Frequently
Asked Questions
Questions From the Field
This page provides responses to questions from the field about the Serious
and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative. The questions are organized by the
following topics:
About the Initiative
Who are the federal partners?
Currently, the federal partners include the U.S. Departments of Justice, Education,
Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Labor. Numerous
offices, agencies, and bureaus will be participating within each of the organizations
noted. Other departments and agencies will also be asked to participate. As
it becomes available, information regarding new partners, both public and private,
will be posted on this Web site.
Must all of the components come online at the same time?
No. However, we do expect that they will be implemented in their entirety
within the first 12 to 18 months of the award period.
Is there a formal structure for stakeholder involvement in this initiative?
Is stakeholder involvement a positive attribute in program design?
Stakeholder involvement is a vital part of a comprehensive, effective reentry
initiative. There is no formal structure for stakeholder involvement in this
initiative, however; this is left to the discretion of the jurisdiction. The
expectation is that stakeholder participation will be extensive and sustainable.
Must the majority of the resources be from existing public and/or private
providers for the three phases?
Yes. It must be understood that this initiative assumes that returning juvenile
and adult offenders will qualify for and must have access to ongoing support
through these public and private resources if we are to make significant inroads
with regard to their stabilization and successful reintegration into the community.
How important is the involvement of community organizations, including
faith-based organizations, in the design?
Very important. Recognizing that many of the juvenile and adult offenders
will have limited personal support networks, alternative support networks through
community and faith-based organizations, particularly those in proximity to
where the offender will return, become critical. Where such resources are used,
there should be close collaboration in the design and execution of the overall
initiative with these entities to ensure that they understand their role and
are fulfilling their mission accordingly.
What are the legal barriers to involving faith-based organizations in our
initiative? What about the separation of church and state? What kind of flexibility
do reentry grantees have in identifying and collaborating with faith-based
organizations?
It is vitally important that faith-based and community organizations be an
integral part of the initiative. These local organizations are effective crime
fighters by emphasizing serving the needy and strengthening our neighborhoods.
Also, their strong base of volunteers will be crucial for the initiative’s
sustainability. Reentry grantees must identify and collaborate with community
organizations, including faith-based organizations; several models of successful
collaboration were presented at the Technical Assistance Conference in Washington,
D.C., on September 30, 2002. If you want more information on these models,
contact James A. Davids at 202–514–2987.
Regarding first amendment issues (separation of church and state), recent
U.S. Supreme Court decisions have focused on a neutrality framework that honors
evenhandedness and allows government to treat potential providers equally,
without regard to religion. This neutrality rule requires that government not
grant special favor to, nor discriminate against, faith-based organizations
(FBOs) that compete for funding or other assistance available under general
programs of aid. This principle of neutrality permits the religious, the irreligious,
and the areligious to be equally eligible for government aid (Mitchell v. Helms, 530
U.S. 793, 809 [2000]).
A summary and specific guidance for implementing the latest first amendment
rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as other rules of prudence, are
as follows:
1. In matters of program eligibility, the government shall not intentionally
discriminate against social service providers with regard to religion or because
a provider is thought to be primarily religious. No longer is the focus on
asking providers, "Who are you?" but on, "What can you do?" and "Can
you do it within the program rules?" Any departure from a rule of equal
treatment is necessary only to satisfy § 7, below.
2. An FBO need not suppress its self-identity to satisfy program eligibility
standards. Accordingly, the government shall not require an FBO to strip religious
references from its chartering documents, nor shall it be required to remove
art, icons, scripture, or other symbols, or to change its name, because the
documents, symbols, or name is religious.
3. The government shall not require an FBO to alter any religious criteria
it may have for membership on its governing board.
4. There is no general federal requirement that a social service provider,
including an FBO, incorporate or operate as a nonprofit, nor is there any general
federal requirement that a provider, including an FBO, obtain tax exempt status
under IRC 501(c)(3). However, state or local governments may impose one or
more of these requirements, and specific federal programs may require that
providers have tax exempt status. Check the particular program in question
for any departure from the general federal rule.
5. An FBO that is a church or other house of worship, as opposed to a nonprofit
corporate service provider, should segregate all direct federal funding into
a separate account or accounts. In turn, only such accounts will be subject
to audit by the government, thereby respecting church autonomy. When funds
are segregated in this manner, the church cannot use a calculated indirect
cost formula to recover indirect costs associated with a government-funded
program, but can be authorized in the grant agreement to utilize the department’s
default indirect cost rate. The entire accounts of other FBOs are subject to
audit when the funding is direct.
6. Funds and other direct assistance shall be used for the purposes set forth
in the applicable social service program. No funds paid directly to the FBO
can be used for instruction in religion or sacred literature, worship, prayer,
proselytizing, or other inherently religious practices. FBOs may offer such
practices, but not as part of the program receiving direct assistance. If an
FBO receiving direct assistance wants to conduct inherently religious practices,
the practices must be voluntary, and must be separated by location, time, or
both from the government-funded program. Sufficient regulatory controls must
be present to insure compliance by FBOs with the requirements of this paragraph.
7. No social service provider, including an FBO, may discriminate on the basis
of religion in admitting a beneficiary to the program.
8. The government shall give timely notice to beneficiaries of the various
protections of their interests as stated in §§ 6–7, above.
The Justice Department’s Task Force for Faith-Based & Community Initiatives
is available to consult with you on any questions or concerns you may have
in this area. The Task Force can be reached at 202–514–2987.
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Target Population
How many offenders should a program serve per year?
We will prescribe neither a specific number nor a percentage of the overall
population that must be served in either juvenile or adult facilities. However,
the number should be sufficient to inform replication decisions by the state
and by the local community as they move this prototype effort to a statewide
level. We anticipate that state and local systems will want to manage the size
of these offender populations carefully in relation to the resources they intend
to access to support the offenders’ participation in the program.
I’m concerned that the televised conference of February 28, 2002, did not
address the youthful offenders that are released from adult corrections into
the community—why? I’m concerned about this population falling through cracks.
Representatives from the federal partner agencies tried to address as many
topics as possible in a limited amount of time. We regret any failure to address
subject matter that is important to the field. We hope to address topics that
were not addressed in the solicitation, televised conference, or regional meetings
through this Web site.
Youthful offenders are certainly an important target population for this initiative,
especially those youth sentenced as adults. We encourage jurisdictions to look
at this population when developing reentry strategies.
Must adult or juvenile offenders have committed a specific crime to be
included in the reentry program?
There is no specific crime that, alone, will determine an offender’s eligibility.
The target population should be composed of those offenders who are considered
at high risk of recidivism, based on criminal history, current offense, antisocial
attitudes, and several other factors. The current offense alone is not enough
to determine eligibility.
Must offenders be required to participate in the program?
Offenders do not have to be court ordered to participate, nor does participation
in the program have to be a condition of parole.
Must juvenile offenders have served at least 1 year in prison to be eligible
to participate in the program?
Youthful offenders serving less than 1 year may be considered if they are
serious and violent and pose the risk of committing serious and violent crime
upon release, as determined by their background, criminal record, behavior
while incarcerated, and an appropriate assessment of their risk factors.
Must offenders be on parole or probation when they are released from a
correctional institute to be eligible for services through the Reentry Initiative?
Offenders must be under criminal justice supervision while in Phases 1 and
2. Phase 3 is designed to support offenders who have completed the earlier
phases.
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Housing
What guidance can the federal partners provide regarding housing assistance?
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has placed additional emphasis
on the treatment of substance abusing homeless individuals and has created
a new branch to deal with these issues. SAMHSA has also created new grant programs
dealing with homelessness. Grantees are referred to SAMHSA’s Web site, www.samhsa.gov,
and referred to the Grant Opportunities section for information on SAMHSA discretionary
grants and information updates.
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Employment
What are the benchmarks for success at one-stop centers with regard to
collaboration?
Many states and local areas have established criteria for certifying one-stop
centers but there are no federal benchmarks for successful collaboration. Some
of the U.S. Department of Labor’s early technical assistance guidance for chartering/certification
can be found at www.servicelocator.org.
What types of restrictions do workforce development boards have in working
with youthful offenders?
Workforce boards need to be mindful of any restrictions imposed by state law
and/or by probation and parole conditions. State law may ban ex-offenders from
holding certain jobs. This will affect the type of occupational training, job
search, and other activities and services available to offenders and ex-offenders.
Further, workforce boards need to follow any local restrictions that have been
imposed on an offender/ex-offender as a condition of probation and parole.
As they provide services, workforce boards and one-stop career centers also
need to make sure that ex-offenders have social security numbers and that male
offenders/ex-offenders between the ages of 18–26 have registered with the Selective
Service.
How do you engage youth counselors in workforce development projects?
The U.S. Department of Labor strongly encourages grantees to engage youth
counselors in the Reentry Initiative. This is a good example of how grantees
should take advantage of services provided by one-stop career centers in their
state. As part of their collaboration with the state workforce agency, grantees
should explore how to contact one-stop career centers to identify and access
services provided by youth counselors. State and local workforce agencies should
also be able to identify community and faith-based organizations that are potential
resources. The Department of Labor has identified points of contact in our
six regional offices. They can assist grantees in identifying appropriate individuals
in the state and local workforce developments agencies.
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Funding/Budget
Can grant funds be used to contract employment services through the Department
of Labor or local employment agencies?
It is okay for the reentry grantee to contract out for employment training
services through the Department of Labor and other local employment agencies.
Agencies must ensure that they follow their agency’s standard procedures for
contracting out and that they document the process.
Is it possible to use part of the money from the initiative for renovations
or rental space?
Funds awarded under this initiative may not be used for renovation/construction
purposes. However, the rental of program space may be included in your budget
as part of your agency’s indirect costs, using the indirect cost rate negotiated
with the federal government.
Are state or local matching funds required to secure the maximum amount
of discretionary dollars?
There are no matching fund requirements related to this initiative. However,
it is anticipated that grantees will identify sufficient state and local existing
resources to operate and sustain the program and only use the discretionary
grant funds for "one time" items or temporary funding needs.
Can the federal partners provide waivers, when necessary, for the use of
the block, formula, and discretionary money and services?
We anticipate that the federal partners will be able to respond to requests
regarding the use of their resources and even consider policy adjustments and/or
waivers when necessary.
Can funding under this initiative be used for research on treatment outcomes?
Yes. However, there will be a national process and impact evaluation involving
select sites. If your partnership decides to fund a separate evaluation with
the grant money you request, you must first ensure that there are sufficient
funds/resources for all of the operational components of the program. The evaluation
should be secondary to the activities that comprise each phase of the program.
In addition, a separate evaluation would ideally be compatible with the design
of the national evaluation. If all the preceding criteria are met, a grantee
may either conduct the research with in-agency resources or contract with an
independent evaluator.
Does the grant allow for hiring a project coordinator? If so, is there
a maximum percentage of the grant that can be used for personnel and administrative
costs?
Applicants may include administrative costs in their budgets; however, the
amount of funds used for this purpose should be modest and well justified.
This reentry collaboration has created a large block grant by pooling funding
streams. However, due to the restrictions on each set of funds, this has
in effect created "silo funding" that will be difficult for each
grantee to track. It will require that each grantee establish separate accounting
mechanisms to track the money from the three funding agencies. There are
two issues at work: (1) the eligibility restrictions hamper grantee efforts
to be creative and (2) the burden on the grantee has increased three-fold
due to the requirement of tracking each funding stream. Is this correct?
Each federal partner must comply with certain statutory requirements for each
appropriated dollar. This does not, however, mean that sites cannot be creative
and develop innovative connections between the players at the local and state
levels. We hope someday to have the ability to pool this money together and
reduce the restrictions on the use of these funds. Your grant manager can provide
assistance.
Can reentry grantees use grant funds to pay for technical assistance and
training? If so, what percentage of the funds can be set aside for this purpose?
Are there restrictions on the type of training and technical assistance grantees
can receive?
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has provided funds for technical
assistance and training. Therefore, the grant funds should be utilized for
provision of needed services. Grantees should work with their assigned OJP
grants manager and the technical assistance contractor to request training
and technical assistance.
Can grant funds be used to provide services (job training, substance abuse
treatment, housing assistance) to family members of youthful offenders?
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) funds should be used to pay for services that
are targeted to the offender/ex-offender. Although there may be circumstances
where family members benefit from services provided to the client (e.g., housing
assistance), DOL encourages grantees to explore other means of supporting family
members such as those available under the Workforce Investment Act or Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families.
However, SAMHSA substance abuse and mental health (SA/MH) funds may be used
for provision of treatment for family members of returning offenders as well
as the individual. The grantee should plan effective use of funds for individuals/family
members when developing SA/MH budgets.
Does the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) have weighted funding—that is,
money set aside for a specific population or a special initiative within
DOL programs. The one-stop centers seem to shy away from offenders because
they are hard to place.
The three Workforce Investment Act Title I formula programs (adult, youth,
and dislocated workers) do not have set-asides for specific populations. States
are required to negotiate levels of performance for 17 indicators with DOL.
These indicators cover such outcomes as placement in employment, retention
in employment, and earnings gain. One of the factors that states can use in
negotiating levels, or requesting renegotiation of those levels, is the characteristics
of the population to be served (e.g., the hard-to-serve nature of certain groups,
such as offenders).
Can DOL funds be used to hire staff that will not provide direct services
(e.g., job training, treatment services) to reentry offenders? For example,
a reentry program would require a coordinator to assist in the overall development
and shaping of our system. This coordinator may provide limited case management
of offenders, but most of his/her duties would include collaborating and
coordinating with multiple state and local organizations, establishing MOUs,
and identifying key services.
DOL funds may be used to hire staff such as coordinators that will not provide
direct services to reentry offenders. These expenditures should be reasonable
and integral to implementation of the grant. For example, under the Workforce
Investment Act, grantees may spend up to 10 percent of their funds for administrative
costs.
The appendix to the solicitation stated that "U.S. Department of Labor
Grant funds under Section 171 of WIA shall be used to address employment
and training needs." Specifically, can these funds be used to provide
services to any offenders up to age 35, or only offenders 14–21?
Applicants may use the funds to address the employment and training needs
of any offenders up to age 35. The only restriction on Department of Labor
funds is that funds cannot be used to pay for construction.
Can the Violent Offender Incarceration/Truth-in-Sentencing Incentive (VOI/TIS)
and Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT) funds be used for all three
phases?
The initial two phases of this initiative can use both the VOI/TIS and RSAT
funds for housing and substance abuse rehabilitation.
Are there funds available to assist with the reentry of sex offenders to
their communities?
Those who commit sex crimes are clearly serious and violent offenders. Individuals
convicted of such crimes could be considered part of the target population
under this grant program.
Will we be able to use funds provided by the Reentry Initiative for offenders
who have served less than 12 months in a correctional facility? If we can
provide services for those who have served less than 12 months, what flexibility
in amount of time an individual has been incarcerated do we have?
Yes; we recommend that offenders serve at least 6 months unless there is a
compelling reason to assume that services for some offenders with a lesser
stay would be effective.
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Other Funding Resources
How will the federal partners ensure that state-level leaders commit their
resources and intent to the Reentry Initiative? Will they help grantees ensure
collaboration at the state and local levels?
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will strongly encourage the participation
of the workforce development system in the Reentry Initiative. We are currently
exploring the best opportunities to highlight DOL’s support for this initiative
and to inform our state and local partners of their responsibilities for providing
employment and training services to offenders and ex-offenders as they reenter
their communities. DOL’s six regional offices are active partners in this effort
along with our national office. The regional office staff are our front line
in working with state and local workforce development agencies and will be
instrumental in mobilizing them to support the Reentry Initiative.
How do reentry sites access the resources and funds of the other participating
federal agencies that are not funding partners? For example, what types of
services or resources can the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Social
Security Administration provide? Will grant funds be available specifically
for reentry from these agencies in the future?
The federal partners have information on the Federal & National Resources Web page about specific grant programs at the various agencies that they thought
would relate to reentry plans. Different grant programs have different means
of access. Some are competitive awards directly from the federal agency. Some
are formula grants to the state, then by state plan or competition to the specific
grantee; some are formula grants from the states to an entity designated by
the governor. We provided the link to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
(CFDA), and the CFDA is a great starting point to look for sources, funding
program by funding program.
In many cases, the corrections programs would probably do better by trying
to link with public and private organizations that already receive reentry
funds—as opposed to competing directly for the funds. Corrections departments
need to track the money into their states, see who is getting it, and approach
those service providers to see how they can work together to be sure that the
reentry population is brought into the service system, perhaps through a referral
process, or perhaps with new program sites being co-located with correctional
functions.
All of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) funding that reaches institutional
populations must support transitional services—this is reentry under a different
name. Emphasis on transitional services is a strong and continuing trend within
the ED funding programs. We have seen it most recently in the old "Neglected
and Delinquent" program within Title I. Under the 2001 reauthorization,
the amount of a grant that can be spent for transitional services increased
to 30 percent, with a floor of 15 percent. We are not anticipating that a new
category of grant funds called "reentry" will come into existence
here. An effective reentry program will need to form alliances and use a wide
range of resources related to the needs of its ex-offender population.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides a variety of benefits
to veterans. The benefits include compensation and pension benefits and health
care benefits and services. The easiest way to obtain information on veterans
benefits and services is to access the VA home page (www.va.gov),
which contains links to information on compensation and pensions and health
care
benefits. Another valuable resource is the Federal Benefits for Veterans and
Dependents. This publication provides information about resources available
to veterans as well as the locations and telephone numbers of VA facilities.
The publication can be found online at www.va.gov/pubaff/fedben/Fedben.pdf.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is the federal government’s
principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential
human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.
DHHS is responsible for over 300 programs, and is the largest grant-making
agency in the federal government.
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), within DHHS, is responsible
for some 60 programs that promote the economic and social well being of families,
children, individuals, and communities. ACF administers the state-federal welfare
program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, which provides assistance
to an estimated 7.3 million persons, including 6.3 million children in September
1998. ACF administers a national child support enforcement system, collecting
some $15.5 billion in FY 1999 from noncustodial parents. ACF administers the
Head Start program, which serves more than 877,000 preschool children. ACF
provides funds to assist low-income families in paying for child care, and
supports state programs that provide for foster care and adoption assistance.
ACF also funds programs to prevent child abuse and domestic violence.
In FY 2002, the ACF Office of Community Services (OCS) provided grants to
intermediaries for the purposes of building the capacity of small faith-based
and community organizations through technical assistance. Funds provided through
this program will also be used for subawards to a diverse set of faith-based
and community organizations for start-up or operational costs related to the
replication or expansion of best and promising practices. Priorities for subawards
include the following: homelessness, hunger, at-risk children, transition from
welfare to work, and those in need of intensive rehabilitation, such as addicts
or prisoners.
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