Reentry Initative for Juvenile High Risk Offenders Model Development Project

The Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative Discretionary Grant Program was developed through a federal partnership by the Departments of Justice, Labor, Health and Human Service, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Veterans Affairs and Agriculture. The federal partners' goal is to help state and local agencies navigate the complex field of existing state formula and block grants and to assist them in accessing, redeploying and leveraging those resources to support the components of a comprehensive reentry program. In addition to the new funding, the federal partners are identifying funds from their respective agencies that are already available to state and local agencies to provide the necessary services to implement a reentry program.

The Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative Grant Program is designed to provide funding to state and local units of government to develop and implement institutional and community corrections-based offender reentry programs through collaborative partnerships with government, social service, faith-based, and community organizations, in order to reduce recidivism, increase public safety, and successfully reintegrate serious and violent offenders back into the community. Reentry programs must be sustained for a 36-month period and are required to partner with a state adult or juvenile correctional agency.

The Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) will use its FY 2002 Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Grant to implement a comprehensive re-integration program for high-risk, youthful offenders ages 16-21 returning to targeted neighborhoods in the cities of Boston, Springfield, and Holyoke Massachusetts. The DYS Reentry program intends to provide a continuum of care that will focus on coordinating existing state and local resources in order to fill gaps in services, and provide a diverse array of transition services.

Transitional reentry services to be provided include mental health services, individual and group counseling, medical and dental services, housing assistance, vocational training, intensive case management, intensive supervision and monitoring, job placement, life skills training, parenting classes, educational assistance, in and out patient health services, apprenticeship opportunities, community outreach and support, and on-going reentry staff support.

Through this collaborative effort with various local employment, law enforcement, social services, treatment agencies, and several youth and community organizations, DYS will implement an effective and comprehensive reentry delivery system.

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