The Aftermath Graduates (TAG)

Dawn For Change!!!

The Aftermath Graduates is a division of South African Youth Development Academy.

Understand that the first few hours following your loved one’s release, though critical, are just one tiny component of the process known as “reintegration.” Reintegration can last a lifetime and encompasses everything from education and counseling while in prison to the lifelong hurdles of finding housing and employment after release. Realize that ex-offenders needs to have a plan that addresses the most fundamental hurdles of securing housing and clothing, meeting with their probation officer, and meeting their medical needs when they get released. And if they don't have a plan, they need to make one soon.

What can be done to help those who acquired qualifications while incarcerated, are released from prison to keep them from being rearrested? With no job, no money, and no place to live? How do we assist them avoid facing the same pressures and temptations that landed them in prison in the first place?

Our Aftermath Graduates Programmes provides services that includes: 

Release Planning for Successful Reintegration Programme

Ideally, reintegration planning begins at the time of intake/admission and extends beyond the time of release to prepare prisoners for long-term post-release success. Release planning represents a distinct component of the broader process of reintegration planning, focusing on success at the moment of release and in the days and weeks that follow. Ideally, preparing for the moment of release will represent a natural phase in the progression from intake to reintegration. For example, while the larger reintegration plan may address long-term employment needs by providing in-prison training and education, the release plan would focus on the more short-term need for transitional employment. Release planning often draws upon the assessments, resources and relationships developed during the course of a person's incarceration and in many respects, represents the bare minimum preparation that a DOC should engage in prior to a prisoner's release. . Under the TAG model, reintegration also begins at intake (the institutional phase), but discharge planning, or planning for release, essentially begins after an assessment and classification have been completed and after the behavior and programming issues have been outlined.

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Top Eight Needs Assessed by DOC's

Housing------------------------72%

Employment-------------------------72%

Substance Abuse Treatment--------------------67%

Current Medication-----------------65%

Identification Needs---------------63%

Veteran's Benefits----------61%

Mental Health History----------61%

Substance Abuse History----------61%

% of DOC's

Employment and Education

While perhaps not topping the list of immediate needs upon release, over the long run obtaining employment represents one of the greatest barriers to an individual’s successful reintegration into the community. At its most basic level, employment provides former prisoners with a consistent source of funding for necessary food, shelter, clothing, transportation, and other basic amenities. It also increases feelings of self-efficacy and self-sufficiency, building confidence in released prisoners that they can support themselves without needing to resort to criminal activities or reliance on family members or “hand outs,” and providing a new social network that supports positive behaviors and serves as a protective factor against future criminal activity. Indeed, most released inmates feel that having a job would help them stay out of prison and would allow them to concentrate on other lower-order tasks, such as avoiding drugs or other illegal activities and staying in good health. Unfortunately, on average only one in five prisoners had employment lined up prior to their release. The reasons for a former prisoner’s lack of employment are manifold. Some individuals do not possess the proper skills, work experience, or education to secure employment. Although two-thirds of inmates indicate working prior to incarceration, some may have erratic work histories. Others have mental impairments or life skill deficits that prevent them from working. Many former prisoners are able and qualified to work, but simply do not have the proper proofs of identity or educational credentials needed to demonstrate employment eligibility, have not been given information on how and where to look for jobs, or must meet parole requirements (such as participation in treatment programs, curfew or other restrictions on mobility) that limit their ability to find and keep employment.

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Former prisoners also face community and institutional barriers to employment. Company policies and government licensing restrictions may formally prohibit hiring individuals with criminal histories. Employers often do not initially consider hiring a released individual as a person’s status as a former prisoner may lead an employer to believe that the applicant lacks basic job readiness and desirable personal qualities, such as trustworthiness, responsibility, punctuality and interpersonal skills. Released prisoners will often enter communities with few or no low-skill jobs and limited transportation to access those jobs, two-fifths of employers in one report indicate that their entry-level jobs are not accessible by public transportation. The role of release planning in meeting these employment challenges is to assess and document existing employment and educational skills, including those acquired behind bars; identify remaining deficits; and develop links to training and placement opportunities in the community. Preliminary research suggests that participation in transitional employment and intensive employment services in the first three months following release reduces the risk of parole revocation, maximum conviction, and incarceration.

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The Aftermath Graduates Solutions

TAG intends to have a particularly innovative program linking inmates to jobs prior to release. For example, TAG will require attendance at annual resource fairs (held at various adult correctional facilities) that feature nationwide business owners and service providers (i.e., faith-based, and substance abuse providers) as part of its one-hundred hour Standardized Pre-Release program. TAG will also maintain a website that links inmates with potential employers in the country that are interested in hiring former inmates. TAG shall place inmates who are South African Citizens and eligible for a work-release program in one of the six facilities that are operated on a contractual basis by a private nonprofit that provides jobs in the community. Individuals enter the work-release program no sooner than six months prior to discharge and are overseen by community corrections officers who provide case management services, including assessments and program referrals. TAG shall offer the “Take 5” program, which encourages local businesses to hire at least five returning prisoners as employees. Participating businesses receive pre-screened referrals, participate in the selection process, and are eligible to receive a bonding program and tax credit.

The Aftermath Graduates Recommendations 

As employment is critical to the successful long-term reintegration of released prisoners, correctional agencies should ensure that the appropriate assessments and referrals have been made to facilitate the process of finding and keeping a job. This includes a written assessment of any literacy problems, educational requirements, and vocational skills in order to pass off that information to the appropriate workforce development or other community-based agency.

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Email: tag@sayda.org.za