Family ReEntry Plans for Sustainability of MCP Program

Family ReEntry in Norwalk, CT was well adept at program sustainability long before receiving funding for its mentoring children of prisoners (MCP) program, Champions Mentoring Program. “The whole concept of partnering public and private funding for this program or any program is something that we’ve always done,” says Sondra Bradford-Jennings, director of development for Family ReEntry. “The minute we knew that we were getting this grant we immediately started looking at private funding that would become interested in the program and support various aspects of it. I don’t know that all agencies do that. Some, I think, are more reliant on public funding and we’ve always had a balance.”

This balance has enabled Family ReEntry to successfully position itself to operate Champions after the completion of a current three-year grant from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that expires this year. “Since we will be taking it over in year four, we are absolutely committed to continuing the program,” says Steve Lanza, executive director of Family ReEntry.

Family ReEntry has been preparing for this transition since receiving the HHS MCP grant three years ago as a sub-grantee of The Governor’s Prevention Partnership to Protect Connecticut, which is the lead agency on the grant. Each year Family ReEntry took over additional operational aspects of the program, with the major transition taking place over the past year. “They’re managing it (and) supporting it,” says Jill Spineti, the program director for The Governor’s Prevention Partnership. However, her organization is still assisting Family ReEntry during the transition. As part of that assistance, Spineti is working with all MCP grantees in the state of Connecticut to alert the Connecticut legislature that these programs will have run out of federal funds after three years. “We’re trying to get that state investment,” Spineti adds.

Although Champions is now well known in the community and has been successful in obtaining support locally, “it took us a number of months for the ball to really get rolling,” says Lanza. “It really took off in the middle of the second year.” The challenges Champions faced are similar to those voiced by MCP programs nationwide, such as mentor recruitment and hiring appropriate staff. “Originally we had more focus on program management with outreach being part of the responsibility,” says Bradford-Jennings. “As we went along we saw that we had to bring in additional staff that had more experience as far as community outreach.”

The repositioning of staff and dedication to the program paid off. Family ReEntry has been very successful in seeking in-kind donations from local businesses. For instance, staff noticed that children were arriving hungry at their evening site-based program. The staff contacted local businesses about donating meals and now a number of them provide dinner once a week to the site. “As a result of efforts to get local businesses to get meals, it’s raised public awareness about the issue and it’s brought the community together in support of these kids,” says Lanza.

“The word out in Bridgeport about Champions is phenomenal,” adds Jaimie DeSisto, Champions’ program manager. The program has even attracted interest from a donor in Hartford who is using private funding to replicate the Champions model. “He came down and saw [Champions] in action,” says Spineti. “He absolutely fell in love with the kids. It’s the magic between the mentors and kids that was really powerful for him. He came back up to Hartford and is funding a program like that now, another faith-based program up here in Hartford near one of our housing projects.”

In addition to the new MCP program in Hartford, there are four HHS-funded MCP programs and another privately funded one in cities throughout Connecticut. Lanza expects that MCP programs will be around for quite some time. “As long as there are children that have parents that are incarcerated and they are being significantly impacted by that, I think there’s a role for agencies to play,” he says. In Bridgeport alone, more than 3,000 children have a parent incarcerated.

Champions Mentoring Program is trying to make a difference in these children’s lives one by one. DeSisto is especially happy with the achievements of a 14-year-old boy who reluctantly started the program in May 2005 at the urging of his mother. By the end of the December marking period his closed-minded attitude, poor school performance, and unacceptable social behavior had faded. At the Champion holiday party, he whipped out his straight-A report card for everyone to view. This called for a “straight-A party” including cupcakes with “big yellow A’s,” says DeSisto. “That for me is success—when I see a young person come in one way and by the end of the year they’re a totally different person.”

Spring 2006