SRG Technical Bulletin
Strategic Reentry Group
Rev. 01 02/14
How to Start a
Reentry One-Stop Center
INTRODUCTION
One of the main goals of a local reentry coalition (as part of The Reentry Reformation, as taught in the
book Purposeful Neighboring: Creating Reentry-Ready Communities1) is to create a “reentry one-stop
center” in their community. This technical bulletin explains how to do so.
BACKGROUND
SRG taught the Prisoner Reentry Orientation for Oklahoma City class every week for 2.5 years. It was a
free, 1.5-hour class that taught those returning to OKC from jail or prison, or those who had felony convictions in their background and were struggling to find employment. We served about 400 ex-felons
through that class, plus many family members, reentry professionals, and others. Through it, we learned
and taught everything we could find about how to access free sources in the community, how to start your
life over from scratch, and how to find a good job in a very tough economy. Without knowing it, we were
doing pioneering work on the cutting edge of prisoner reentry solutions.
WHAT WE LEARNED
The main thing we learned is that the class was good, but not good enough. What people really needed
was a “one-stop center” where they could access all this good information, but also contact other social
and community services with ease. We call it “the Orientation class on steroids.”
As we researched the topic, we saw a number of “one-stop centers” emerging around the country, but
they are typically embedded in the local WorkForce (employment) office, and focused almost exclusively
on employment. But a true reentry one-stop center also has a host of “self-serve” resources (resource lists,
brochures, maps, videos, etc.), connection to the local faith community, and some light “case management” that some may need.
PHASE 1
In the first phase of the project, the goals are to acquire a location and operate as a “proof of concept” pilot project for some number of months, to demonstrate the value of the center:
•
We are assuming that no funding is available in Phase 1, so office space would need to be provided by a partner agency, such as a large church, a homeless center, etc.
•
The location would need to be on the bus line, preferably near the downtown probation or parole
office
•
Staff the office with two or three volunteers (in the first phase, you might need to limit office
hours to 10:00AM to 2:00 PM or something similar)
•
Track all client interactions in detail, so meaningful data can be accumulated
Offer the following services:
1
•
Prisoner Reentry Orientation class
•
Intake, Assessments & Referrals
o
Basic Needs (ID’s, etc.)
o
Housing Needs
o
Transportation Needs
o
Employment Needs
Available as a free eBook at www.StrategicReentryGroup.com.
Copyright  2014 by Strategic Reentry Group. All Rights Reserved.
www.StrategicReentryGroup.com
Page 1
A Technical Bulletin from SRG
How To Start a Reentry One-Stop Center
o
Behavioral Health Needs
•
Employment Skills Classes, Career Assessments, Job Fairs, etc. (unless these are already available in the community; if so, provide a high-quality referral)
•
Resource Center & Lending Library
•
“All Things Reentry” Bookstore
•
Recovery Support Specialist on-site (can be an ex-felon doing their RSS internship, under supervision) to assist with light case management
•
Printing Workstation (for help with resumes, etc.)
•
Immigration Law Referrals
•
Bus Passes
•
Bicycle “Vouchers” (as funding allows)
•
Referrals for Basic Needs
PHASE 2
If the first phase of the Reentry One-Stop Center project is considered successful, then additional community support, funding, and services should be pursued, including but not limited to:
•
Funding from local churches, charities, or denominations
•
Funding from private foundations and wealthy individuals
•
Life-coaching and mentoring services to individuals assessed as “high need”
•
Law Center (resources, volunteer attorney, etc.)
•
Self-Employment Opportunity Center (classes and resources on how to start your own business)
•
Probation and/or Parole Officer or representative on-site
•
Workforce representative on-site
•
Employment for the Disabled agency representative on-site
•
Pastoral counseling service on-site
THE KEY
The key is to keep these services FREE to the clients. The Reentry One-Stop Center is basically a hub for
referrals to the community. But over time, the more services that can be brought on-site, the better, as
most folks are on foot when they get out of prison – traveling all over the city to access needed services
can be a barrier to success.
CONCLUSION
This has been an overview of the attributes of the prisoner reentry one-stop center concept. If it served
three people a day, that would be about 600 per year. If half of those found the help they needed and did
not return to prison, that would be a savings to the community of 300 people X $35,000 per person, or
$10,000,000 per year. SRG believes there should be one in every major urban area in the U.S.
FOR MORE DETAILS, PLEASE CONTACT SRG
[email protected]
Copyright  2014 by Strategic Reentry Group. All Rights Reserved.
www.StrategicReentryGroup.com
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