Integrated Reentry and Employment Strategies in South Central Wisconsin

The Second Chance Act (Public Law 110–199) seeks a comprehensive response for incarcerated adults who are released from prison or jail, and returning to their communities. Over 2.1 million individuals are incarcerated in federal and state prisons, and millions of people cycle through local jails every year. Ninety-five percent of all offenders incarcerated in state prisons will eventually be released. Securing meaningful employment can facilitate successful reentry for offenders leaving correctional facilities. However, there are many barriers that offenders with criminal records encounter as they attempt to re-enter both the community and the workforce. Improving employment outcomes for this population may contribute to recidivism reduction and increased public safety. However, some communities simply do not have enough resources for corrections, reentry, and workforce development to provide every adult offender leaving incarceration with services that may assist them in reentering the community. The purpose of the Adult Reentry and Employment Strategic Planning Program is to fund the development of strategic plans that are comprehensive, collaborative, and multisystemic in their approach to increase public safety by reducing recidivism and improving employability in offenders returning to communities from incarceration. These plans should include an assessment of the current system and propose solutions to make assessment-driven referrals to ensure successful transition from correctional facilities to the community. The recipient will use award funds to develop Integrated Reentry and Employment Strategies for individuals who are returning from incarceration to south central Wisconsin. The goal of the project is to develop a plan for integrating best practices from the corrections and workforce development fields to build capacity or establish new employment programs aimed at reduced recidivism and increased employment outcomes. CA/NCF

The purpose of the Adult Reentry and Employment Strategies Planning Program (34 USC 10741; Pub. L. No. 116-93, 133 Stat 2317, 2408) is to build an integrated approach through the opportunity to implement new policies, procedures, and practices in order to assist workforce authorities, and their jurisdictional corrections partners, to create and enhance employment pathways for people leaving incarceration and post-release supervision. This includes taking the steps to rethink procurements, programmatic measures, employment-related transitional resources.

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC)will use funds to support and continue implementing the Adult Reentry and Employment Strategic Planning Program with focus on capacity building in south central Wisconsin. The DOC and partner organizations will provide training to community-based providers to increase capacity and quality of existing programs. The program focus is on redesigning existing programs and processes to better connect reentry clients to appropriate, evidence-based services. The DOC will implement the following: provide staffing to coordinate training and services for released individuals; enhance information sharing with community-based providers and employers by creating a robust data sharing system; and enhance the service capacity of community-based agencies by providing training on core correctional practices.

NCA/NCF

The Second Chance Act (Public Law 110–199) seeks a comprehensive response for incarcerated adults who are released from prison or jail, and returning to their communities. Over 2.1 million individuals are incarcerated in federal and state prisons, and millions of people cycle through local jails every year. Ninety-five percent of all offenders incarcerated in state prisons will eventually be released.

Securing meaningful employment can facilitate successful reentry for offenders leaving correctional facilities. However, there are many barriers that offenders with criminal records encounter as they attempt to re-enter both the community and the workforce. Improving employment outcomes for this population may contribute to recidivism reduction and increased public safety. However, some communities simply do not have enough resources for corrections, reentry, and workforce development to provide every adult offender leaving incarceration with services that may assist them in reentering the community.

The purpose of the Adult Reentry and Employment Strategic Planning Program is to fund the development of strategic plans that are comprehensive, collaborative, and multisystemic in their approach to increase public safety by reducing recidivism and improving employability in offenders returning to communities from incarceration. These plans should include an assessment of the current system and propose solutions to make assessment-driven referrals to ensure successful transition from correctional facilities to the community.

The recipient will use award funds to develop Integrated Reentry and Employment Strategies for individuals who are returning from incarceration to south central Wisconsin. The goal of the project is to develop a plan for integrating best practices from the corrections and workforce development fields to build capacity or establish new employment programs aimed at reduced recidivism and increased employment outcomes.

CA/NCF

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) is the state’s largest cabinet agency and is responsible for the safe and humane care and custody of 19,358 inmates in prisons and correctional centers (as of 06/30/21) and the supervision of 64,022 adults on court-ordered probation, parole or extended supervision in the community (as of 06/30/20). During calendar year 2020, 8,824 inmates were released from DOC institutions throughout the state (not including deaths and temporary holds). Of the total releases, 2,205 individuals returned to the 14 counties which comprise two Wisconsin Workforce Development Board (WDB) Regions – Bay Area (Region 1) and Southeast (Region 2).

The justice-involved population faces a host of barriers in both obtaining and maintaining employment. Despite these barriers, people who are employed and earning higher wages soon after release from incarceration are less likely to recidivate. A coordinated system which supports transitions to the community following incarceration will result in reduced recidivism and increased employment outcomes, DOC will partner with the Bay Area and Southeast WDB’s  and the University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute (UCCI) to implement Integrated Reentry and Employment Strategies for individuals who are returning from DOC incarceration to the 14 counties which comprise the two WDB regions.

DOC outlined primary objectives in the prior implementation grant application (2020) and continues to actively implement the tasks necessary to achieve those objectives. Delays in notice of award approval, hiring key project and contract staff, the size and scope of the project, a goal of project expansion, and impacts and delays related to the pandemic combine to support a request for additional funding.

To increase community-based provider (CBP) program availability in Wisconsin, DOC will provide a sub-award to UCCI to facilitate correctional best practices training to CBP’s which will increase their understanding of the dynamics of the reentry population, service capacity, and quality of programs (existing and future). Rather than funding new programs, DOC will continue to focus on redesign of existing programs and processes to ensure reentry clients are better connected to appropriate, evidence-based services which will significantly improve overall employment outcomes. DOC will embrace an integrated approach to serving justice-involved clients, and has identified the following priorities for the continuation funding: providing coordinated and dedicated project coordination, enhancing information sharing with community-based providers and employers by creating a robust data sharing system, and enhancing the service capacity of CBP’s by providing training on correctional best practices in coordination with UCCI.

Additionally, DOC will add a second project position to staff three institution job centers in the Southeast region. This employee will receive a blend of correctional and workforce development training and serve as a pilot for possible future placement of similar positions under DOC supervision.

 
DOC has a history of working successfully with many of the proposed program partners (on the current grant as well as other projects/programs) and is committed to implementing a strategic reentry plan with those partners to achieve the overall grant goal of increasing employment outcomes and reducing recidivism for the reentry population in Wisconsin.