Tulsa Reentry Youth Partnership Project (TRYPP) - "a new journey to transitional services"

The Second Chance Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-199) provides a comprehensive response to the increasing number of people who are released from prison, jail, and juvenile residential facilities and returning to communities. There are currently over 2.3 million individuals serving time in our federal and state prisons, and millions of people cycling through local jails every year. There are approximately 94,000 youth in residential confinement within the juvenile justice system on any given day. Ninety-five percent of all offenders incarcerated today will eventually be released and will return to communities. The Second Chance Act will help ensure the transition individuals make from prison, jail, or juvenile residential facilities to the community is safe and successful.

The Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) administers the juvenile justice system in Oklahoma. During 2007, 640 youth between 16 and 18 years of age who had previously been incarcerated in physically secure institutions and staff secure group homes returned to their homes. Juveniles in these types of facilities have serious felony offense histories and have all been adjudicated and committed to the custody of Oklahoma. Tulsa, a city frequently mentioned by national news outlets for gang related homicides and with a homicide rate of 13.1 similar to that for Buffalo, Dallas, and Houston. The jurisdiction to be served is Tulsa County. The target population for this Project is high-risk juvenile offenders returning to Tulsa County from OJA operated secure institutions and staff-secure group homes throughout the state. Juveniles in these facilities have serious felony offense histories. An annual average of 115 juvenile offenders from Tulsa County (21.0% of the statewide total) has been incarcerated in these facilities with an average of 87 discharged each year and returning to Tulsa County.

CA/NCF