Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2013, $297,552)
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.
Workforce Connections, Inc. will use their Second Chance Act Mentoring funds to fuse together their knowledge of the ex-offender population, training, and employment solutions with the evidence-based mentoring program as outlined in the Ready 4 Work initiative. Three months prior to release, Workforce Connections will begin case management and facilitation of mentoring services. Case managers will work with facility staff, mentors, and inmates to plan transitional services and will help inmates utilize the existing resources within the facility to maximize readiness for integration upon release. Prior to release, case managers will make connections with the necessary community resources to ensure a seamless transition for each individual.
CA/NCF