Program Description

Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES)
Committee on Court-Involved Students, New York, New York

Overview

Overview

The Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES), based in New York City, developed a program to help youth leaving custody overcome barriers to school re-entry. The establishment of this program was prompted by the large numbers of youth returning to the City after having been released from juvenile placement, and recognition of the academic and bureaucratic obstacles that many of these youth face when attempting to re-enroll in school. CASES created the Committee on Court-Involved Students, comprising policymakers from the criminal and juvenile justice systems as well as the City Department of Education, to identify barriers to education for students leaving custody and to remove these barriers. The Committee’s work resulted in the establishment of two entities—the School Connection Center and the Community Prep High School.

The School Connection Center, funded by a Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant, is a high school admissions office whose staff of juvenile justice and education professionals collaborate to ensure that education re-entry goals are met for students discharged from correctional placements to residences in Manhattan. Its services include educational assessments, transfer of academic records, and expedited enrollment in community schools.

Community Prep High School is a transitional school that addresses the academic and social needs of students who are not ready to attend community schools upon release from custody. Among the services provided by Community Prep include:

• Dual curriculums to build students’ academic and social skills;
• Rolling admissions for students released by the justice system throughout the year;
• Student government and other leadership opportunities;
• Family involvement;
• Girls-only advisory and extracurricular activities;
• Individual counseling and case management services.

Preliminary data suggest that Community Prep students engaged in learning and participated in the school community, and demonstrated increased rates of school attendance.

References

Roy-Stevens, C. (2004). Overcoming Barriers to School Reentry. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

CASES Website www.cases.org

Program Contact

Joel Copperman, CEO/President
CASES, Inc.
346 Broadway
3rd Floor
New York, NY 10013
212-732-0076