Author: Jerry Higgins
Second chances are important for both adults and juveniles who have been involved in the criminal justice system. One way the Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention helps to prepare juveniles to reenter their home communities is the Reentry to Resilience (R2R) model, created from a pilot project between the DJJDP, Communities in Schools NC, and RTI International.
During the North Carolina Reentry Conference this week in Greensboro, Christal Carmichael, director of Youth Development for Communities in Schools, and Debbie Dawes, the director of RTI International’s Court Systems Research Program in the Center for Courts and Corrections Research, presented on the program and the unique partnership between a state agency, private nonprofit and a research team.
The R2R model begins delivering services for juveniles and their families from the day a juvenile first enters a youth development center, with support continuing for up to 12 months after a juvenile exits the YDC. The program’s goals are the successful reintegration of youth into family and community systems of care, progress and advancement in education, and mastery of life skills such as critical problem-solving skills and self-control.
The program is funded through a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs. Currently youth returning to Wake, Durham, Guilford, Cumberland, Nash, Edgecombe, Wilson and Mecklenburg counties are eligible to participate in the pilot.
For more information about R2R, go to https://cisnc.org.