After seven months of collaboration, a team of Clinton School students has completed a study about improving reentry from prison for ex-offenders in Central Arkansas.
The students will make their final presentation to the Central Arkansas Reentry Coalition on Tuesday, March 9 at 2:30 p.m. at the Dunbar Community Center.
The presentation will include a recap of coalition progress, results from community interviews and recommendations for how the coalition, a group of service providers, faith-based organizations and others working with ex-offenders, can continue to grow.
All who are interested in learning more about the Clinton School project, reentry from prison and the future of the coalition are encouraged to attend the presentation.
“We are very excited to share the insight we have gained through engaging new voices in the conversation about serving ex-offenders,” Clinton School student Ryan Ubuntu Olson said. “We hope that the coalition will be able to use our findings and recommendations to keep thinking outside the box and exploring creative avenues for transforming lives.”
Olson, along with fellow students Kimberly Caldwell and Ben Kaufman, began working with the coalition last fall through the Clinton School’s Practicum program, one of three for-credit public service projects in the Master of Public Service degree program.
The team began meeting with the coalition in September to help the group solidify its organization while simultaneously collecting information on services currently available to former offenders and reaching out to include new perspectives in the conversation.
The coalition first formed a year ago as interested service providers met to discuss how to improve the reentry experience for former offenders. That group began holding larger meetings during the summer of 2009, followed by the start of the Clinton School project in the fall.
Since the project began, the coalition has created mission and vision statements, generated a two-year strategic plan and engaged new members across a spectrum of service areas and interests.
Goodwill Industries of Arkansas acts as anchor for the coalition and has supported the Clinton School project this academic year.
“The coalition has really grown since we started meeting a year ago,” said Staci Croom-Raley, vice president for workforce services at Goodwill Industries of Arkansas. “Not only have we seen more service providers coming to the table to talk about reentry, but we have seen increased participation from community, government and faith-based leaders and organizations in working together to help this underserved population successfully reenter their communities and rebuild their lives.”