Second Chances Community-Based Youth Reentry Project

The Second Chances Community-Based Youth Reentry Project (Second Chances) aims to reduce the number of rearrests among Ventura County medium-to-high risk justice-involved youth ages 12-24. The project will reduce the subsequent financial and social costs associated with adjudication, incarceration, and supervision, and reduce victimization associated with recidivism. The project delivers high-quality pre- and post-release anti-recidivism programming, beginning in juvenile facilities at least 90 days prior to release. The program model offers an integrated community-based set of services and suite of evidence-based practices targeting the specific criminogenic factors most related to recidivism. The Second Chances project will demonstrate the power of evidence-based intervention supports by targeting youth reentry populations; capacity-building through targeted training, technical support, and community education; assessment-driven strategic systems development; and, interagency coordination between social services agencies and Ventura County Probation to maximize improved outcomes achievable  in vast, isolated, and severely underserved youth reentry populations. Second Chances seeks to utilize the current Interface Reentry Pay for Success (PFS) project framework to target probation-assigned youth at medium-to-high risk of recidivating, as measured by the Ohio Youth Assessment System (OYAS). Services include comprehensive case management and conversion of service referrals into service enrollment. The program aims to ensure successful reentry, promote public safety, learn from a rigorous evaluation of program outcomes, and strengthen the community.