ARTICLE
The Lord’s Place and 38 consortium partners announce results of four-year $1 million Transition from Jail to Community Program, with $991,800 annual savings to county taxpayers Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office announces $100,000 grant to help continue program which has significantly reduced recidivism rates and homelessness The Lord’s Place, as the lead agency of a 39-member community consortium announced today that the four-year $1 million Transition from Jail to Community program, funded with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation matched by community funders, announced today that the program has been a success, with the following results to date: Program created a return on investment to the public of approximately 3:1. For every dollar spent on the program, the community saved $2.78 Total savings in Palm Beach County taxpayers was $991,800 per year. 201 ex-offenders released from the Palm Beach County Jail participated during the four years. The recidivism (re-incarceration) rate was reduced by 36% from other ex-offenders not in the program – which also reflects improvement to local public safety. TJC Participants had a 32 percent recidivism rate, compared to a national rate of 50 percent. The program connected participants with new jobs, with 60 percent of the participants gaining employment Measured increase in satisfaction from all agencies and program participants. Created 15 new, dedicated transitional housing beds for those leaving jail and staying in Palm Beach County. Implementation of an ongoing, long-term data tracking and evaluation model to continue to monitor and evaluate the success of the program. This high level of success prompted the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department to invest $100,000 in continuing the program, announced Palm Beach County Chief Deputy Michael Gauger. Palm Beach County Public Defender Carey Haughwout, who is chairman of the Re-Entry Task Force, praised the collaboration among the 39 agencies during the four years to ensure the success of the program. Steve Coufal, who is a participant in the Transition from Jail to Community Program, spoke about his personal success in reintegrating into society through the program. Future Goals of the Transition from Jail to Community program include: Identifying 50 new dedicated transitional housing beds each year, to reach a goal of 200 beds Provider agencies and system heads will continue to meet regularly to monitor strategic goals. Work with local community health centers to replicate targeted services countywide Advocate to reduce the stigmatization of offenders with felony backgrounds Encourage local businesses to hire ex-offenders and provide a second chance for them t become productive and contributing members of society. Re-align of funding sources to support program goals. The Lord’s Place Chief Program Officer Daniel Gibson said elements which contributed to the success of the Transition from Jail to Community program included engaging and enrolling inmates prior to release, providing community based organizations with access to inmates prior to their release to coordinate a transition plan, and monthly meetings of the program partners to monitor progress of project and make course corrections as needed. In addition, Gibson said, establishment of a community plan to identify more transitional housing beds for participants and an ongoing and persistent effort to individually address barriers that would hinder an ex-offender from successfully reintegrating into society are key elements in the success of the program. Systemic changes in the local social service delivery system, including realignment of resources, working across system boundaries and ongoing monitoring of performance of the program were achieved, he added. The Lord’s Place CEO Diana Stanley said the program should not only be evaluated in terms of cost savings to the public, but also in terms of lives transformed. “In the last decade in our nation, and in our own community, integrating formerly incarcerated individuals into society has been a challenging issue, with many often becoming homeless,” she said. “With our coalition partners, we have been able to break through those barriers and work together to fashion re-entry plans for each of these individuals so that they are connected with community resources and have the support they need to make it in society. I’m so proud of each of the men that have come through our doors and made a successful transition through the re-entry program.”