Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2010, $750,000)
The Second Chance Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-199) provides a comprehensive response to the increasing number of people who are released from prison and jail into communities and the subsequent challenges communities face as offenders attempt to reintegrate into society. The Second Chance Act Prisoner Reentry Initiative provides funding to state and local governments and federally recognized Indian tribes for demonstration projects to promote the safe and successful reintegration into the community of individuals who have been incarcerated. Funded demonstration projects will use validated and dynamic assessment tools to determine the risks and needs of offenders.
Projects will provide offenders in prisons or jails with all necessary services to facilitate reentry into the community. In addition, the projects will develop procedures to ensure that dangerous felons are not released from prison prematurely and provide services that address treatment needs and protect communities against dangerous offenders. Allowable uses of funds to enhance a successful transition include: pre-release assessment and case planning, mentoring, housing, education, substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, services to enhance family reunification, job training and readiness, and post-release case management and supervision.
The City of Dallas, in partnership with Safer Dallas Better Dallas/Dallas One-Stop Optimized Re-Entry System (SDBD/DOORS) will use the grant funds to implement a project that will leverage unique linkages with reentry service providers, parole/probation agencies, medical resources, and County/State jail officials in a Dallas countywide collaboration to provide pre and post release programs to 120 male and female adults. The target population will be comprised of those individuals who have historically shown high recidivism rates to include those with mental health issues and parole violators who have been sanctioned by the Intermediate Sanctions Board. Service providers who are DOORS partners will use a standardized system to achieve communication flow while maintaining strict accountability. Reentry components will be enhanced as clients are able to access wraparound services from multiple locations. Client outcomes will be independently evaluated by the Institute of Urban Policy Research at the University of Texas at Dallas.
CA/NCF