Mentoring for Second Chances

The Second Chance Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-199) reflects a comprehensive response to the increasing number of people who are released from prison and jail and are returning to communities. Section 211 of the Act authorizes grants to nonprofit organizations and federally recognized Indian tribes that may be used for mentoring projects to promote the safe and successful reintegration into the community of adults who have been incarcerated. Mentoring refers to a developmental relationship in which a more experienced person helps a less experienced person develop an enhanced sense of self-worth and specific knowledge and skills to increase the chance of successful reentry.

The goal of this program is to promote more effective and successful reentry for offenders through the establishment and maintenance of pre- and post-release mentoring relationships. The objectives of this program are to establish or improve the administration of mentoring programs, including the expansion of mentoring strategies and program design; enhance and improve the organizational capacity, system efficiency, and cost effectiveness of mentoring programs through training and technical assistance and other strategies, and; improve outcomes for offenders in mentoring programs by establishing and strengthening collaborative community approaches.

The Center for Community Alternatives (CCA) will use their 2013 Second Chance Act Mentoring grant to target individuals between the ages of 18 and 30 years old, incarcerated in and reentering from the Onondaga County Correctional Facility and three New York State prisons located within proximity to CCA's Syracuse NY office. The majority of participants will be African American and Latino men, with the following socio-economic needs: a lack of educational skills and credentials, high rates of unemployment and lack of job experience; a history of substance abuse; mental health problems; housing needs; and issues related to parenting and family support. The project will serve 100 participants over the two-year project period. The project will recruit 50 prospective mentors and will train and match 30-50 mentors.

CA/NCF