Vera Institute of Justice Training and Technical Assistance Program

The Second Chance Act Training and Technical Assistance Program provides funding to support Second Chance Act (SCA) grantees and reentry practitioners with resources and guidance to improve their reentry systems, and reduce crime and recidivism among people returning from detention and incarceration to their communities. This program furthers the Department’s mission by providing training and technical assistance (TTA) services to state, local, and tribal jurisdictions to facilitate the successful reentry of people from detention and incarceration to communities.

SCA funding helps jurisdictions around the country develop, implement, and test strategies and programs to assist youth and adults as they transition out of detention and incarceration and reenter their communities. Using SCA appropriations, BJA and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) award grants directly to state and local governments, federally recognized Indian tribes, and nonprofit organizations to provide and improve reentry services with the goal of reducing recidivism.

The Vera Institute of Justice will use funds to serve as the primary education and employment TTA provider to SCA site-based grantees. Vera will work with BJA and OJJDP to develop and provide tools, training, and resources aimed at helping practitioners as well as justice-involved individuals, their families, and communities on the topics of education and employment.

CA/NCF

The Vera Institute of Justice, Inc. (Vera) and its partner, RTI International (RTI), will provide support to the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Second Chance Act (SCA) Training and Technical Assistance Program/Category 2. Vera and RTI will implement a three-part program design:

1) Training and technical assistance (TTA) to SCA site-based grantees: Vera and RTI will provide primary Education and Employment Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) to more than 30 SCA site-based grantees for the following BJA programs: Adult Reentry and Employment Strategies; Adult Reentry Education, Employment, Treatment and Recovery; and Correctional Adult Reentry Education, Employment, and Recidivism Reduction Strategies. Vera will collaborate with each grantee to complete a Planning and Implementation Guide and a TTA Plan.

2) TTA for the expansion of Second Chance Pell and the implementation of Pell reinstatement for incarcerated students: The Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative (Second Chance Pell) was launched by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) in 2015 and currently includes 130 colleges working with 43 corrections agencies. In 2021, ED announced a further expansion of Second Chance Pell to include an additional 70 colleges. Vera is the designated technical assistance provider for Second Chance Pell, and will serve a similar role in supporting ED’s implementation of Pell Reinstatement for Students Incarcerated in Federal or State Penal Institutions under the FAFSA Simplification Act, in coordination with ED and BJA. Vera will provide targeted TTA to state prison educational programs to develop and deliver postsecondary programs in prisons; troubleshoot implementation challenges; increase student enrollment; and help sites develop reentry support infrastructure for incarcerated students who will continue on campus. Vera will provide dedicated support to the 8 states that do not yet have SCP colleges to assist the state corrections departments in creating partnerships with colleges.

3) Additional TTA Support: In addition to the  SCA and Postsecondary Program TTA support described above, Vera will pursue several strategies that intersect with both sets of partners. These include developing TTA Tools on policies and practices to meet implementation needs in specific sites, connecting partners with relevant subject matter experts, and sharing relevant and timely research with the field.

Vera will develop publications, webinars, and conference presentations capturing implementation lessons while they are fresh and relevant to other jurisdictions and SCA grantees. Vera will also host a convening of the Second Chance Pell sites in 2022.

The Vera Institute of Justice (Vera), in partnership with the Research Triangle Institute (RTI), is applying to provide training and technical assistance (TTA) to Second Chance Act (SCA) grantees under Category 2: Education and Employment TTA Provider. As the research shows, effective correctional education and workforce training programs—including adult basic and secondary education, career and technical education, postsecondary education, and transitional employment—reduce the likelihood of recidivism by 43%-48% and increase the likelihood of employment by 13%. Building on their collective and complementary experience working with corrections departments and their partners, Vera and RTI are eager to improve the educational and employment outcomes of people leaving prison so they can return to our communities with the skills and knowledge to be successful and contribute to their families and communities. These efforts will succeed when the programs offered pre-release are high quality and attuned to the local context, and when the barriers for licensing and hiring are removed. This requires a coordinated effort that brings together stakeholders within and outside corrections, including program providers, employers, educators, formerly incarcerated people, and reentry service providers.

Vera will serve as the primary TTA provider to more than 30 SCA site-based grantees for the following BJA programs: Adult Reentry and Employment Strategies; Adult Reentry Education, Employment, Treatment and Recovery; Correctional Adult Reentry Education, Employment, and Recidivism Reduction Strategies; Reentry Education and Employment Outcomes. Vera will also help states develop most robust pathways between pre-release education and training programs and reentry employment opportunities. This includes targeted TTA in three state to test strategies to create partnerships with employers, as well as a 50 state report to highlight in-demand jobs that are open to people with felonies. Additionally, through guidance and coordination with Department of Education, and BJA, Vera will provide technical assistance for the expansion of Second Chance Pell, and the Implementation of Pell Reinstatement for Students Incarcerated in Federal or State Penal Institutions under the FAFSA Simplification Act by providing targeted technical assistance to state prison educational programs, to develop “in prison strategies” to deliver postsecondary academic programs in prisons; maintaining regular phone communication and making on-site visits to troubleshoot implementation challenges, increase student enrollment, and help sites develop reentry support infrastructure for incarcerated students who will continue on campus.