Collaborative for Offender Reentry Enhancement (CORE): Filling the Gaps in Serious and Violent Juvenile Offender Reentry

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 North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 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 and faith-based service providers. The program will be implemented to enhance current reentry services and fill existing gaps in service. North Carolina's Reentry initiative will provide institutional and community-based services to youthful offenders ages 14 to 21from the areas of Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point North Carolina.

North Carolina's Reentry program will consist of a continuum of transitional services which include employment training and placement, educational services, substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, medical services, restitution, community service, housing assistance, community support services, mentoring, aftercare services, life skills training, family support services, post-release supervision, and intensive case management.

ca/ncf