Transition from Jail to Community Initiative

About the Program

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

Year: 2015

The Hennepin County Corrections, in partnership with Hennepin Human Services and Public Health the Sheriff’s Department, and the United Way has adapted many of the NIC and Urban Institute evidence based practices known as Transition from Jail to Community (TJC). Hennepin TJC partners have done this by embedding the following values in all partner agency operations: • Increasing public safety while improving lives • Shared responsibility across systems for people we serve • Collaborating more efficiently and effectively Key accomplishments of this initiative in the last two years include: • Identifying shared clients; • Using validated risk instruments to identify offenders who are likely to recidivate and their needs; • Improving efficiencies with existing technology; • Developing agreement on processes for seamless reentry; • Implementing collaborative case planning; • Utilizing federal, state and community resources that support reentry efforts; and • Focusing on process improvement and outcomes. In 2014, 444 medium and high risk sentenced offenders were referred to the TJC program. These offenders accounted for 2,297 program enrollments, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Chemical Dependency, Education, Employment, Housing, and Social Services. The Hennepin TJC initiative is successfully targeting medium and high risk offenders with finite government and community resources in order to improve public safety and client outcomes.