Partnering with Sheriff’s Office, Kilcullen ’19 Launches Project to Reduce Recidivism

Elena Kilcullen '19 is turning a family tragedy into a positive for herself and the community. Partnering with the Albany County Sheriff's Office and the Albany County Correctional Facility, Kilcullen recently launched a unique independent study project called New Beginnings, a reentry preparedness program that removes inmates' barriers to success, thereby reducing recidivism.

For Kilcullen, it's personal: Her cousin is serving a life sentence in Florida. She considered dropping out—her cousin was convicted in 2015, during Kilcullen's first semester of law school—due to the emotional toll it took on her; if not for the counsel of Associate Dean for Student Affairs Rosemary Queenan, the project may have never come to pass.

"It was such a traumatic experience for me that I went to our Dean of Students and told her, 'I don't think I can be a student here under this stress,'" Kilcullen said. "Dean Queenan said that I should take this stress and do something with it—use it as motivation toward what I want to do here."

Kilcullen started what would become New Beginnings while interning at Prisoners' Legal Services of New York. Kilcullen's supervisor, Albany Law School alumna Samantha Howell '10, asked her to create a reentry manual—a repository of available resources, such as housing, food, social, mental health, and addiction services, in Albany, Schenectady, and Rensselaer Counties—that an individual could use as a reference when transitioning back into the community. Fast-forward a year: Kilcullen, whose work on the manual continued past her internship, began brainstorming ways to distribute the document to as many people as possible. Professor Sarah Rogerson suggested reaching out to Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple—already a partner in several Albany Law School initiatives—who saw the potential in using Kilcullen's reentry manual at the Albany County Correctional Facility.

Kilcullen and Sheriff Apple officially announced the New Beginnings program at a press conference January 23 at the county jail. Kilcullen explained that the reentry manual had been transcribed onto tablets, which will be made available to inmates ahead of their release dates. On the tablets, inmates can look up the resources relating to their needs—what they feel are their personal barriers to success—and click on hyperlinks to get more information and contact relevant service providers in the Albany area.

As part of the initiative, Kilcullen interacts with inmates to identify the types of resources that are most important to them. By interviewing inmates, she gains feedback on what the program may be missing or where it needs improvement—input that is crucial as she works toward her goal: reducing recidivism.