Transition Program
Transition Program

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The Transition Program is a partnership between Work One, New Leaf-New Life, and the Monroe County Correctional Facility that trains volunteers as “Transition Navigators” who will work with inmates during incarceration and after release and assist in their transition back into the community. This is a voluntary program that does not include counseling. Our goal is to provide information, referrals, and assistance with practical needs so that inmates will have fewer hurdles and be better prepared to make a successful transition into the community after their release.



To learn more about the program, click here.
To learn how you can volunteer, click here.
To download Inmate Intake Forms, click here.
To contact Tania Karnofsky, Director of the Transition Program, click here.



Transition Program Background:

The Monroe Corrections Center (MCC) has an average population of 250 inmates, 244 of whom reside in the housing areas of the Center (2003 data). Housing inmates up to 18 months, pre- or post- trial, MCC is a facility where transition is written into the stucture of the organization. For many of the inmates in the MCC, their present stay is not their first. As in the criminal justice system in general, recidivism is a problem here too. The MCC is a part of the greater Monroe County Community; as such the inmates face the same problems that plague the general population - both while they are incarcerated, and upon their release.

Among those problems are:

  • High housing costs
  • High unemployment (specifically for ex felons and people with disabilities.)
  • Low wages mostly from service positions.
  • Shortage of manufacturing industries (outside of Cook and Baxter) which hire people with criminal backgrounds
  • Abundance of students willing to perform part-time, low-salary, temporary/seasonal jobs.
  • Limited public transportation

In addition, the University, which is the largest employer in Bloomington, does not tend to hire people who have a criminal background. This eliminates an additional, major source of employment.



Transition

"A process or period in which something undergoes a change and passes from one state, stage, form, or activity to another"~Encarta Dictionary.


Transition is, as stated, a central factor in jail life. By definition, the jail is not a permanent residential placement. Keeping in mind the goals of the criminal justice system, effective transition is an extension of effective jail service resulting in lower recidivism.

To create a transition process demands creating a gradual continuum from life in jail to life in the community: from previous life outside the law to life inside the boundaries of the law, from external controls experienced in jail to internal controls, from external provision of needs to self sufficiency.



The Program

By providing access to transition counselors, trained in the following subjects successful transition could be achieved through:

  1. Service Navigation, connection to government and private agencies providing needs the inmate has while incarcerated and after release. These services could be: Social Security, Family and Children’s Service, Mental Health services, Bureau of Motor Vehicles etc.
  2. Job-links: including Job development, resume writing, skills assessment, interest evaluation, job market analysis, interview skills, etc.
  3. Financial pre-planning, including: income analysis, debt analysis, child support issues and pre-benefits counseling for Social Security Disability recipients.
  4. Housing issues, such as: connection to shelters, subsidized housing programs, private landlords
  5. Educational planning in conjunction with local institutions and local school systems, including monetary aspects of school
  6. Assistance with family issues, including spousal employment and programs geared toward family members of incarcerated individuals.


Program Partners

The program will be hosted and led by the Monroe County MCC in its facility. Partners in the program will be WorkOne, South Central Workforce Development Service Disabilities Program Navigator, and Area 10 agency on the Aging Joblinks Program, Shalom Community Center, and New Leaf - New Life.



Program Operation

According to the amount of volunteers accessible, in addition to paid staff from WorkOne service will be provided one on one in the MCC. A Trained transition counselor will receive inmates upon demand. The counselor will formulate a transition program incorporating the supports needed from the list.

After a plan of action is prepared, a copy of the proposed program is forwarded to the MCC commander or anyone appointed by him for approval. It is important that the transition process and intervention does not in any way collide with MCC policies or other security measures as regarding the inmates.

The transition process will then continue on a regular basis through meetings between the counselor and the inmate through paperwork, assessments, job-hunting, etc.

Upon release, the transition counselor will continue to meet the ex inmate proceeding with the transition process until the need subsides. The Transition counselor will cooperate with parole and probation agencies to ensure success in immersion in the community.



Logistical Concerns
  1. The counselor and inmate will need a place to meet with relative quiet even though it does not demand complete privacy.
  2. The Counselor will need timely entrance to the MCC
  3. The counselor will need opportunity to pass forms to be signed and other documents in a timely and effective way.
  4. The counselor will need a liaison among MCC staff to communicate concerns and needs.
Proposed Timeline
  1. November 2005- Formulation of Program and signing of MOU’s.
  2. December 2005 Volunteer recruitment and training.
  3. January 2006 Initiation of Program.


Transition Program Intake Forms

Download in PDF Format

Download in Word format



Bloomington's Most Wanted! ...VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP!

We are always accepting volunteers interested in training to serve as Transition Navigators for the Monroe County MCC/WorkOne Transition Program. This program aims to facilitate the transition of men and women from MCC to successful self-sufficiency in the community. By connecting inmates to supportive programs and addressing multiple issues such as substance abuse, housing, employment and health, the transition program aims to enable inmates to accomplish a self sufficient lifestyle within the boundaries of the law while simultaneously enjoying the basic human privileges of, "Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."



Volunteer Specifications

To volunteer you must be able to:

  1. commit 3 hours weekly to time within the MCC facility
  2. commit 2 hours weekly to answering the telephone and/or meeting with service providers and employers
  3. commit to full attendance and completion of the training. This is required for certification, which is a prerequisite for volunteering.

The training will cover employment support, practical social-work issues, and criminal justice issues. The training will be conducted jointly by the Monroe County MCC and Monroe County WorkOne, Disability Program Navigator Grant. Volunteers must be willing to undergo a criminal background check.


If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, or would like more information, please contact:

Tania Karnofsky, Director of Transition Program
New Leaf - New Life
Office - WorkOne
450 S Landmark Ave
Bloomington, IN 47402

phone: (812) 331-6000 ext. 223

Email: Tania@newleaf-cej.org