Truman School of Government and Public Affairs

The Community Reentry Funding Initiative seeks to reduce reoffense and violations among probationers and parolees under Missouri Department of Corrections supervision. The Initiative helps program participants by connecting them to vital local services across the state. Services provided through the Community Reentry Initiative include transportation, housing, basic essentials, employment, mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, academic, vocational education, and family assistance. The Initiative originally began with a pilot project in early 2009 and has been implemented in various forms since.  

The Missouri Department of Corrections has contracted with the Institute of Public Policy since the inception of the initiative. IPP serves as the funding manager and program evaluator of the Community Reentry Funding Initiative. IPP also provides technical assistance and guidance to funded programs that implement various reentry programs all across Missouri.

IPP conducts process and impact evaluations of the individually funded reentry programs as well as the Initiative as a whole on the target probation and parole population. The Missouri Department of Corrections uses this evaluation information to improve service delivery, communicate results to stakeholders, ensure the effective use of resources, and to better understand what services might help participants successfully reenter their communities after incarceration.

Impact:

The Initiative was designed to address the needs of individuals under the supervision of Missouri Probation and Parole by providing the tools and services ex-offenders need to successfully reintegrate back into society. The goal of the Initiative is to increase access to vital services and programs as identified by local agencies, service providers, and Missouri Reentry Process (MRP) teams across the state. Funding is allocated to regions based on the offender population in those regions. Research of the program consistently shows evidence that services help increase the likelihood of a participant successfully completing their probation or parole period.

Update:

IPP is currently in its fifteenth year of evaluation services for the Missouri Dept. of Corrections Community Reentry Initiative (FY23). The Community Reentry Initiative provides grant funding to awarded nonprofits across the state that help ex-offenders on probation or parole successfully reintegrate into society. A myriad of services is provided through this funding from housing assistance to substance abuse treatment. IPP works with awarded organizations in monitoring their program progress and collecting data to assess the impact of the initiative on the clients it serves.