Successfully reintegrate into the community prisoners upon their release from Colorado prisons through employment opportunities and re-establishment of family ties.

The Work and Family Center (WFC) provides a wide array of coordinated services to paroled and released offenders who have minor children. The project is jointly administered, funded and staffed by the Colorado Division of Child Support Enforcement (CSE), the Denver County CSE unit and the Division of Community Reintegration of the Colorado Department of Corrections. Other groups involved are the Colorado Judicial Department, the Rose Foundation Center, the Mayor's Office of Employment and Training, the AFL/CIO and Real Life Ministries. Services include assistance with employment, assistance with the individual's child support situation, and connecting the individual with his/her children when this is appropriate and the parent wishes to do so. Project seeks to:

Project staff perform the following activities:

When the project began in August 1999, there were 13,691 inmates in Colorado correctional facilities. The recidivism rate was increasing: the one-year recidivism rate had risen from 27percent to 35 percent between 1992 and 1997. With 6,262 inmates and parolees involved in the child support system in Colorado, there was an obvious overlap between the two systems. The average incarcerated or paroled support obligor in Colorado had a child support order for $178 per month and owed $11,738 in past due support.

As of June 2001, approximately 900 paroled obligors have received service. Most referrals made have been by parole officers or community corrections agents.

The 1^st evaluation of those served showed the majority of clients were young men of a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds who had at least a GED and had been employed full-time prior to incarceration. Two thirds were repeat offenders. Most often they had been incarcerated for a drug-related crime or a burglary or theft which did not involve a weapon. They had spent an average of 3.6 years in prison. On average, they had two children, typically with different mothers. A majority had regular contact with at least one of their children prior to incarceration. Half had never married.

Participants face many financial pressures and limited resources. More than half were employed on a full-time basis with average earnings of $9 per hour. Fewer than half of those employed full-time had health benefits. Most owed child support, with an average monthly obligation of $148 per child support case. The average amount these clients owed for past due support was $12,880 - with $7,038 of that being owed to the state (assigned) and $5,852 owed to the custodial parent. In addition, 57 percent of the members of the group had been ordered to pay restitution with an average restitution debt of $2,692. In addition, some had been ordered to pay for drug or alcohol treatment.

Over 77 percent of participants indicated a desire for help with child support. The child support technician was able to make substantial child support changes in 52 percent of Denver County cases and 25 percent of non-Denver cases. The next largest request for assistance was for help finding a job finding a better job (49 percent). The employment counselors referred 40 participants of the first 63 participants served to employers and 17 of those were placed in jobs - a placement rate of 43 percent. Participants were interested in such services as transportation, housing, work tools, clothing, getting to see their children, and food. Many of these services were more difficult to provide because 80 percent of participants were not eligible for welfare-to-work programs. Recent changes in welfare-to-work requirements have made these services more available and the results should be known after the 2-year evaluation period.

Staff are provided and paid directly by the collaborating agencies including the Division of Child Support Enforcement and the Colorado Department of Corrections. CSE pays for a full-time child support technician who works on the child support cases of parents participating in the project. In addition, the Rose Community Foundation helps to fund a case manager specializing in employment assistance. Real Life Ministries provides space for the project in a church building. All agencies contribute for telephone, computer and office operating expenses.

Consider management, reporting structure, supervision and administrative funding for a project based on collaboration. Although WFC staff is housed together, there is a varied management or reporting structure. Staff members have different supervisors and some are off-site. Similarly, telephone, computer, and office operating expenses are paid for by different agencies.

Consider alternative sources of services for the parents who are not welfare-to-work or TANF eligible.

Consider special issues in housing a project for ex-offenders as well as issues related to access to transportation to the program site. Communities and community agencies may not welcome an ex-offenders program.

Programs should expect to address unmet needs - particularly housing for paroled and released offenders. Shortages of low-income housing and exclusion of ex-offenders from shelters can make this problem acute. In addition, it is important to work on developing better paying jobs for these participants - with benefits and potential for wage growth.

Finally, child support programs must grapple with the issue of arrearage repayment policies. The amounts owed in past due support by released offenders exceeds what they realistically will be able to pay and if asked too much at once, may factor in as a reason for recidivism.