RETURNING CITIZENS PROGRAM
Returning Citizens Program
The Returning Citizens Program is designed to be a one-Stop Solution for those released from incarceration wanting to be fully and successfully reintegrated into society. The RC Program provides services such as: Pre and Post release services.
Service Divisions
Pre-Release
We help you start transitioning prior to your release date from incarceration with a comprehensive plan that tackles employment, housing, your mental and physical health, family support, as well as help you gather community resources beneficial to your new style of living.
Services We Provide During This Process Include:
- Needs Assessment
- Transition Planning
- Case Management
- Family Engagement
Post Release
As the largest Core Mental Health Agency in the District of Columbia, MBIHS is in a unique position to provide a myriad of supportive services under one roof. Under this program and during the Post Release phase, you will have access to the following:
Mental & Behavioral Health Services
Substance Abuse Counseling
Physical Health Care:
- Physical Health education and engagement
- Physical Health coordination and referrals
Benefits Counseling:
We will help you obtain medical insurance, Identification Cards, Supplemental Security Income/Social Security Disability Insurance (SSI/SSDI), International Development Association (IDA), food stamps, and other types of benefits.
Education Counseling
- Education Support Placement
- Digital Training
Housing Opportunities
- Housing Counseling- Trained Staff will help you achieve your housing goals
- Housing Placement Support- Collaborative agencies and MBIHS housing wil. laid you in obtaining transitional and permanent housing.
- Housing Advocacy- Supportive staff will advocate for individuals for affordable housing placement and suitable living conditions.
Employment Services:
- Join our 30,60, or 90 day track towards getting employed
- Job Readiness, Job coaching, and Job Placement
- Supportive Employment Services
- Rehabilitation Services Administration
Intensive Work Readiness Training:
The participant will be in customized group settings to familiarize him or her with skills necessary to successfully seek and hold a job that works for him or her. Topics that will be covered include:
- The purpose & function of a Resume
- How to Prepare a Resume
- How to Retrieve and Complete an Employment Application
- Learning How to Pass Different Types of Interviews
- Practicing Different Interview Techniques & Skills
- Standard interview & Workplace Attire
- Workplace Ethics & Rules of Workplace Interaction
Individual Employment Plan (IEP)
Our Case managers will assist in developing written pre and post employment plans for the participant to gain a long-term point of view of their job and/or career goal.
By developing an IEP, the individual has just enabled the case manager and the job developer to review, discuss, analyze, andHELP him or her gain a more stable and fulfilling career-filled and financially stable lifestyle.
Job Search, Job Placement and Post Placement Assistance
The program will provide job placement assistance. Working with an assigned job developer, each participant is guided through the job-search process, learning how to effectively market him or herself, until he or she has secured gainful employment.
Family Engagement
Community Support Workers will work with the families to assist in making the transition. MBI staff use Family Group Conferencing (FGC) when working with families. Young people need the sense of community, identity and stability that only the family, in its various forms, can provide. Families are more likely than professionals to find solutions, which actively involve other family members, thus keeping the child within the care of the family, rather than transferring care of the child to the state. The key features of the FGC model are preparation, information giving, and private family time, agreeing on the plan, and monitoring and review.
The goals of this program include the following:
- To reduce the number of enrollees from returning to a jail/prison within the first 12 months of the program.
- At least 25% of the enrollee will receive their GED or equivalent within the first year in the program.
- 75% of those enrolled will be engaged in job training and placed in at least a mentoring position or full time employment within the first year of the program.
- At least 5% of those enrolled will be youth with special attention dedicated to sharing strategies on meeting the distinct needs of youth returning to schools and families from detention to interrupt the costly cycle of crime and incarceration.
Contact Us
Branch: Headquarters
4130 Hunt Place, NE
Washington, DC 20019
202-388-4300
202-388-4332
Branch: Intake
4017 Minnesota Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20019
202-388-9202
202-388-9209
Branch: PABC
3000 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20020
202-581-0490
202-581-0496
Branch: MLK Jr. Ave.
2041 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20020
202-547-8450
202-610-7147
Branch: Taylor Street
1221 Taylor Street NW
Washington D.C. 20011
202-464-9200
202-291-2160