to shape vision work. That's perfect. So I've actually been
doing most of this without looking because I just didn't know how to act as a shared screen. But that was perfect. Thank you Ally and thank you. I think this works. I think that works well. But I'm happy to hear any feedback. >> Yeah. I mean, I I I uh
I don't think this changes the the work of the office or um you know, but so well that just let's see I guess you seems like you're in theory support but uh you know need to hear from folks uh
have to get into a legal argument but um uh >> no I understand the intent so thank you for that. Okay. Uh yeah, it sounds good. Uh certainly I I Yeah, I think this ends the the sense
about collecting the data seems totally uncontroversial like you know you already collected. It's uh basically and separating that out. I think focusing on the review report um uh bullet point uh which I think we as a council would
appreciate uh and would help us again uh make the case for this office you know existing and and you know increasing and resources to be able to serve more people and um
uh but other than that I think so we're we're council president we're done with your comments on this. Uh um I we don't have any other counselors on. I don't think so. Uh looks looks like everyone
has their marching orders. Um uh I'm just going to Is there any public testimony, Michelle? >> Uh we don't have anyone signed up. >> Okay. Um
so uh I guess that's that's it. Uh I want to thank uh the lead sponsor President Louis Jen and our panelists uh and my colleagues for attending today's hearing. I also want to thank Ellie uh who has to do a lot of work in these uh
these gov ops hearings um and chair Gabriella Kleta Zapata's office uh as well as uh Michelle and Ethan from central staff for their assistance with today's hearing. The chair intends to bring this docket up for a vote um uh at
the next uh council meeting. We do have one after that. Uh but uh we want to get this passed next week. So we have until Friday to iron out these differences. Um with that being said, uh this hearing on
docket number 0138 is adjourned. Gavl. Um so thank you very much. >> Thanks everyone. >> Thank you Ellie. Uh