Several times a week, a team of American Indian OIC career counselors head out of the office and into prisons and jails to engage in the challenging work of supporting youth and adults as they prepare to leave incarceration and integrate back into the community.
American Indian OIC is a statewide leader when it comes to this work – otherwise known as reentry programming. In 2019 and 2021, our agency was named a top performer in a US Department of Labor project to provide employment and training services to young adults with criminal justice contact, and today we continue to offer comprehensive reentry services to young people detained in state and local juvenile facilities. We also offer adult programming in several different prisons and jails around the state, working with men and women to gain job skills and be ready for employment prior to their release from incarceration.
The heart of our reentry work with both adults and youth is in relationship-building as well as case management, job training, skill development and career planning. Because services begin months prior to release, our career counselors serve as role models, educators and cheerleaders; forming relationships to help participants plan and prepare for their futures following release. The ultimate goals of reentry programming are to improve lives, strengthen families, and reduce recidivism.
For youth participants, this means a focus on education. Our juvenile program operates on the assertion that recidivism rates among BIPOC youth decrease when they are provided the support needed to graduate high school in their home communities. For adults, this means a focus on job training and credential attainment in order to earn a livable wage following release.
Post-release services take place in the community and at our campus in the heart of Minneapolis’ Phillips Neighborhood. Our programs provide intensive case management and reentry services. Barrier reduction, violence prevention therapy, cultural connection, and decision-making skills coaching are all important components of this work.
The need for these services is evident when we look at the statistics for rates of incarceration among Minnesota’s communities of color. The state’s American Indian and Black youth are 3 to 3.7 times more likely to be arrested, 1.5 times more likely to be adjudicated as delinquent, and half as likely to be placed on probation than white juveniles. American Indian youth also see the inside of courtrooms, based on number of cases alone, at rates three times that of their white counterparts.
When asked what success looks like, we turn to the accomplishments of our justice-involved individuals. Success is seeing a young person who has been incarcerated graduating from high school. It is seeing a justice-involved adult entering a career-track job. It is seeing our participants dream about their futures, and helping them reach those goals. It’s about increasing resilience and improving community safety.
