BJA Second Chance Act Training and Technical Assistance Program - Corrections & Community Engagement

The Center for Health and Justice (CHJ), a division of TASC, proposes to provide specialized TTA, subject matter expertise (SME), coaching, and project management assistance to Second Chance Act grantees. The core work for which we are submitting our credentials involves helping establish, enhance, and sustain best-practice reentry initiatives led by community-based organizations and departments of correction to reduce recidivism, improve stability outcomes for returning citizens, and enhance public safety. The purpose is to provide individualized, efficient, and consistent delivery of TTA in order to assist grantees in accomplishing their goals by the end of their project periods. Project activities include working with BJA to develop and provide tools, training, and resources aimed at helping community-based organizations, jails and prisons and their correctional leadership, agency supervisors, and staff to implement proposed projects; make decisions and allocate resources; operate and scale programs; and manage individuals and reentry processes with the goal of reducing recidivism. This includes testing and developing strategies to identify people at high risk for violent recidivism and referring to supervision and community-based violence intervention initiatives as appropriate. Additional activities include providing community-based organizations with tailored resources and tips for partnering with correctional agencies on reentry grants, including strategies for leveraging organizational expertise to meet the needs of underserved and historically marginalized communities. Expected outcomes include the development of individualized TTA plans for each grantee based on its project, state of readiness, and other grantee-specific considerations; development of a listserv to disseminate reentry news and resources to the field, including grantees; assignment of subject matter experts/consultants to each grantee to help them complete their proposed grant activities and align operations with evidence-based best practices relevant to the grant program; webinars related to SCA site-based grant programs and field-wide webinars to market new funding opportunities; a dashboard to capture TTA contacts and progress; individualized marketing and communication plans for grantees, including best practices to incorporate insight of individuals with lived experience; presentations; fact sheets; onsite and virtual trainings; quarterly financial reports; and quarterly performance reports. CHJ, along with its partners the NYU Marron Institute, The Fletcher Group, and Urban Institute, will fulfill these requirements by providing a diverse, diversified, and multidisciplinary suite of TTA expertise/coaching, practical tools/resources for grantees and the field at large, and thought leadership products and programs to contribute to the practical knowledge base of the field.