Reentry Council Updates

This update will highlight information from the last two reentry council meetings on February 6th and March 6th of 2019. For the last Reentry Council meeting post from January click here.

First off, there were some helpful informational guides and flyer about local reentry resources. The first is for people interested in more information about participating in the new Young Adult Reentry Program getting started by the Regional Planning Commission: YARP Participant Handbook. The second is a local resource flyer for people needing services upon reentry to the community from the criminal justice system. The third is a Reentry and Resource Guide and Workbook from Rosecrance for people reentering. It provides step by step information for some critical starting issues, such as obtaining a valid ID (no easy task when the prison issue ID isn't accepted): 

There will also be a presentation of the Reentry Council's mid-annual report to the Champaign County Board this Tuesday at 6:30pm at their Committee of the Whole meeting. The text of that report is on the County website here (page of 7 of the packet and page 10 of the PDF file). I'll post a link of the video presentation when it's available. These presentations, like this one last year, help explain the data and charts involved in reentry collaboration, which can be heavy on jargon and abbreviations, even to those on the council. For the reader's sake, I'm highlighting probably the key bit from the conclusion:

It remains the view of the Reentry Council that more resources are needed in Champaign County to better support the successful transition of citizens returning here from incarceration. With recent leadership changes at the Champaign County Housing Authority, it appears that housing options, perhaps the most critical need faced, for the reentry population, will be increased.

As reentry case management is a vital component of success for all persons returning from incarceration, willing to engage in supportive services - particularly those with behavioral health needs, it is the hope of the Council that all supportive resources will become sustainable. On-going, reliable support for releasing individuals will offer the best opportunity to formerly-incarcerated people to establish productive lives that will serve the betterment of themselves, their families, and the Champaign County community

Although the data is more recent, this language is the same as the council report last summer and remains true (That July 2018 report is available here on page 14 of the agenda packet PDF (page 9 on the printed version). The difficulties and hurdles for people reentering are multi-layered and intertwined. It's complicated for those trying to help people navigate the system to meet their basic needs, let alone the people going through it themselves.

Both the February and March Reenty Council meetings touched on this upcoming presentation and further efforts to compile data in a useful way for all of the agencies and organizations involved. For example, flowcharts of how people leaving the criminal justice system from Jail or Illinois prisons (IDOC) and how do they get referred to the reentry services, how are they followed up on, etc: Local Reentry Flowchart (note: abbreviation help on last page).

February's meeting had some brief highlights of a couple local programs. Parkland and Salt & Light Ministries had a collaboration for adult basic education, including "Free GED, literacy, job-prep skill classes." More information here. An organization called GROW is offering help in a peer-support program that offers some alternatives and advantages to compliment the work of traditional mental health services. More information from the GROW website here and I'll have additional information in a future post as well.

March's meeting highlighted some upcoming presentations to the reentry council from organizations doing work related to reentry including the CUPHD's community outreach in April, TASC in May, and the Salvation Army in June on their transitional employment and training program (information, application, and upcoming dates at that link).

There were some other highlights as well. The Regional Planning Commission's new reentry program will also be giving a presentation to the County Board at the March 12th meeting. Heartland Bank is collaborating with the Housing Authority of Champaign County to offer classes on fixing credit and other financial help. Information is available from any local Heartland Bank branch or by calling 309-664-4524.

Both meetings dealt a bit with internal organization issues and housekeeping. Getting the voting members properly established for the bylaws. The issue of the Executive Committee having a member that can ensure a voice for the impacted community was debated on specifics and effectively tabled for now.

If you're interested in finding out more about reentry issues or criminal justice reform in the community, I'd encourage checking out the upcoming County Board Committee of the Whole either by attending the meeting, streaming it at home, or when it's posted on the County Clerk YouTube channel a few days later.