Low-level narcotics offenders too often cycle in and out of jail, re-offending soon after they hit the streets. District Attorney Kamala D. Harris has convened City leaders to answer this problem and, along with key partners, has launched Back on Track, an innovative education and employment reentry initiative focusing on young adult drug offenders. Designed to increase community safety by reducing recidivism, Back on Track couples strict accountability and close supervision with education, employment support and health care. The purpose of Back on Track is to prevent young people from committing crimes by leading them to make life changing choices.
Program Summary
Led by the District Attorney and Goodwill Industries, in partnership with public and community based service providers, Back on Track is a unique public/private reentry initiative focused on demonstrating the public safety, economic and social efficacy of offering career development alternatives for young adults who otherwise face felony conviction and incarceration.
Back on Track is showing tremendous early results. The program’s less than 10 percent recidivism rate is remarkable, especially in light of the fact that more than half of the offenders released from
Program Impact
Of the 49 people who participated in Back on Track during its pilot phase, 92 percent successfully completed the program and at the time of graduation, were holding down a job or going to school. More than 70 percent of the participants were both employed and in-school at the same time. Since the pilot phase ended, during the first 18 months of full program operation, fewer than 10 percent have been rearrested and terminated from the program. Currently, there are 100 participants in the program.
Program Design
Back on Track has been designed to address the multiple factors that contribute to young people cycling repeatedly in and out of jail. The program encompasses swift sanctions for making bad choices and clear incentives for good ones. Once in Back on Track, young offenders can embrace a range of life changing opportunities through, for example, concrete job training and placement, union-based pre-apprenticeships in the building trades, G.E.D. preparation, college enrollment and help navigating financial aid, tutoring, money management and banking instruction, child care, anger management and parenting support.
Back on Track connects participants with networks of institutions and individuals who are able to help them secure and embrace legitimate employment and substantial educational opportunities. Back on Track partners, such as the Academy of Art College, Morrison & Foerster, the San Francisco 49ers, 24 hour Fitness, City College of San Francisco, the Building Trades unions and local businesses, all believe that the right mix of supervision and consistent reinforcement will result in these young people making the right choices and sticking with them.
Eligibility is restricted to first-time young adult drug offenders arrested with small quantities of narcotics. Defendants are not eligible if they have histories of gang involvement, gun possession or violence. Preference is given to offenders who are parents of young children. When an individual is arrested for drug sales or possession-for-sale, the District Attorney’s Office reviews the case and the defendant’s criminal record to determine eligibility. The Office then advises both the Court and the defendant of the option to enter the Back on Track program.
When a defendant agrees to participate, he or she is released from jail and ordered to report to a Back on Track Career Advisor for orientation. Participants begin a six-week screening phase to test their motivation and commitment. During this period, participants must perform 120 hours of restorative community service and must be fully engaged in employment readiness activities. Upon successful completion of the initial six-week phase, participants are referred to Back on Track Court, overseen by U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson and Superior Court Judge John Dearman. Participants charged with a sales offense are required to plead guilty pursuant to a Deferred Entry of Judgment, through which sentencing is postponed for 12 months. If a participant is charged with a new drug case, he or she is terminated immediately from the program and goes directly to sentencing. If the participant successfully completes the year-long program and is not rearrested, the District Attorney’s Office asks the Court to dismiss the case, leaving the participant with a clean adult felony record.
During the program, in collaboration with Goodwill’s Back on Track Career Advisors, each participant develops a Personal Responsibility Plan that outlines his or her specific educational, workforce, family and other objectives for the 12-month program. Objectives may include: obtaining a high school diploma, securing full time employment, stabilizing housing, attending parenting classes, opening and maintaining a bank account, enrolling in
In addition to regular contact and meetings with a Career Advisor, participants must appear before a Back on Track judge every two weeks to report on their progress. After graduation, Goodwill provides participants an additional 12 months of job retention and placement support services. Upon completion, graduates are invited to return as guest speakers to share their experiences and to serve as mentors for current participants.