ComALERT PROGRAM 

Earlier this month, I appeared on NY1’s “Inside City Hall” with host Dominic Carter to discuss the ComALERT program run by my office.  ComALERT (Community and Law Enforcement Resources Together) is a successful re-entry program which was implemented in my office in 1999 after I was inspired by the success of the “Boston Plan”, which reduced the number of firearm homicides in Boston, Massachusetts.

The ComALERT program provides assistance and services for parolees upon returning to the Brooklyn community.  It serves as a bridge between prison and the community for the returning parolees.  Our office forms partnerships with community-based organizations that specialize in job training, educational services and substance abuse treatment.  Collectively, these organizations along with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies provide their respective areas of expertise.  This enables participants to make a successful transition from prison to home by providing drug treatment counseling, mental health counseling, assistance in attaining a GED, as well as access to transitional housing and employment.  ComALERT also provides permanent job placement assistance to those parolees who have marketable skills upon their release.

ComALERT services begin almost immediately upon release from prison, increasing the success rate for its clients as compared to the re-entry population who do not receive these services.  ComALERT’s goal is to reduce criminal recidivism by providing the formerly incarcerated with the tools and support they need to remain drug-free, crime-free, and employed.

To view the video of the NY1 interview, view our link by clicking here:  LINK TO VIDEO
 

VANDA SEWARD

Vanda Seward is the Executive Director of ComALERT.  In this role, Ms. Seward works with community-based organizations to provide program participants with the services that they need.  She has been active in social services for nearly 25 years, serving “high risk” populations. 

Ms. Seward’s extensive experience expands to providing services to men, women and adolescents suffering from mental illness, substance abuse, homelessness, unemployment, literacy and HIV and AIDS.  Her introduction into this line of work began when she was just 17, when she took on a summer job at Belluve’s Hospital Methadone Program.  Her vast experience includes working hands-on with individuals who are either mandated to services by criminal or family court and/or parole and probation, in addition to those who are sentenced to prison for felony convictions. 

Ms. Seward has worked for numerous community based organizations and government agencies including New York State Department of Correctional Services where she has worked in a number of prisons at various security levels as a counselor.  She has headed several pilot projects and committees to assist the needs of the formerly incarcerated and communities at large.  Her impressive array of work includes and is not limited to an apartment program for women suffering from mental illness who are formerly incarcerated; a parole violation diversion program; HIV gender specific services for pregnant women; and her role as Provider-Chairperson for the New York City Criminal Justice Committee under New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene and New York State Forensic Advisory Committee.  Ms. Seward is a 2009 P.H.D candidate at Capella University’s Criminal Justice Program and a graduate of Iona College where she holds a M.S. in Criminal Justice.  She is also a graduate of The College of New Rochelle where she holds a B.A. Degree.  Ms. Seward also continues to serve in her fifth year as an adjunct professor at the College of New Rochelle.
 

JOHN R. CHANEY

John Chaney is the Deputy Executive Director of the Kings County District Attorney’s ComALERT program.  In this role, Mr. Chaney supervises the staff, organizes program orientation sessions, develops and refines methods of providing program resources to its clients, and collaborates with outside organizations to enhance the program’s resources with additional services. 

Mr. Chaney has been very active in social services throughout his career.  He has developed numerous programs designed to effectively deliver essential services to “high risk” and underserved urban populations.  An accomplished grant writer, Mr. Chaney has created state and federally funded initiatives in HIV/AIDS preventive and supportive services which have been implemented in several community and faith-based agencies throughout New York.  He also recently coordinated a successful pilot inner-city nursing program for CUNY’s LaGuardia Community College in collaboration with New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. 

Mr. Chaney’s personal experiences and his early years as an attorney (He has a Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School) helped him realize his true professional calling as a creative innovator of social service initiatives designed to achieve healing and positive long-term impact for distressed communities. 

Mr. Chaney frequently serves as a consultant in the creation and management of non-profit organizations whose initiatives have included workforce development, educational and health services for adolescents, and transitional services for men and women with histories of criminal justice involvement. His unique and extensive background has resulted in increasing requests from non-profit organizations, private industry, and correctional facilities for Mr. Chaney’s services as a panelist and motivational speaker.

NORMA FERNANDES
 

Norma Fernandes is the Community Coordinator of the Kings County District Attorney’s ComALERT program. Ms. Fernandes develops and establishes relationships with various agencies that provide vocational training and employment services to ComALERT participants. She meets with all of the ComALERT participants to assess vocational, educational, and employment placement. She also assists ComALERT clients with obtaining proper identification and also schedules appointments for those who are in need of medical coverage. Ms. Fernandes also communicates with parole officers regarding each client’s progress and participation at ComALERT.  As the Community Coordinator she also conducts outreach services in the community and in the Transitional Correctional Facilities.

Ms. Fernandes has provided social services to the formerly incarcerated in a variety of capacities for the past 15 years. Her employment history includes a position as Case Manager/Court Liaison for New York City TASC, a community-based Alternative to Incarceration agency. Her personal and professional experiences have also included supervisory responsibilities in substance abuse treatment facilities using therapeutic community program models, including Palladia, Inc. Ms. Fernandes has also provided services to the Judicial Court system including Family Court in the boroughs of Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Manhattan. As a Regional Representative Criminal Justice Liaison for Liberty Management, her responsibilities included assessing and placing incarcerated adults and adolescents diagnosed with substance abuse or mental health issues in appropriate treatment facilities. She is also a distinguished alumnus of the Kings County District Attorney’s Drug Alternative to Prison Program (DTAP). Ms. Fernandes obtained her B.A in Human Services at Boricua College and is pursuing her CASAC to become a Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor.