 Print
Two more Second Chance Act grants have been announced by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
The first grant competition is aimed at helping adult and juvenile offenders develop skills to build a successful career in technology. The grants will fund programs in prisons, jails, or juvenile residential facilities for offenders who are within three years of being released. The "Second Chance Act Technology Careers Training Demonstration Projects for Incarcerated Adults and Juveniles” competition is open to state and local governments, territories and tribes. The training curriculum must identify the skills and competencies necessary for work in the technology field, provide real-world work experience, teach job skills as well as the soft skills needed for post-release reentry and employment. BJA anticipates that it will make up to six awards of up to $750,000 for a 12-month project period to begin on October 1, 2012.
Employment in the technology field is one where specialized skills are required. With the “digital divide” a very real factor, most offenders have not had access to technology or the necessary training to work in the field. These grants will offer offenders a path to employment that they otherwise would never be able to attain. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. ET, March 2, 2012. You can download the solicitation here.
The National Reentry Resource Center has provided links that will help agencies apply for these grants:
NOTE: The 2011 webinar and presentation are relevant for applicants responding to the 2012 solicitation; a webinar specific to the 2012 solicitation will NOT be offered.
The second grant is part of BJA’s effort to generate new evidence about what is effective at reducing recidivism and the challenges faced by communities as offenders reintegrate into society. This grant is a collaboration among BJA and National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the National Institute of Corrections (NIC). Applicants must be government agencies.
The Second Chance Act Demonstration Field Experiment: Fostering Desistance Through Effective Supervision, will test important criminal justice interventions and programs as part of a multi-site Demonstration Field Experiment (DFE) on prisoner reentry.
BJA is looking for government agencies to participate in the Second Chance Act-funded Demonstration Field Experiment (DFE), "Fostering Desistance Through Effective Supervision.” Over the 30-month implementation period, sites must assign at least 500 parolees to the DFE sample, and must deliver treatment services, and allow staff to receive training and coaching.
Specifically the grantees must:
- Train parole officers in the National Institute of Corrections’ (NIC) Integrated Case Management and Supervision Model (ICMS) and Crime Desistance training curriculum and interaction techniques.
- Coordinate services to address criminogenic needs that create problematic behaviors for offenders; and
- Provide cognitive behavioral therapy consisting of four MET (Motivational Enhancement Therapy) sessions followed by 25 T4C (Thinking for Change) sessions.
Applicants can apply for up to $1 million for the first year. The deadline for submitting an application is February 23, 2012.
To learn more about this funding opportunity, click here
To download the solicitation, click here.
NOTE: A webinar on this solicitation will be held on January 9 at 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET. For more information about this webinar, click here.
You can always find information about prisoner reentry and the Second Chance Act on Justice Fellowship’s Prisoner Reentry Resource Page. Also, the National Reentry Resource Center is an invaluable tool for everyone involved in prisoner reentry.
Before Christmas, Pope Benedict XVI visited a prison in northern Rome. This is a link to the beautiful homily he delivered to the prisoners. He succinctly stated the twin purposes of our justice system, “Dear friends, the detention system turns on two axes, both important: on one hand, the protection of society from possible threats, on the other hand, the reintegration of those who have made mistakes without stripping away their dignity and without excluding them from social life.” All of you who labor in this field offer prisoners hope for reintegration back into their communities, and give the public hope that those communities can be peaceful. Thank you for being part of this movement of God.
In His service,
Pat Nolan
President, Justice Fellowship
Resources
|
