TITLE
Title
BUDGET AMENDMENT TO SUPPORT NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY INTERMEDIARY AGENCY RE-ENTRY COUNCIL FUNDING ($25,000)
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SPONSOR
Sponsor
Sheriff Danny Rogers (Capt. Wes Mecham)
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BACKGROUND
Background
According to the Department of Adult Corrections, more than 15,000 individuals return to their home communities after being released from North Carolina state prisons each year. In fact, about 95 percent of people in prison will eventually return to their home communities. There are also individuals, who are released, after completing a period of incarceration in a local jail. The critical issue, for those returning to their community after a period of incarceration, is the difficult transition from prison to home.
The Guilford County Sheriff's Office is the coordinating entity for the Guilford County Local Re-entry Council (LRC). Local re-entry councils are developed to coordinate resources in the local community for returning citizens, who are re-entering their community, after a period of incarceration. In an effort to provide assistance for them and their families, the LRC facilitates a better transition from incarceration back into Guilford County. The Guilford County LRC is a collaborative network of community partners, faith-based organizations, and individuals, who work together to assure a smoother transition for Guilford County and those, who are returning. They do so by being advocates for support, and they connect the justice-served and justice-involved individuals with essential services such as housing, food assistance, clothing, Mental Health services, substance use treatment, and job training and employment.
The Guilford County Sheriff's was awarded the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections (NCDAC) Re-entry Grant in March 2021. This grant allocated $150,000 annually to be used for providing these services through the Guilford County LRC. The Sheriff's Office has utilized these funds for the past several years. A contract was signed in March 2023 for the final one year renewal of this grant. This renewal time period was from March 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024. NCDAC has issued several extensions for the award as they review RFPs for new awards. The most recent extension expired January 31, 2025 and NCDAC has requested to extend the contract again through February 28, 2025.
Eligibility for Re-entry Services:
Individuals who have been incarcerated for any length of time and are transitioning back into the community are eligible to participate in reentry services. However, there is a mandated priority given to those placed on probation or granted early parole. In the past several years, hundreds of Guilford County citizens have been assisted by the many programs offered through the re-entry program.
A list of these services are shown below:
Services:
Conduct needs assessments
Case planning and management (ie, child care, public transportation, work related uniforms, vocational training, educational training)
Referrals for substance use and mental health services
Other Key Services:
Re-entry simulation
Clothing closet
Food pantry
Bus vouchers
The Sheriff's Office was recently notified of additional funding being allocated. The additional funding is authorized to us by the NCDAC because they extended their own deadline for reviewing the RFP submitted for the next round of funding for the Reentry program from 1/31/25 to 3/6/25.
Subsequently, realizing that we had exhausted the current grant's funding, and knowing that they were the ones extending the current grant, they allocated an additional $25,000 so that the Reentry program could continue to provide housing, toiletries, education assistance, transportation, and employment referrals for the citizens reentering the community.
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BUDGET IMPACT
Budget Impact
Grant Projects Fund
FY24 NC DPS Re-Entry Council Grant (amend)
$25,000 increase in appropriation to Grant Project
$25,000 increase in Federal/State Funds
NO ADDITIONAL COUNTY FUNDS REQUIRED
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REQUESTED ACTION
Requested Action
Amend the grant project ordinance for FY24 NC DPS Re-Entry Council Grant to increase the appropriation by $25,000 and increase federal/state funds by $25,000.
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