Residential Reentry Centers (RRCs)
Locations:
- 2825 East Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN 55406
- 1771 Kent Street, Roseville, MN 55113
Days/Hours: Residential facilities are staffed 24-hours per day
Participants are: Adult men and women under jurisdiction of federal and state correctional authorities
Fees: Paid through respective jurisdictions using the service
General Contact: Teri Twardowski
Phone: 651-488-2073
Email: ttwardowski@voamn.org
Volunteers of America Minnesota has operated residential reentry facilities (RRCs) since 1969. The facilities provide residential reentry services for men and women who are allowed to complete part of their prison sentences in the community. This affords them the opportunity to restore community ties, obtain employment, and pay a portion of their care and supervision to the state or federal jurisdictions who have authority over them for the period of their stay in the RRC. The Centers maintain around the clock shift staff and a strict system of accountability, which ensures that all residents are accounted for both day and night.
Participants are referred to the RRC by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Probation Office, or by the Minnesota Department of Corrections Work Release Unit. The programs are licensed by the State of Minnesota, and have earned a number of awards from the American Correctional Association Commission on Accreditation. Furthermore, the RRCs enjoy substantial support from the immediate neighborhoods, law enforcement agencies, and business associations.
The RRCs offer participants an opportunity to become accountable, productive, tax paying citizens, while avoiding further involvement in the criminal justice system. All residents are screened according to public safety standards and in selected cases are permitted to finish the last 30 days of their sentence in a controlled home confinement, while using monitoring protocols employed by the RRC which include electronic monitoring, global positioning services (GPS), and on-site verifications by assigned staff.
Program Services
The RRCs systematically employ program services including:
- Financial Education
- Job Readiness
- Healthy Relationships
- Time and Anger Management
- Moral Reasoning
- Cognitive Reconstruction
- Parent Education
All residents must participate in the above programs during the initial two weeks of their stay in the RRC. Thereafter RRC residents are required to obtain verifiable employment, while paying back to the community 25% of their gross earned income.
Specialized program staff apply program content in a classroom format to assure that residents are fully prepared to begin restoring their employment and community ties. A specialized adult educational specialist provides education for selected residents to attain their GED diploma.
Volunteer Opportunities
Many volunteer opportunities are available to assist the participants. All prospective volunteers must pass a federal background check and will receive training before assignment.