Offender Reentry Services
24 Wolcott Hill Road
Wethersfield, CT 06109
Phone: (860) 692-7494
Fax: (860) 692-7586
Directions.
Director: William Murphy
The Offender Reentry Unit is under the auspices of The Program and Treatment Division. The goal of the unit is to provide assistance to offenders who are incarcerated to assist with their successful reentry into the community. Every facility in the state has either a part time or full time Reentry Counselor. These Counselors assist the offenders with identification to include social security cards, birth certificates, and renewal of their DMV license and non-drivers license. ( State ID)
Although reentry starts upon admission, the intense work for reentry with offenders takes place one year to six months before release. For offenders with medical and mental health challenges, reentry staff works closely with the agency's medical staff to insure offenders are afforded opportunities for health care referrals, medication for release and appointments with providers in the community.
Reentry staff hold discharge meetings with groups of offenders before they leave prison to determine their need for housing, referrals to food banks, community agencies, and other necessary appointments for successful reentry.
The Reentry Unit also has six Job Centers located at York CI, Osborn, Carl Robinson, MYI and Willard-Cybulski. Job Center Counselors provide assistance with resume writing, job interviewing skills and job search before offenders leave incarceration.
The unit also provides the Workbook Reentry Program which is a "booster" program meant to refresh the offender of the positive points he or she learned from facility program. The unit works closely with DCF and DSS to assist offenders who have child support and runs and monitors several Veterans's related program for incarcerated Veterans.
Safer Communities through Offender Reentry
The Connecticut Department of Correction (DOC) is committed to supporting the successful reentry of offenders as they return to their home communities after incarceration.
Reentry is a process that begins when an offender first enters the correctional system, and guided by the Offender Management Plan, continues through supervision in the community under the Parole and Community Services Division, until a sentence is completed.
Upon incarceration an offender is provided an Objective Classification assessment, which assigns a risk level that will determine which facility he or she is assigned to and also identifies deficiencies and needs.
An Offender Accountability Plan is then completed; identifying treatment programs the offender should take advantage of to address his or her needs. These can include education, substance abuse treatment, domestic violence counseling parenting and others.
Compliance with the plan is taken into account in the granting of Risk Reduction Earned Credits and should the offender be eligible for community release under the discretion of the Board of Pardons and Paroles or under the DOC's community supervision provisions.
As an offender nears release, transition counselors offer assistance to address the needs of housing, employment, continuing treatment and identification as well as connecting the offender with services in the community.
Research on state recidivism rates has shown that by placing appropriate offenders in community programs, under supervision near the end of their sentence reduces the potential for revocation and return to incarceration.
By supporting this return to law abiding behavior, recidivism is reduced, correctional population and its costs are managed and most importantly, public safety is enhanced as reflected in the state's crime rate.
2011 State of Connecticut Re-Entry and Risk Assessment Strategy Plan