Community Action Re-Entry (CARE) Project

The Prisoner Reentry Initiative (PRI) is designed to provide funding to state units of government to develop and implement institutional and community corrections-based offender reentry programs. The PRI strengthens urban communities characterized by large numbers of returning offenders. The PRI is designed to reduce recidivism by helping returning offenders find work and assess other critical services in their communities. The PRI supports strategies to deliver pre- and post-release assessments and services, and to develop transition plans in collaboration with other justice and community-based agencies and providers for supervised and non-supervised offenders.

The California Department of Community Services and Development will partner with local agencies in the City of San Diego and the Counties of Alameda and Sonoma to form the Community Action Re-entry (CARE) Project, which will work with individuals eighteen years and older in local detention centers within the target areas. The California Human Development, Associate Community Action Program, and Second Chance, were pre-selected due to their history and experience in administering similar programs and their demonstrated success rates.

The CARE Project agencies will provide services that will include assistance in creating a re-entry plan, job readiness training, job placement assistance, transportation, access to supervised substance-free housing, mental health counseling, literacy and educational training, substance abuse treatment, life skills training, and mentoring. The agencies will dedicate a part-time Project Coordinator and a full-time Transition Case Manager to the CARE Project effort.

The CARE Project will coordinate and facilitate Re-entry Advisory Councils in the three target areas. These Advisory Councils will include representatives from the detention centers, probation, community centers, local law enforcement, and pre- and post-release service providers. The Advisory Councils will analyze current systems and screen and assess offenders as well as enhance these current systems to better meet the needs of the target population.

CA/NCF