Following four principles of corrections system improvement—organizational development, use of risk and needs assessments, quality improvement, and data collection and management—states like Vermont participate in SRR in an effort to reduce the likelihood of recidivism for every person under correctional supervision.
Second Chance Act Grantees: Highlights and Successes
Second Chance Act Spotlight: Darius Dennis, Norfolk, Virginia
“I have the motivation to be in control of my own choices—for how I see my future and how I see my children’s future,” Darius Dennis said. “That’s what the program taught me. So it was absolutely the right thing for me at the right time.”
Second Chance Act Spotlight: Byron Davis, Birmingham, Alabama
Byron Davis used the end of his sentence in Limestone Correctional Facility near Huntsville, Alabama, to get ready for his next step: searching for work back home in his community, just outside of Birmingham. He intended to put his conviction for dealing drugs behind him. “I don’t want to go back to that,” Davis said. “But I need to work, to make a living.”
Iowa’s Statewide Recidivism Reduction Strategy: Highlights and Progress
Following four principles of corrections system improvement—organizational development, use of risk and needs assessments, quality improvement, and data collection and management—states like Iowa participate in SRR in an effort to reduce the likelihood of recidivism for every person under correctional supervision.
Second Chance Act Grantees Use a Continuous Quality Improvement Approach in Corrections and Community Supervision
As the corrections and community supervision paradigms shift toward implementing evidence-based practices and programs (EBPs), there is an emerging need for leaders in the field to ensure accurate application of EBPs throughout the workforce and improve how staff monitor program outcomes.
Second Chance Act Spotlight: Grant Awards Help Iowa Corrections Officers Focus Efforts to Improve Reentry Outcomes
By focusing the job of corrections officers on reducing recidivism, the Iowa DOC aimed to use resources in the best way possible, ensure that correctional practices were based on evidence, and track outcome data.
Tennessee Woman Finds Support, Hope in ‘Work Family’ after Returning Home from Jail
“They knew I had a record, but I was never judged,” Haley George said. “They don’t treat me like I’m a number at that plant, they treat me like I’m a person.”
Second Chance Act Grantee Takes Part in New Young Adult Correctional Program
The Middlesex, Massachusetts, Sheriff’s Office opened a new jail unit specifically for young adults this month. Established in partnership with the local nonprofit UTEC and the Vera Institute of Justice, the specialized unit—called People Achieving Change Together (PACT)—seeks to reduce recidivism by offering tailored programming to young people between the ages of 18 and 24 at the Middlesex Jail and House of Correction.
Second Chance Act Spotlight: Britney Stembridge
“The connections through Pathfinders [are] really what made the difference for me,” Steimbridge said. On top of the short-term housing assistance she received, she also credits Pathfinders’ individualized mentoring support with helping her stay on track in recovery.
Second Chance Act Spotlight: Ronald Forbes
A 55-year-old U.S. Army veteran, Ronald Forbes is on the brink of expanding his Oakland, California-based catering company in partnership with his sister, Catherine. Soon, he’ll move the business to a commercial space, but for now he’s practicing his recipes for barbecue chicken, ribs, and his mom’s potato salad at home.
Second Chance Act-Funded Middle Tennessee Rural Reentry Program Highlighted in Grantee Training and Media Coverage
Staff and a program participant of the Middle Tennessee Rural Reentry (MTRR) Program in Franklin County, TN, a 2015 Second Chance Act Technology-Based Career Training grantee, recently offered insights to fellow grantees as part of the National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) training event Engaging Local Employers in Promising Practices for Hiring People Who Have Criminal Records.
Second Chance Act Spotlight: Jamel Bonilla, Lowell, Massachusetts
When Jamel Bonilla (pictured left) was released from the Middleton House of Correction, he knew what he needed most to stay out of prison. “I needed work,” Bonilla said. “I needed money.”
Prosocial Employment Programs Create Positive Outcomes for Men in Michigan Correctional Facilities
As of September 2017, 51 Vocational Village program participants had been released on parole, 16 of which had secured employment prior to their release. Thirty-eight of the 51 are currently employed.
Second Chance Act Grantee Receives National Criminal Justice Association Award
The Minnesota Department of Corrections was one of five organizations in the country to receive the 2017 Outstanding Criminal Justice Program Award from the National Criminal Justice Association for its High-Risk Revocation Reduction program.
Second Chance Act Participant Spotlight: Sharon Hadley, Harris County, Texas
When Sharon Hadley arrived at Santa Maria Hostel in July 2012, she had just completed the latest in her decade-long string of sentences for drug-related offenses. “Now that I look back over my life, I can see how the wheels started coming off even before I really knew it,” Hadley said. “I recidivated 13 times. Each incarceration was longer and longer, and I was more and more hopeless.”
Second Chance Act Program Spotlight: Paths to Recovery, Santa Maria Hostel—Harris County, Texas
With Second Chance Act grant funding, Santa Maria Hostel began employing recovery coaches in 2013 to provide additional, one-on-one support to women in its Paths to Recovery program to help them meet their reentry goals. Recovery coaches also help connect participants to housing, education, and employment services.
Palm Beach County Program Partners with Probation Officers to Improve Reentry, One Youth at a Time
The Back to a Future program, based in Palm Beach County, Florida, has worked in close collaboration with probation partners at the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice since its inception in 2013.
Troubleshooting Training: How Three Programs Prepare Volunteers to Mentor People Leaving Prison and Jail
Staff at the CSG Justice Center talked to three reentry programs with promising training practices about their experiences developing and delivering training to volunteer mentors.
Tucson Community Nonprofit Grows with a Change in Housing Programming
As the leaders of Old Pueblo Community Services (OPCS) can attest, the landscape of housing and reentry services is never static. For this nonprofit organization that serves people at risk of homelessness in Pima County, Arizona, the communities they work in, their clients, funding streams, and research into best practices all evolve over time—and OPCS’ leaders recognize the importance of evolving along with that landscape.
From Jailhouse to Coffeehouse, SCA-Funded Program Supports People in Omaha During and After Incarceration
“I’ve been in and out of jail for the last 20 years, and this [group] taught me it was time to grow up and stop doing the things I was doing,” Rich said. “Having people who care about how you’re doing and who can lift your spirits is important.”
From National Mentoring Month to Black History Month–Highlighting the Value of Mentorship for Communities of Color and People in Reentry
Held in Washington, DC, in early February, the National Mentoring Summit featured several sessions that focused specifically on mentoring black youth, cultural competency, and diversity.
Second Chance Act Grantee Receives American Correctional Association Award
New Beginnings, a 2011 and 2014 Second Chance Act-funded program of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, received the 2017 Innovation in Corrections Award at the American Correctional Association Conference in San Antonio, Texas last month.
New England Conference Highlights Regional Approach to Reentry
The conference, which was hosted by United States attorneys of the six New England Districts—Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine—uplifted the region’s approach to reentry efforts. Rather than focusing on individual locales, service providers, policymakers, and correctional agencies throughout New England collaborate to ensure a unified approach.
Technology Bridges Distances for a Reentry Program in Western Wisconsin
Low recruitment numbers. Poor attendance. Lackluster quarterly reports. These are concerns that burden many nonprofit, community-based outreach programs around the country. For Workforce Connections Inc., an organization that serves people returning to their communities from incarceration in western Wisconsin, these problems were heightened by the rural and semi-rural environments from which the organization draws both participants and volunteers.
Second Chance Act Mentoring Grantee Receives National Criminal Justice Program Award
The Connection Inc., a Connecticut-based nonprofit organization, was one of five organizations in the country to receive the 2016 Outstanding Criminal Justice Program Award from the National Criminal Justice Association.
Second Chance Act Grantees Receive DOL Grants to Continue Reentry Efforts
“These grants are an important step in fulfilling our promise as a land of second chances by moving beyond locking people up and instead working together to unlock their potential,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez.
Rockdale County, GA, Uses RNR Simulation Tool to Customize Reentry Plans for People Leaving Jail
“We really became committed to reentry,” said Rockdale County Lieutenant Dennis Pass. “So going to command staff and getting buy-in for using this tool wasn’t difficult. They knew finding a tool that doesn’t take a clinician to use is tough, so this was a perfect fit.”
SCA Grantee Discovers New Way of Policing by Asking Women Involved with the Justice System ‘What If?’
“The phrase ‘law enforcement’ pigeonholes the enforcement, but policing is about being a public servant and actually has to do with way more than just putting handcuffs on people,” said Seattle Police Department Detective Kim Bogucki.
Indianapolis Nonprofit Sparks Interest in Reentry Mentoring through Social Media
With videos, infographics, photographs, flashcard testimonials, and more, Volunteers of America of Indiana makes it easy for people around the community to learn more about reentry, efforts to reduce criminal recidivism, and the rewards of volunteering as a mentor.
RNR Simulation Tool Gives Probation, Parole Officers a Clinical Take on Reentry in Louisiana
People who are returning to Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana, from two correctional facilities in the state are receiving individualized roadmaps to successful reentry from an unexpected place: the RNR Simulation Tool—a web-based, decision-support system designed in part to assist agencies in determining what types of programming will be most effective in reducing a person’s likelihood of committing another crime.
Vermont DOC Builds Commitment to Restorative Justice
The Vermont DOC organized volunteers from local communities into citizen-based boards, which led, in 1998, to the creation of what are now known across the state as Community Justice Centers (CJCs). Today, there are 20 CJCs in Vermont—one in every county—managed centrally by the Vermont DOC. CJCs provide intensive support services in employment, housing, mentoring, and restitution management for people returning to their communities from incarceration. They rely primarily on volunteers to deliver these services.
St. Louis Second Chance Act Grantee Sees Promise in New Prison-to-Reentry Program
From Prison to Prosperity, a new program offered by the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment, seeks to curb recidivism and improve reentry outcomes among young adults by prioritizing employment and financial literacy programming.
Second Chance Act Grantee Achieves Dramatic Results for High-Risk Women
When Toby Jones first meets her clients, she finds that many of them are shocked that someone wants to help them. Jones is the mentoring program director for Family Pathfinders of Tarrant County in Fort Worth, Texas, where she serves women in Tarrant County Jail’s Intensive Day Treatment program for substance use.
A Second Chance at Recovery for Women in Wilmington, North Carolina
RESET, which is funded by a 2014 Second Chance Act grant, is a six-month program designed specifically for women and implemented through a partnership between a residential reentry center and a nonprofit behavioral health agency. A typical participant in RESET has a co-occurring substance use and mental disorder and a moderate- to high-risk of committing another crime.
With Help from Partners, Iowa Department of Corrections Tackles Statewide Recidivism
Twenty-eight percent of the people released from prison in the State of Iowa in 2010 were back behind bars by 2013, according to the Iowa Department of Corrections’ (IDOC) Iowa Recidivism Report. But, with a grant awarded from the U.S. Department of Justice, the IDOC is leading efforts to drop the state’s recidivism rate by eight percentage points in five years.
Kansas Second Chance Act Grantee Helps Secure Tech Jobs for Women Returning Home from Prison
The Topeka Correctional Facility—Kansas’s only female correctional facility—is easing barriers to employment for women reentering their communities from prison with Commerce Technology Career Training, a first-of-its-kind program that equips women with marketable, certified skills in the manufacturing technology field.
Second Chance Act Grantee Work Reflects Pope’s Belief in Rehabilitation
“The timing of the pope’s visit puts the spotlight on the crucial area of reentry as a way of conveying that these people are down, they’re looking for a second chance at life, and we have an opportunity to help them make the most of it, and make our communities safer as a result,” Arn Quakkelaar, executive director of Milwaukee-based nonprofit Brothers and Sisters in Christ Serving.
For LA’s Chronically Homeless, Recovery Is ‘Just In Reach’
Through pre- and post-incarceration services, Just In Reach creates a stable environment in which goals such as employment and family reunification can be built.
For the Formerly Incarcerated, Peer Mentoring Can Offer Chance to ‘Give Back’
At Detroit Central City Community Mental Health in Wayne County, Michigan, clients used to arrive to see their clinicians or a doctor. Now, more frequently, they come to see their mentor.
RIDGE Project Among Grantees at NRRC Intensive Training Summit
The RIDGE Project is today divided into an adult division, a workforce development division, and a youth division. The adult programming begins inside the prison; fathers whose children are younger than 22 and who are within six months from release are eligible.
Santa Maria Hostel Offers Path to Recovery for Houston Women
Santa Maria’s Path to Recovery Program, which received a 2013 Second Chance Act mentoring grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, has been serving women in the Houston area since 2011.
National Reentry Resource Center Hosts First of Five Reentry Training Summits for New Grantees
State and local agencies that were awarded a 2014 Second Chance Act Adult Demonstration or Technology Career Training grant sent representatives to New York City to take part in the first Reentry Training Summit hosted and organized by the National Reentry Resource Center, a project of the CSG Justice Center.
Connecticut Launches Prison-Based Reentry Center as Part of Statewide Initiative
As part of Governor Dannel Malloy’s Second Chance Society reentry initiative, Connecticut has opened a new reentry center at one of its prisons to help people prepare for their return to the community. At the Cybulski Community Reintegration Center, men who are within 6 to 18 months of their release receive services to address a variety of issues, including employment, housing, parenting, and substance use.
Rikers Program Provides “Green Technology” Job Training, Placements
Working I.T. Out’s job readiness training, which focuses in part on hard skills directly related to job operations and functions, is delivered in partnership with Hostos Community College in the Bronx, while the New York City Department of Education teaches participants essential computer literacy skills. Soft skills training, such as how to talk appropriately with customers and be a team player in the workplace, is provided by STRIVE International.
Second Chance Act Grants Help Further Promising Reentry Programs and Practices
In October 2013, 104 government agencies and nonprofit organizations across the country were awarded grants through the Second Chance Act to help improve the outcomes for and reduce recidivism among individuals leaving prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities.
Reentry Matters: Second Chance Act 10th Anniversary Edition
The National Reentry Resource Center and the CSG Justice Center released a new edition of Reentry Matters: Strategies and Successes of Second Chance Act Grantees in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Second Chance Act (SCA). Enacted with bipartisan support, SCA helps state, local, and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations in their work to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes among people who have been in the criminal justice system.