1. Presented by Cedric R. Hendricks, Associate Director Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency

2.  Washington, DC’s probation and parole agency.  Established in 1997 under legislation that closed the District’s prisons and transferred criminal justice functions to the federal government.  Supervises approximately 16,000 offenders.

5.  Average length of supervision:  2 years probation  14 years parole  4 years supervised release  Average age: 38  Male: 84%Female: 16%  89% of supervised offenders are African-American.

6.  7,580 initial screeners conducted between August 2010 and July 2011 revealed that most supervised offenders are parents.  71% of women  60% of men  Average number of children living in the household: 2  Most parents (64.4%) report their youngest child is age 10 or younger.  Most parents (61.7%) report their oldest child is age 15 or younger.AgeBracket Youngest Child Oldest Child 0-544.9%30% 6-1019.5%16.1% 11-1513.3%15.6% 16-2010.6%14.1% 21+11.5%24.2% Distribution of Offenders’ Children by Age Bracket

7.  Most parents (80.3%) report that they are not the primary caretaker for their children.  Most parents (66.5%) report that they do not live in the same household as their children. Will you be the primary caretaker for your children?Yes19.7%No80.3%Yes33.5%No66.5% Do you live in the same household as your children?

8.  The majority (86%) of the offenders reported that they maintained “regular” contact with family members.  Of family members, offenders under supervision have most contact with their spouse/partner (68%).Relative Regular Contact Mother53% Father17% Sibling42% Children24% Spouse/Partner68% Extent of Family Contact Among Offenders Entering Supervision

9.  Family and community support is a primary domain in our needs assessment process.  CSOSA’s Community Supervision Officers completed over 10,000 home visits with the Metropolitan Police Department in FY 2010.  Family is the primary source of “collateral contacts.”73 percent of collateral contacts are family members and of those family members, about half (48%) live with the offender.

10.  CSOSA uses a number of strategies to rebuild families:  Risk and Needs Assessment  Faith Based Mentoring Program  Community Resource Day  Appropriate Referrals

11.  CSOSA works in an ongoing way with numerous family strengthening programs, many that deal specifically with fathers  Some of the programs that we make referrals to are:  Concerned Black Men National Organization  Family First D.C.  Returning Citizens United  Child Support Services Division- DC Office of the Attorney General  D.C. Superior Court- Fathering Court

12.  The overall goal of the CBM Fatherhood Initiative is to enhance effective and responsible fathering through parenting education and economic stability.  These goals are achieved through Parent Education, Family Skills Training, Parenting Group Rap Sessions, Father Mentoring, Short term counseling and mediation and referrals to mental health, substance abuse, domestic abuse and other prevention type services.

13.  CSOSA encourages our clients to participate and utilize the services of, Family First D.C.’s, DC Healthy Marriage and Relationship Coalition program  Family First D.C.’s mission is to promote, strengthen, and restore healthy marriages and relationships through education, training and research  They are a service-delivery network of community and faith-based organizations

14.  Returning Citizens United, Inc. is an advocacy and support services organization serving returning citizens including juveniles and their families in all quadrants of the District of Columbia and some parts of Southern Maryland in Prince George's County  RCU is positioned as a logical provider of services aimed at helping fathers overcome the various hurdles that distance them from their children

15. Any questions?

16. Thank you!