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POLICY/RESEARCH GROUPS- National

• The Urban Institute- Justice Policy Center (JPC). The Justice Policy Center (JPC) carries out nonpartisan research to inform the national dialogue on crime, justice, and community safety. JPC researchers collaborate with practitioners, public officials, and community groups to make the Center's research useful not only to decisionmakers and agencies in the justice system but also to the neighborhoods and communities harmed by crime and disorder.
• The Re-entry Policy Council (RPC) is a national project coordinated by the Council of State Governments Justice Center, a national nonprofit organization that serves policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels from all branches of government. They work to generate bi-partisan policies for law-makers and to facilitate coordination and information-sharing among organizations implementing reentry initiatives, researching trends, communicating about related issues, or funding projects. The Justice Center provides practical, nonpartisan advice and consensus-driven strategies – informed by available evidence – to increase public safety and strengthen communities.
• The Annie E. Casey Foundation has funded assessments and reports on prisoner re-entry as part of its 10-15 year commitment to improving the life chances of vulnerable children by strengthening their families and neighborhoods. They also have funded two initiatives to support formerly incarcerated parents.  
• The Prisoner Re-Entry Institute (PRI, John Jay College of Criminal Justice). PRI focuses its efforts on the following types of projects and activities:
  • Developing, Managing, and Evaluating Innovative Reentry Projects.
  • Providing Practitioners and Policymakers with Cutting Edge Tools and Expertise.
  • Promoting Education Opportunities for Currently and Formerly Incarcerated Individuals as a Vehicle for Successful Reentry and Reintegration.
  • Identifying “Pulse Points” and Creating Synergy Across Fields and Disciplines.

GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS- Federal

• Bureau of Justice Statistics (Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs). Provides national statistics on a wide rnge of criminal justice topics.
• Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (Reentry Initiatives).  Provides links to a variety of reports and articles on re-entry, per interest area, on their publications page. Also provides a list of training opportunities in re-entry for it's grantees.
• The National Institute of Corrections (Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons) provides training, technical assistance, information services, and policy/program development assistance to federal, state, and local corrections agencies. Excellent library of reports.

GOVERNMENT- State/Local

• Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is responsible for administering sentences. Included under its umbrella are the Correctional Institutions Division (CID, which administers public jail and prison operations), the Community Justice Assistance Division (CJAD, which oversees probation), the Rehabilitation and Reentry Division, and the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments (TCOOMI), and the Parole Division. See their current phone and address directory.
• Wyndham School District is an independent school district that provides some educational services within TDCJ units. Administers basic academic education classes, parenting classes, a cognitive intervention course, and a life skills course called CHANGES.

EMPLOYMENT

• The National H.I.R.E Network provides exceptional information for practitioners regarding employment resources for formerly incarcerated people. It includes a valuable list of Texas agency and organization resources and a list of resources for prospective employers. Contact information and service descriptions for Project Re-Integration of Offenders (RIO), the state criminal record repository, and other useful organizations.
• Project ReIntegration of Offenders, a project of the Texas Workforce Commission, provides intensive employment services including training and referrals to people who have been incarcerated through WorkSource centers across Texas. To find the centers (full service) nearest you, click here. Also see our re-entry Tools for Practitioners employment page for more information on employment guidance for formerly incarcerated people.

MEDIA OUTREACH

• The Reentry National Media Outreach Campaign is designed to support the work of community and faith-based organizations through offering media resources that will facilitate community discussion and decision making about solution-based reentry programs. Based on the belief that diverse media play an essential role in motivating and mobilizing community action, the campaign will expand public awareness and work in partnership with local organizations and initiatives to foster public safety and support healthy communities. A long-term effort, the Reentry National Media Outreach Campaign is unique in that it incorporates a number of public television documentaries over several years.

• Texas Inmate Family Association (TIFA) TIFA hosts chapter meetings in cities across Texas, which are information-sharing and peer-support meetings for family members of inmates. Meeting details are listed on website. Website provides resources for families of inmates. Also hosts the Storybook Project in select units, in which parents record themselves reading storybooks to their children and then send the books and tapes to the home.

• PrisonMail.org PrisonMail.org provides an easy way for family members and friends to drop a line through email to people who are incarcerated. An email group is created by a friend, emails are sent to PrisonMail.org, and the organization prints and sends the correspondence to the person who is incarcerated once a week (up to 8 pages of correspondence).

• Inside Books Project Inside Books Project sends books to inmates in units throughout Texas at no cost. Book requests are sent to the organization (requests are by genre and topic- and may be instructional, non-fiction, or fiction). Then the organization packages and sends the books to the units. Requests that include postage receive priority.

LOCAL RE-ENTRY PARTNERSHIPS

• Austin/Travis County Re-entry Roundtable facilitates community-wide partnership meetings so that stakeholders working in re-entry may collaborate on strategies to reintegrate people who have been incarcerated back into society using systems-level resources.

• Travis County Building Bridges: Brick by Brick facilitates partnership meetings with a focus on four areas. Brick 1: Law Enforcement and Community Relationships, Brick 2: Media Outreach to Bridge Law Enforcement and Community, Brick 3: Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Brick, Brick 4: Religious Leaders in Action. Email Mike Manor for more information.
• Houston Community Partnership Council (through the Restorative Justice Community) facilitates partnership meetings among non-profit organizations, criminal justice agencies, and faith-based organizations. They share information based on monthly topics and strategize to solve issues facing people who are re-entering society after incarceration and who are on probation.

• Conroe Community Partnership Council (through the Restorative Justice Community) facilitates partnership meetings among non-profit organizations, criminal justice agencies, and faith-based organizations. They share information based on monthly topics and strategize to solve issues facing people who are re-entering society after incarceration and who are on probation. Meetings are held every fourth Tuesday.

• Tarrant County Re-entry Initiative is a county-funded initiative that facilitates the collaboration of Tarrant County community groups, public officials, service providers, educational institutions, legislators, faith-based organizations and citizens to develop a planning strategy for the effective reintegration of ex-offenders.

FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS

• Restorative Justice Community of Texas  RJC Texas provides an excellent internet-based directory to finding organizations in Texas that serve people who are incarcerated and their families. It offers a list of current Texas conferences and meetings about criminal justice re-entry issues. RJC also provides a good model of community collaboration through its community-based meetings that bring together criminal justice entities service providers, and faith-based organizations. The organization offers assistance and guidance to other localities that are interested in developing their network of criminal justice service providers as they increase public safety and the successful return of incarcerated people into their communities.
• Restorative Justice Ministries Network RJMN announces relevent training opportunities and conferences, and provides an informative monthly newsletter that includes updates on corrections issues in Texas, and the U.S.. This newsletter also comprehensively lists ministries that are resources for people who are incarcerated and re-entering society.