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Offenders About to Reenter Society (OARS)
This is a program for Florida Department of Corrections inmates returning to Duval County, Florida. OARS contains both pre-and post-release components and services to ensure a seamless transition for participants.
Quick Facts:
- Focus of initiative/program:
-
- Children and Families
- Education
- Employment/Job Training
- Housing
- Mental Health
- Substance Abuse
- Inititative/program name:
- Offenders About to Reenter Society
- Year Established:
- 2009
- Lead agency/organization name:
- Florida Department of Corrections
- Population served by initiative/program:
-
- Returning from prison
- Not under community corrections supervision
- Under community corrections supervision (parole or probation)
- Adults
- Men
- Women
- People convicted of a violent offense
- People convicted of a non-violent offense
- Sex offenders
Offenders About to Reenter Society (OARS)
Contact:
Jenn WesolowskiProgram Manager
Florida department of Corrections
2601 Blair Stone Road
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
wesolowski.jennifer@mail.dc.state.fl.us
Offenders About to Reenter Society (OARS)
Initiatives and Programs
- Focus of initiative/program:
-
- Children and Families
- Education
- Employment/Job Training
- Housing
- Mental Health
- Substance Abuse
- Inititative/program name:
- Offenders About to Reenter Society
- Lead agency/organization name:
- Florida Department of Corrections
- Funding sources for initiative/program:
- Federal Funding
- X
Funding
Partners in the reentry initiative/program
| Informal Agreement | Formal Agreement (e.g., a written contract or an MOU) with this partner. |
|
| Law enforcement agencies (e.g., police, sheriff's office): |
|
Participants
- Population served by initiative/program:
-
- Returning from prison
- Not under community corrections supervision
- Under community corrections supervision (parole or probation)
- Adults
- Men
- Women
- People convicted of a violent offense
- People convicted of a non-violent offense
- Sex offenders
- If your initiative/program serves people under community corrections supervision, how does your organization work in partnership or work in collaboration with participants’ probation or parole officers?
- Probation officers are part of the same entity (Department of Corrections). Officers will meet with program participants at the post-release site for orientation.
Data Collection
- Does your organization collect demographic data on participants?
- Yes
- Does your organization collect data about the process of your initiative/program?
- Yes
- Does your organization measure and/or track the outcome of participation?
- Yes
Activities
- What, if any, activities does your initiative/program include for people while they are incarcerated and how do these activities differ from those offered to the general population?
- Participating inmates recieve a variety of reentry services pre-release, including cognitive behavioral programming, job readiness, parenting, and victim awareness, as well as a risk and needs assessment (LSI-R). Case management and planning is also an important component of this project, which includes input from both pre-and post-release staff.
Many of these programs are available to the general population also, and the Department has initiated use of an internal risk and needs assessment this year. This program provides the opportunity for enhanced reentry services and is serving as a demonstration model. - What activities does your organization engage in post-release and how do these activities differ from those offered to the general population?
- Program participants are transported to the Jacksonville Reentry Center (JREC) post-release, which was created by the City of Jacksonville/Duval County Sheriff's Office to offer reentry services to inmates returning to the county. Criminal Registration is available on-site, as well as case management, job readiness and character development classes; housing, substance abuse, identification, and transportation assistance.
JREC also serves inmates returning from local and Federal institutions, however, this program provides the opportunity for enhanced reentry services for participating state inmates returning to the county. - How are people placed into your program?
- Participants must be releasing to the community within the timeframe of the project, and fit the profile of participating institutions.