Connections Work

Reentry services - Connections Work provides opportunities to returning citizens to support their successful transition from jail or prison to the berks county community, and for those with past system justice involvement. Reentry services are provided both pre-and post-release and include: case management, workforce development, mentoring, financial literacy, family reunification, and assistance securing basic needs. Additionally, Connections Work works to educate employers about the benefits of hiring returning citizens and provides ongoing employment support. In 2023, Connections Work provided reentry services to 1,773 returning citizens through over 10,555 contacts with program case managers. Connections Work also serves as the official hub for the pardon project of berks county, a program that seeks to not only raise awareness of the pardon process, but also to match trained volunteer pardon coaches with applicants seeking a pardon to assist them in completing their pardon applications, giving them a higher likelihood of obtaining a pardon.

Pretrial & diversion: pretrial officers conduct post-arrest interviews and assessments of criminal defendants and furnish the verified assessments to the judiciary, either prior to bail being set or at the preliminary hearing. Connections Work also assists with jail population management by monitoring the pretrial population and providing assessments to the court for defendants who are deemed low risk and are only incarcerated due to their inability to pay monetary bail. In 2023, Connections Work provided 1,756 defendant assessments to the courts. Connections Work also provides supervised release for criminal defendants who would otherwise remain in jail until the final disposition of their case. Connections Work also oversees the forensic diversion program. The goal of this program is to act as a liaison between various criminal justice entities to decrease the incarceration rate of non-violent mentally ill defendants, while ensuring community safety.

Rebuilding reentrants and reading (r3): Connections Work partners with the reading muhlenberg career and technology center (rmctc), the berks career and technology center (bctc), and the goggleworks center for the arts to provide the three components of the training; career and technical education at rmctc and bctc, hands on learning in the woodshop at the goggleworks and an employment focused cognitive curriculum delivered by Connections Work staff. In 2023, 36 participants successfully completed the program. Graduates of the program have proven high levels of success 82% are currently employed and 96% have not recidivated.

Community outreach: the community outreach team (cot) is responsible for three areas: 1. Volunteers: the team manages the recruitment and oversight of all agency volunteers that support our various programs and reentry initiatives, including our family Connections events, holiday gift project, mother's/father's voice program, returning citizens career fairs, and mock interviewing. 2. Marketing: they are responsible for the oversight and production of our agency's marketing material including social media, newsletters, and appeals. 3. Events: the team oversees Connections Work events and initiatives including the annual awards breakfast, two career fairs, friends of Connections Work social, raffles, and outside agency sponsored events. In 2023, our volunteers helped us serve 725 children in our holiday gift project, 812 children with mother's/father's voice, and assisted over 350 job seekers at our returning citizens career fairs.