Community-based organizations should be involved in delivering job-skills programming to the greatest extent possible. Volunteer and faith-based organizations, as well as other nonprofit service providers, can provide some of the most critical support systems available to individuals upon release. Early contact between these organizations and inmates provides a firm foundation for such relationships, which can encourage participation in programming and ensure that that engagement continues postrelease. Furthermore, incorporating staff from community-based organizations can shift the burden of service delivery away from corrections staff.

Example: Fresh Start, Osborne Association (NY)

Fresh Start is a life- and job-skills program, run by the community-based Osborne Association, for male prisoners at Rikers Island, the New York City jail. Fresh Start offers a combination of job training (in culinary arts or journalism and computer skills) and counseling that begins during incarceration and continues after release.

Example: INTUIT, Virginia Department of Corrections and Virginia Commonwealth University

INTUIT is a 13-week program that encourages participants to focus on the skills behind career planning and development, rather than just finding a job. Virginia Commonwealth University graduate and undergraduate students and community volunteers teach participants to conduct assessments of themselves, their life situations, and their environment; to obtain accurate and current career information; to communicate interests, skills, experiences, and values to employers; and to interact with successful role models, potential employers and community service providers.

When seeking to involve community-based organizations in institutional programming, jurisdictions should use a structured process for review and selection. Both corrections and community-based organizations need enough time to perform the necessary due diligence (tours, meetings, interviews, observation, document review, etc.), and build a foundation for long-term relationships that give confidence and stability to all parties. Formal contracts, agreements, Memoranda of Understanding, or similar legal instruments are valuable tools that can be used to establish partnership and delineate clear expectations and responsibilities. (See Policy Statement 1, Encouraging Collaboration Among Key Stakeholders, and Policy Statement 3, Incorporating Re-Entry into Organizations' Missions and Work Plans, for more on collaborative work between organizations working in the field of re-entry.)