DOC to Collaborate with
Racine County on
Prisoner Reentry Initiative
RACINE – Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) Secretary Rick
Raemisch and Racine County Executive Bill McReynolds today announced
that, as part of a state-county partnership to strengthen community
safety in Racine, a local community-based organization has been selected
to move ahead with plans to implement a prisoner reentry grant.
“By leveraging federal dollars and working with partners at the local
and county level, we are putting strategies in place to advance
community safety in Racine County,” Secretary Raemisch said. “Through
this grant, we will take our prisoner reentry efforts in Racine to the
next level.”
Under the Prisoner Reentry Initiative (PRI) grant, which was awarded by
the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Justice
Programs, the DOC will work with Racine County and other partners to
coordinate and implement pre-release and community transition services,
including comprehensive risk and needs assessments, individualized
transition plans, pre-and post-release services, employment training,
mentoring, and additional supervision to offenders being released from
DOC facilities or the Racine County Jail.
Racine County Executive McReynolds said: “Through our great partnership
with DOC, we will work together to implement this grant and further
improve reentry opportunities in Racine County. We look forward to
working with DOC, with the selected community-based organization, and
with other faith-based and community organizations, to give these
returning county residents an opportunity to become productive members
of our community.”
The collaboration is in line with the direction in corrections policy
set forth under Governor Jim Doyle’s Administration, which recognizes
that public safety is enhanced when returning offenders are not only
held accountable for their actions, but also have the opportunity to
become successful members of the community – resulting in fewer new
crimes, fewer new victims, fewer offenders returning to prison, and
fewer taxpayer resources expended on law enforcement, court time and
incarceration.
Terms of the grant require 30 percent of the funds to cover delivery
of services by a single Faith–Based or Community Organization (FBCO).
Through a competitive application process, Zimmerman Consulting, Inc. of
Racine was recently selected by the state to be the service provider for
this portion of the grant. A competitive application process will be
used to select one or more community or faith-based organizations to
provide services under the remaining 70 percent of the DOJ grant award.
The DOC has applied for more than $130,000 in additional funding through
the U.S. Department of Labor to supplement the $450,000 DOJ grant, for a
total of more than $580,000 over one year provided by both federal
agencies.
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