The Keller Group Neighborhood Foundation requested technical assistance to develop a strategic plan to address service gaps for the returning citizens. BJA determined the Keller Group to be ineligible for assistance through BJA NTTAC.
The Keller Group Neighborhood Foundation (KGNF) located in New Orleans,
Louisiana (Orleans Parish) requests technical support and assistance from the
Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Training and Technical Assistance
Center (NTTAC) in the development of our strategic plan to address service gaps
for the returning citizens.
We have been in discussion with Ms. Deanna Hoskins regarding our plans and
request her assistance in strategic planning sessions on November 14 -15, 2016.
Our goal is to:
1. Create an easily replicated template for our member organizations to establish
Peer-to-Peer services for NOLA citizens impacted by re-entry.
2. Provide and implement a platform for coordinated services, using a one-stopshop
approach, that supports seamless access to case management across the various
organizations currently providing re-entry services in NOLA.
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In addition to experiencing significant service duplication among area service providers, New Orleans suffers from an equally significant lack of coordinated peer-to- peer services.
The KGNF seeks technical assistance from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (Deanna Hoskins) in developing strategic plans to:
Create an easily replicated template for our member organizations to establish Peer-to-Peer services for NOLA citizens impacted by reentry.
Provide and implement a platform for coordinated services, using a one-stop-shop approach, that supports seamless access to case management across the various organizations currently providing re-entry services in NOLA.
While we have no knowledge of any official study, there is mounting evidence that suggests Peer-to-Peer services are much more effective in successfully reintegrating returning citizens back into their communities than what is currently available in NOLA.
By granting our request, the BJA will be helping KNJA significantly:
- Reduce recidivism
- Impact the lives of individuals currently at risk for committing crimes
- Expand existing and create new diversion programming
From a lack of financial resources to family estrangement, the challenges facing newly released returning citizens are well documented. The main challenge for these citizens is access to services. Many of the individuals associated with KGNF report that simply trying to get from office to office…for them…many times is virtually impossible. Many times they simply don’t have bus fare. Just as Challenging for these individuals, is the frustration and sense of hopelessness that develops from being sent from one office to the next without ever getting assistance in developing a life plan.
By assisting KNGF in creating a platform that supports our member organizations in coordinating a comprehensive array of services, the BJA will help our member organizations be better able to:
1. Monitor and improve case management
2. Reduce duplication of services
3. More quickly identify the need for specific interventions, thereby reducing recidivism
KGNF, operates from the prospective that: With regard to our criminal justice system our society must make rehabilitation a priority at least equal to that of punishment.
Early on KGNF founders, recognized that the greatest barrier to impacting incarceration rates is not:
- a lack of organizations addressing the issue. or
- the lack of skilled people dedicated to the issue. or
- a lack of community support for the issue
The greatest barrier to lowering incarceration rates facing many New Orleans communities is the lack of financial resources expressly directed to neighborhood organizations entrenched in the work.
So it was decided that the Keller Group Neighborhood Foundation would become an association of organizations. Its primary purpose is to support the missions of its member agencies. That support includes but is not limited to:
- Developing financial resources for our members
- Developing technical assistance programs for members
- Facilitating collaborations among our membership
Another challenge identified by KGNF founders is that most individuals and institutions involved with criminal justice issues see its many layers as separate issues.
While, Keller initially began by focusing on the reentry population. we quickly realized that the issues surrounding incarceration cannot be separated, nor can they be separated from the other issues many communities face. All of these issues are intertwined. So, Keller began crafting a comprehensive approach to addressing the issue.
In other words, we recognized that in order to fulfill our mission we would have to redefine the definition of reentry. For Keller, reentry is not just about returning citizens…. It is about all the individuals that are impacted by reentry. In effect…. Everybody.
Eventually KGNF adopted a philosophy analogous to medical treatment.
Prevention first
Our objective here is to develop programing among our members that works to keep individuals out of the justice system in the first place.
Treatment
If our prevention efforts fail an individual, then our organization’s members would create programs that keep incarcerated individuals connected to their communities while they are incarcerated.
Aftercare
Under our plan, aftercare consists of working with individuals impacted by incarceration once release has occurred.
Using this philosophy, we are able to work from a platform that supports the involvement of the entire community. Neighborhood organizations that traditionally have not collaborated, are now seeing benefits to those collaborations. Our members are actively working to join forces and combine resources to accommodate the entire community need.
At the end of the day, Keller finds itself advocating on many fronts that have not traditionally been “reentry issues”. For example; the development of community housing, pre-k – 12 education issues, community health care, economic development issues… because when it is all said and done… reentry affects everyone.
Please submit a signed letter of support from your agency’s executive or other senior staff member. The letter can be emailed to or uploaded with this request. The letter should be submitted on official letterhead and include the following information:
- General information regarding the request for TTA services, i.e., the who, what, where, when, and why.
- The organizational and/or community needs specific to the request for TTA services.
- The benefits or anticipated outcomes from the receipt of TTA services.
By submitting this application to BJA NTTAC, I understand that upon approval of this application for TTA, the requestor agrees to keep BJA NTTAC informed of any circumstances that may impact the delivery of the TTA, including changes in the date of the event, event cancellation, or difficulties communicating with the assigned TTA provider.
Please call [site:phone] if you need further assistance completing this application.