Reentry Week 2021 Featured Webinars Archive

During Reentry Week, the National Reentry Resource Center featured daily live webinars with the Second Chance Act technical assistance providers. Descriptions and archive links for each of these webinars are listed below. 

Monday, April 26, 2021

Building Partnerships for Successful Reentry

Providing quality education and reentry services to incarcerated people returning to the community requires a coordinated and collaborative effort between key reentry stakeholders. Panelists will discuss their education and reentry initiatives—a college-run reentry program operating out of an on-campus reentry center with leadership by formerly incarcerated people, and a collaborative partnership between a state department of corrections and regional Workforce Development Board to increase opportunities, reduce barriers, and improve outcomes for justice-involved clients returning to the community.

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

The Role of Housing Supports in Reentry

Around the country, many communities are facing a lack of affordable housing. People who have been involved with the justice system face additional barriers that make finding housing especially difficult. This webinar will discuss how to integrate housing solutions into the reentry process. Key topics will include identifying people at risk of homelessness in the justice system, coordinating with housing providers, and financing new housing opportunities.

The webinar features speakers from Clark County, Washington, and Sonoma County, California, to discuss efforts in their communities to expand housing options for people in the justice system.

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Developing Comprehensive Reentry Plans for Youth

Hosted by the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, this webinar will explore key dimensions of the reentry planning process for youth. Leaders from the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice will share their approaches to this planning process, including how reentry plans are developed, who is involved, how youth and families are engaged as partners, and how plans are constructed to meet the needs of youth and to set clear expectations for all parties involved.

Using Distance-Based Child-Parent Engagement Strategies in Correctional Facilities

More than half of people incarcerated in American prisons and jails are parents of minor children. Ensuring that jail and prison policies support the preservation of family bonds is critical to successful reentry and strengthening the relationships between incarcerated parents and their children and families. During the COVID-19 pandemic, technology has played a key role in keeping families together while a parent is incarcerated. In this webinar, Second Chance Act grantees the Oregon Department of Corrections, and their partners at The Pathfinder Network, and the Allegheny County Jail, alongside their partners at the Allegheny Department of Human Services, will share strategies for visitation, programming, and supports to encourage developmentally appropriate child-parent engagement during a national pandemic.

Thursday, April 29, 2021

Engaging Communities to Create Sustained Change in Reentry

How do programs and projects contribute to community-wide impact? How can the work they do influence reform so systems deliver positive results? In this webinar, we will discuss how coalition building and community engagement in the reentry process can lead to long-term systems change and sustainability.

Friday, April 30, 2021

Screening and Q&A of “Video Shorts” on Timely Evaluation Topics

This event will feature a screening of four, 2-minute animated videos (Powtoons) produced by the Evaluation and Sustainability training and technical assistance team, followed by a live Q&A session with topical experts. The videos cover four timely evaluation topics including: (1) Why Evaluation Matters, (2) Improving Evaluation Readiness for SCA Programs, (3) Adapting Your SCA Evaluation During COVID-19, and (4) Assessing and Improving Cultural Responsiveness Through Your SCA Evaluation. The content leads for each video will be available to answer questions about each topic, and an expert in the Powtoon platform will be available to answer questions about this innovative format for presenting information.