Project SLATE

The FY 2016 Second Chance Act Strengthening Relationships Between Young Fathers, Young Mothers, and Their Children provides funding to support the successful transition of young fathers and mothers as they return to their families and communities from detention, out-of-home placement, or incarceration. This program funds coordinated and comprehensive strategies that incorporate (1) mentoring and transitional reentry services proven to reduce recidivism, (2) effective parenting skills development and parent/child relationship engagement for young fathers or mothers, and (3) private and community service partnerships that promote public safety and support added positive outcomes for young parents and their children.

Volunteers of America of Los Angeles (VOALA) will provide a wide array of case-managed supportive services to help young fathers (ages 14–24) who have been released from incarceration and assigned to the Los Angeles County Probation Department. VOALA will empower targeted young fathers to wipe their slate clean and become productive fathers. Target areas include the city of Lynwood, city of Compton, and neighborhood of Watts (South Los Angeles). Most participants will have been incarcerated in the Los Angeles County Jail. About 60 percent will be Latino, 35 percent African American, and 5 percent other races, with 10 percent veterans. The project will serve 75 young fathers annually. Project partners include Los Angeles County Probation Department, Amity Foundation, Kedren Community Mental Health, and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. VOALA is a multiprogramming, multifunded nonprofit with an annual operating budget of more than $90 million that provides services to more than 7,000 unduplicated individuals annually across its programming service area in greater Los Angeles. CA/NCF