Criminal Justice

The Fedcap Group believes in second chances.

Today, there are nearly 2.3 million people incarcerated in America’s prisons and jails. Each year 25% will return to their community—and within three years 67% will be rearrested. When individuals leave prison, they face a daunting challenge of successful re-entry. They often have a limited job history and poor social networks. They struggle with housing and family relationships. Employment is a fundamental component to improving the rate of successful reentry and reducing recidivism, yet involvement in the criminal justice system can be a significant barrier to employment.

The Fedcap Group has designed a criminal justice platform that is demonstrating improved outcomes and reduction in recidivism.

Our platform involves five inter-related interventions:

By re-engineering the critical path, leveraging precise resources available and creating a sense of urgency for this population, we are changing outcomes. The efforts of The Fedcap Group are not intended to duplicate existing services but rather to strengthen the entire system by engaging and realigning service capacity and response, ensuring a fully coordinated and more efficient and effective approach.

1. Advocacy for Release/Bail Reform

It is estimated that approximately 731,000 people are held in local jails across the country of which 465,000 have yet to be convicted of a crime. In line with the growing and necessary Decarceration movement, The Fedcap Group has developed critical relationships and specific strategies to encourage the release of individuals whose bail has been set in amounts they cannot afford. Through creative partnerships with local defender offices, prosecutors and court staff, The Fedcap Group is marrying legal advocacy, education and service provision to transform the existing culture in our criminal courts with the intended outcome of permanently decreasing the number of people detained in local jails. The Fedcap Group Team synchronizes services to serve as an alternative to unaffordable bail and, thus, inevitable pre-trial detention. Our service teams push into the legal fora to assist with advocacy and ensure that individual clients do not face the impossibility of conflicting legal mandates upon reentry.

This valuable work demonstrates that all stand to benefit when those presumed to be innocent can participate in the court process while addressing the needs and barriers that are likely the root cause of their criminal justice contacts.

2. Behind the Walls Assessment, Skill Building and Re-Entry Planning

Good re-entry planning starts well before an individual leaves prison. It begins with a comprehensive needs assessment resulting in individualized in-prison interventions targeted to ensure successful transition, and activities and services needed for successful reentry into society. The comprehensive Assessment includes:

The assessment process informs the development of a Reentry Service Plan that details clinical and social services to be provided while the individual is in prison and upon release.

The in-prison services offered by The Fedcap Group include classroom instruction on critical topics such as developing healthy techniques to manage stress related trauma, developing prosocial networks of support, educational services (such as GED preparation), repairing family relationships, parenting classes, as well as a host of work readiness classes focused in developing the “soft” skills required to be effective in the workplace. Part of this effort is focused on transforming the attitudes and behaviors that led to criminal activity by strengthening our client’s attachment to adult learning, work and community. When allowed, we also offer vocational training in high growth sectors including Culinary Arts, Total Facilities Management, Office Administration, etc.

3. Circle of Support and Care Coordination Upon Re-entry

By reengineering the siloed path and including a robust care coordination function, The Fedcap Group has braided together critical re-entry supports including housing, employment and healthcare. Each individual in the program is assigned a Care Coordinator tasked to work with the individual for as long as he/she is participating. The Fedcap Group has also designed a Benefits Calculator to ensure that maximum benefits, including food assistance, health care and housing are secured by the participants.

4. Business Cultivation

There are business leaders who see the value of engaging the prison population as a potential talent pool. They understand that in a time of low unemployment, employees that really appreciate the job can be an asset to a company. The Fedcap Group has cultivated partnerships with over 9000 businesses nationwide. By consistently delivering on our promise of trained and work-ready candidates, we have developed a partnership based on trust. When a candidate is trained by The Fedcap Group, they are prepared to succeed. This has resulted in an increasing willingness by business to hire people with criminal justice backgrounds. And if issues on the job arise, The Fedcap Group is there to help resolve issues and support both the business and the employee. This adds to the quality of our partnership.

5. Sector-Based Training and Employment

Sector Based Training is an innovative approach to meeting business needs ensuring a pipeline of job-ready workers. The Fedcap Group has found that industries with the highest projected rates of job growth are well suited to sector-based workforce training and development. Working closely with employers, we work to understand their staffing needs and develop and implement training that addresses specific job requirements. This results in a candidate who is ready for work on day one. According to the National Skills Coalition, sector strategies statistically demonstrate improved employment opportunities and wages for individuals and increased competitiveness of business.

EMPLOYMENT ANCHORS AN INDIVIDUAL; IT PROVIDES A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT, STRUCTURE AND THE REAL OPPORTUNITY FOR LONG-TERM ECONOMIC SECURITY.