Program

Community Justice Reentry Network

Issue

New York City recognizes the importance of supporting individuals involved in the criminal justice system by providing holistic services in the community. These services help individuals advance and thrive, as well as avoid future criminal justice contact. It is clear, from research and practice, that services addressing the needs of those reentering their communities following criminal justice system involvement are critical to individuals’ post-incarceration success.

Solution

In April 2018, the City launched Jails to Jobs, a citywide reentry initiative focused on providing paid transitional employment, job training, access to higher education, and supportive services to approximately 5,000 justice system-involved individuals. The program was created to help prevent recidivism and ensure that people leaving jail have opportunities to embark on a productive and stable future. With this initiative, the City built a system tailored to individuals’ vocational, educational, and therapeutic needs.

In January 2020, the program was expanded to serve more people and increase the breadth and depth of services offered. This included:

  • Enhancing services that begin in jail and continue into the community post-release
  • Creating additional supports for individuals on the day of release from jail
  • Hiring more staff at contracted non-profit organizations who have lived experience in the criminal justice system to serve as peer mentors
  • Localizing services to ensure supports are accessible in neighborhoods to which most people return
  • Expanding wraparound social services and connections to care

In January 2022, the initiative expanded further to also provide holistic reentry services to individuals returning to NYC from state prisons. This expansion includes discharge planning prior to release from prison, transportation from prisons to nonprofit service provider organizations in the community, and an array of existing vocational, educational, and therapeutic services. The initiative, now called the Community Justice Reentry Network, serves approximately 8,000 people per year.

Click here for a flyer on the services and organizations in the Community Justice Reentry Network.

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