The inaugural year of Reentry Roundtable’s Reentry Services Community of Practice has been successful in engaging and building relationships between service providers working in the jail and prison reentry space. Representatives from seven local reentry service provider organizations convened for three in-person workshops to learn and support each other in navigating the ever-changing landscape of reentry services.
Community of Practice members meet at Black Men's Health Clinic on August 23, 2024.
According to its members, the 2024 Community of Practice has had the following impact:
- Building Promise USA has formed a collaborative relationship with Travis County Correctional Complex
- Building Promise USA and On Point Reentry Consortium have developed a stronger collaborative relationship, resulting in “warm handoff” referrals from On Point Reentry Consortium to Building Promise USA
- Austin Community College has connected Building Promise USA with Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s new “Innovation Prison” initiative
- Austin Community College and RARE Academy co-hosted a Reentry Simulation at Texas Workforce Commission’s Growth through Reentry to Advance Careers & Employment (GRACE) Conference
And more generally, Community of Practice members were able to:
- Build stronger relationships and trust between reentry service providers
- Learn about each organization in the Community of Practices more intimately and gain familiarity with their services
- Participate in intimate in-person conversations and utilize the Community of Practice workshops as a time for learning and peer coaching
This initiative has been many years in the making. In 2021, Reentry Roundtable conducted the Reentry Services Landscape Survey, which inventoried the reentry-related services in the Austin/Travis County area and surveyed providers on the opportunities and barriers they encounter in their work. One recommendation from this study was to initiate a Community of Practice to build stronger relationships between reentry service providers. A Community of Practice consists of three main elements:
- Domain: Area of shared interest and key issues
- Community: Relationships built through discussion, activities, and learning
- Practice: Body of knowledge, methods, stories, and tools developed
In 2023, Reentry Roundtable spoke with the reentry service providers in our network and gauged interest and bandwidth in forming a Community of Practice. There was resounding support for the Roundtable to initiate this project, and the Community of Practice began a pilot year of workshops in 2024.
For Reentry Roundtable, a successful Community of Practice is measured by:
- Increased adherence to evidence-based practices in local reentry services
- Increased local funding for reentry workforce and programming
- New reentry services, programs, and partnerships
- Increased collaboration and trust between organizations in the local reentry ecosystem
In 2024, we saw significant growth in each of these goal areas. Seven local reentry service organizations joined the Community of Practice: Austin Community College, Black Men’s Health Clinic, Building Promise USA, Capital Area Private Defender Service, On Point Reentry Consortium, RARE Academy, and Travis County Sheriff’s Office. The Community of Practice held three in-person workshops which included relationship-building, peer learning, and site visits of member organizations. The 2024 meetings were held at RARE Academy, Travis County Correctional Complex, and the ”Wakanda Building” where Black Men’s Health Clinic, Building Promise USA, and On Point Reentry Consortium operate.
The Community of Practice established the following meeting agreements for the group:
- Listen to understand not to persuade
- Supportive and brave space
- Maintain confidentiality
- Practice self-care
- Respect everyone’s time and participate fully when present
- Step up and step back
- Stay open to emergence/expect non-closure
The Roundtable will continue the Reentry Services Community of Practice initiative in FY2025, maintaining in-person quarterly workshops and integrating a new series of monthly virtual meetings for peer-consultation and networking. The Community of Practice discussed focus areas of supporting individuals navigating reentry in obtaining identifying documents, work equipment, cell phones, vision vouchers, and housing. They want to build a directory of trusted reentry resources and plan a community event for 2025.
If you are a reentry services provider interested in becoming involved, please email info@reentryroundtable.org.
