Going Home to Mobile

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 Discretionary 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 offenders back into the community. Reentry programs must be sustained for a 36month period and are required to partner with a state adult or juvenile correctional agency.

The Alabama Department of Youth Services intends to utilize its FY 2002 Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Grant to develop a comprehensive Reentry program through collaborative partnerships with various state and local agencies, as well as several community-based, faith-based, and volunteer service organizations. Alabama's Reentry program will provide institutional and community-based services to approximately 100 high-risk youthful offenders returning to Mobile County, upon release from state correctional confinement.

Alabama's Reentry initiative will consist of a continuum of transitional services which include employment training and job placement, educational services, vocational training, substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, counseling, family support services, housing assistance, community support services, mentoring, teen programming, intensive monitoring, supervision, and intensive case management.

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