Mitigation and Reentry Services
Mitigation
Starting in 2022, with the support of the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant, Emily Swanson joined the MAACS team as a full-time mitigation specialist. Emily is a Master’s-Level Social Worker, who graduated from Wayne State University with a certificate from the School of Social Work’s Holistic Defense Program. This new position is part of an ongoing wider effort to expand services and support available to the MAACS roster attorneys.
Mitigation is a powerful tool that can be used in a variety of ways to improve clients’ sentencing outcomes. Mitigation often involves learning about and presenting a client’s social history to help the court recognize the client as an entire person, rather than just the sum of the facts of their case.
Some examples of mitigation’s role in a case:
- Sentencing memos
- Client/family interviews
- Allocution prep
- Support with experts
- Records collection and review
- Collecting letters of support
- Social science research
- Reentry planning
- Consultation
To request mitigation support on a case, MAACS roster attorneys can submit a Request Form to Emily at eswanson@sado.org. Please reach out to Emily with any questions or to brainstorm a case prior to submitting a request.
Reentry
MAACS attorneys also have the support of two re-entry coordinators: Jose Burgos and Marcus Williams. The reentry team works with clients to craft individualized Comprehensive Reentry Plans (CRPs), containing information on support networks, detailed housing and resource investigation reports, resumes, employment and/or schooling prospects, and more. In addition to developing CRPs, the reentry team can help prepare clients for upcoming parole hearings.
To request reentry support on a case, please contact the Project Reentry Manager, Marilena David at mdavid@sado.org.
