SCA GRANTEE SUCCESS STORY: Supporting Women Before (and Long After) Jail Yields Remarkable Results
This story is part of Second Chance Month 2025. Click to view more on the state and success of the Second Chance Act.
Based in Baltimore, Maryland, the PIVOT Baltimore program serves women both inside and outside correctional facilities by supporting their reentry through workforce development opportunities.
“We serve all women,” said PIVOT’s Executive Director Veronica Jackson, regardless of their criminal justice status—meaning that eligibility is open to women from the pretrial stage to years after they have been directly involved with the justice system.
The program’s “behind-the-wall” cohort consists of a seven-week model preparing women for the barriers they might face during reentry, equipping them for the workforce, addressing fears and anxieties they may have about returning to the community, and determining what specific supports they need to make a positive transition.
Upon release, a PIVOT team member picks each participant up from the facility and supports them as they continue in the program. A community cohort provides mental health and wellness programming, workforce development, and personal success coaching in a group setting three days a week. Community-based participants also receive one-on-one support from a personal success coach and a career coach. Drawing on a variety of referral sources, including self-referral and representation in court by PIVOT staff, the program serves approximately 120 women in the community and over 300 in various area correctional facilities.
“In our city…we are the only specific program for women [in the criminal justice population],” Jackson said. “A woman’s reentry challenge is different from a man’s challenge.”
For example, in Maryland, over 73 percent of women in the criminal justice system report having experienced sexual assault or abuse, which might affect a woman’s perception of safety in finding housing accommodations upon release. PIVOT seeks to address women’s needs comprehensively with on-site childcare, reunification and parenting classes for women and families, supportive housing, transportation, and meals.
“No one is able to focus on getting a job if their basic needs are not met,” Jackson said. “We have to start there.”
To meet participants' wide range of needs, PIVOT works with an equally wide range of community partners:
- The University of Maryland Medical System is a crucial partner that connects PIVOT participants to higher education and employment opportunities, whether they are in medical administration or clinical care
- Other partners help close the technology gap that participants might experience from a period of incarceration and offer a variety of computer trainings
- Housing partnerships with transitional housing providers and private landlords
- Wellness partners who offer yoga and guided meditation, and a partnership with the Baltimore Mayor’s Office to provide parenting programming.
And, according to Jackson, PIVOT’s efforts would not be possible without the voices of people with lived experience to influence the program’s planning, outreach, and adaptation over time: A third of PIVOT’s staff are community members in reentry themselves.
PIVOT went from originally serving 40 women annually to 500 per year currently, in large part due to Second Chance Act (SCA) grant funding that allowed the program to expand services in correctional facilities. Resources like SCA funding have made a significant impact on the program and the wider Baltimore community.
A study by Johns Hopkins University found that PIVOT participants’ recidivism rate is at 8 percent in a city that has an overall 76 percent recidivism rate. PIVOT participants also have a 71 percent employment placement rate. Jackson credits this success to PIVOT’s individualized model.
“Being able to live a life that I never dreamed of is more than peace,” said one PIVOT participant named Maria. “It is just an awesome reality.”
PIVOT staff are working to enhance the transitional housing they offer to returning mothers and their children by acquiring an apartment building with at least 20 units, as well as aiming to reach more rural areas of the state where reentry services are limited.
The power of PIVOT’s programming and partnerhips
Sharon [name changed for privacy] came to PIVOT after serving 11 years for felony theft and accessory to murder. She had a history of depression and trauma, as well as an untreated mental health diagnosis. While she was incarcerated, many of her family members and support system who were caring for her five children—her mother, grandmother, and grandfather—passed away—. The children’s paternal grandparents were given custody (their father was also in prison). The trauma and instability led her oldest son to the streets, and he is now incarcerated as well, awaiting trial as a juvenile being charged as an adult.
Sharon began working with PIVOT in their “behind the wall” program at the Maryland Correctional Institutional for Women. Upon release she moved into PIVOT’s transitional housing and joined their community-based reentry program. Sharon has taken advantage of everything the program offers, from mental health and therapy services to parenting skills and family mediation, and graduated with high honors.
Because of Sharon’s theft conviction, finding employment was especially difficult. Ultimately, thanks to PIVOT its network of partners, she was able to obtain full-time employment with benefits as a mobility driver with the Maryland Transit Administration and obtained a security deposit for an apartment where she can live with her children. Sharon will get six months of rent covered through PIVOT’s partnership with the mayor’s office, after which she will be able to pay her rent independently with her salary.
To celebrate Sharon’s success, PIVOT staff joined the family for a small housewarming, marking the beginning of her fresh start. Just days later, Sharon returned to the program to inspire other participants by sharing her journey and proving that with hard work and support, family reunification is possible.
