CORE Program – Center for Opportunity, Reentry and Education

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

California’s prison system is among the most overcrowded in the nation, and the costly burdens of this troubled rehabilitation system are being felt at every level of society for Californians. Further, nearly one million men, women, and juveniles – two million over the next three years – will be released from Federal, state, and local correctional facilities. Even in the face of the programs that the California corrections system offers, the State is still forced to deal with a notably high rate of recidivism among released offenders. Over two thirds of the individuals to be released are projected to be re-arrested for serious new felony offenses within three years. With the Orange County jail population and the costs associated with it each rising, the Orange County Probation Department chose to invest its time and resources into establishing a program that would not only keep people from returning to jail and prison, but would also educate and assist the participants in living a healthy and successful lifestyle. The primary goals of the program are twofold: (1) to provide an educational opportunity to adults who have yet to earn their High School Diploma or GED Certificate and (2) to provide targeted programming opportunities that include the nationally recognized best practice cognitive behavioral therapy Thinking for a Change (T4C) to adults who have struggled to put their lives back together after incarceration. The CORE Program operates as part of a continuum of reentry services the Orange County Probation Department has put into place in an effort to address recidivism. As of February 2011, 125 participants have taken part in the program, 35 of whom are currently enrolled. Of the 90 participants who have already been discharged from the program, 59 successfully completed the program’s requirements, indicating a promising success rate of completion of 65.6 percent.