The Going Home: Serious and Violent Offender Initiative

The Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative Discretionary Grant Program was developed through a federal partnership by the Departments of Justice, Labor, Health and Human Service, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Veterans Affairs and Agriculture. The federal partners' goal is to help state and local agencies navigate the complex field of existing state formula and block grants and to assist them in accessing, redeploying and leveraging those resources to support the components of a comprehensive reentry program. In addition to the new funding, the federal partners are identifying funds from their respective agencies that are already available to state and local agencies to provide the necessary services to implement a reentry program.

The Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative Grant Program is designed to provide funding to state and local units of government to develop and implement institutional and community corrections-based offender reentry programs through collaborative partnerships with government, social service, faith-based, and community organizations, in order to reduce recidivism, increase public safety, and successfully reintegrate serious and violent offenders back into the community. Reentry programs must be sustained for a 36-month period and are required to partner with a state adult or juvenile correctional agency.

The Utah Division of Youth Corrections proposes to utilize its FY 2002 funds to redesign Utah's reentry service delivery system by strengthening the existing reentry programs in northern and central Utah and establishing the Utah County Aftercare Program (UCAP) to meet the reentry needs of offenders from southern and rural Utah. UCAP will initially be a day treatment program that will evolve into a 24-hour residential program by year two.

The program's objectives are: 1) Establish the UCAP day treatment program in year one to serve 25 parolees annually; 2) implement the UCAP residential program in year two to serve 35 parolees annually; and 3) utilize local, state, and federal funds to fill identified service gaps at Paramount and ICAP to better serve 115 parolees annually.

The program's over-arching goal is to return juvenile offenders back to the community as productive, competent and healthy citizens via: 1) redesigning Utah's reentry service delivery system to provide for wrap around reentry and community integration services to young offenders having high risks of re-offense; 2) developing reentry plans for all young offenders; 3) ensuring public safety by closely monitoring offenders, ensuring accountability and/or appropriate graduated sanctions for non-compliance or criminal behavior; 4) increasing numbers of parolees who obtain and hold jobs; 5) increasing numbers of parolees who successfully reintegrate with their home communities; 6) involving young offenders in community service projects, and 7) enhancing partnerships among government agencies and community organizations.

The target population for Utah's redesigned reentry program is all juvenile parolees ages 14 to 21 under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court and in the custody of the Division of Youth Corrections. Up to 12 months of follow-up will be provided once parole is completed.

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