Street to Work: Changing the Odds for Young Offenders and Their Families
In California, like many other places in the country, more than half of those released from prison will re-offend within two to three years, creating a recurring financial burden and threat to public safety. To stop that cycle before it starts, the Street to Work program offered an alternative for first-time, non-violent offenders arrested for selling small quantities of drugs. Program participants pled guilty, but action on the plea was deferred while they were enrolled. During their enrollment, they received extensive support in pursuing a Personal Responsibility Plan that could include employment, education, counseling, and community service. Preference was given to parents of young children, and the program helped participants meet their child support obligations, improve their parenting skills, and increase their involvement with their children. If the offender successfully completed the program and stayed out of trouble for a year, the case against him or her was dismissed and a felony conviction was avoided.
Street to Work was a program of the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, but a wide range of public and nonprofit agencies, as well as private sector partners, contributed to a rich array of supports and services. For the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this began as a "bet" on a former Casey Fellow and the progressive District Attorney for whom he worked. As the program took shape, the value of this "bet" was reinforced by ideas such as helping offenders reconnect with their children, using collaboration to increase service availability, and reinvesting savings from reduced incarceration into early intervention. The Foundation provided limited -- but in the eyes of program developers essential -- support in the form of small grants and subsidized consultants.
- The Street to Work pilot involved forty-four participants, and a subsequent pilot for the successor program, Back on Track, involved about the same number. Now as an established program, Back on Track annually serves over 100 people.
- Consistently across the pilots and present operations, fewer than 10% of participants have re-offended, compared to a recidivism rate of more than 50% among those incarcerated for the same offenses. Participants are pursuing education, finding employment and strengthening relationships with their children.
- A new District Attorney drew on the pilot Street to Work program to create Back on Track, enriching the model with additional services and expanding capacity. Back on Track is a key part of a multi-faceted re-entry initiative providing alternative pathways for selected groups of offenders. Because of the program's success, all California counties now are authorized to create deferred entry of judgment programs modeled on Back on Track, and several other cities around the country are implementing or considering adoption of a version of the program. The U.S. Department of Justice and the National District Attorneys Association have recognized Back on Track as a model for what law enforcement throughout the nation should be doing about re-entry.
- Back on Track costs $5,000 per participant, compared to a cost of $35,000 to house an inmate in county jail for a year. The savings realized through early intervention are being tapped to support the program on an ongoing basis, covering $350,000 of the $500,000 annual Back on Track budget. The balance is contributed by foundations and partner organizations, including a substantial contribution from the primary services partner, Goodwill Industries. This is a noteworthy return on a total estimated Annie E. Casey Foundation investment of less than $200,000 in direct grants and consultant subsidies.
For more information, see the full Street to Work Program Profile, which includes background on the program, why this was of interest to the Casey Foundation, and our return on investment. Also, Mitchell Salazar, former Director of Community-based Programs at Street to Work, and Corey Dixson, participant, Street to Work/Back on Track, talk about the program In Their Own Words.
Contact:
Back on Track
www.sfdistrictattorney.org
ReEntry Programs