Programs

Established in 1979, Alternative Directions, Inc. is a Baltimore-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. A statewide organization, ADI is dedicated to helping prisoners, ex-prisoners and others in need become independent, responsible citizens through civil legal assistance and reentry services. Since its inception, ADI’s foremost goals have been to 1) provide pro se civil legal services to men and women in Maryland jails and prisons, 2) to educate the public and policy makers about the barriers female and male prisoners face when re-entering the Maryland community, and 3) to find new and better ways to keep women and men from returning to prison.

Civil Legal Services

ADI’s Civil Legal Assistance Program helps male and female clients represent themselves in uncontested civil legal matters. Alternative Directions stands alone in that it is the only civil legal services organization in Maryland whose target population is incarcerated individuals. A large segment of the population would have no access to the courts without help from our agency. The thrust of our civil legal program is to assist the incarcerated population with representing themselves pro se in family law matters. Incarcerated individuals regularly have difficulty obtaining assistance with legal matters, particularly in matters involving temporary guardianship, divorce or child support.

Alternative Directions, Inc. won a landmark court case which allows a prisoner to file in court to have child support payments suspended while the person is incarcerated. This prevents the accumulation of tens of thousands of dollars in unpayable debt that could lead to arrest for non-support.

We are often the only recourse for help. ADI also assists individuals with visitation and custody, and in obtaining a copy of their birth certificate and Social Security card. We also provide civil legal assistance to Maryland residents who meet financial eligibility guidelines.

TAP Program

The Turn About Program provides transitional services to women leaving prison on parole. Women with a substance abuse history enter a 28-day drug abuse program at Tuerk House upon their entrance into TAP, and then continue after-care treatment for another six months. Our TAP clients report to ADI at least three times a week for individual and group counseling, and depending on their personal situations, the women attend GED classes, and parenting and stress management classes. The initial months in the program emphasize recovery, rather than employment. However, the women also attend job development and computer classes throughout their involvement in our program.

ACT Workshops

The After Care Transition program facilitates a series of workshops in which over 50 partner agencies (state, community and corporate) join us inside Maryland’s women’s prisons. Alternative Directions, Inc. works with women leaving prison within the next 60 days from the Maryland Correctional Institution for women (MCIW) and the Baltimore Pre-Release Unit for Women (BPRUW). The workshops are held monthly, alternating between the two facilities, generally with a class size between thirty-five and forty prisoners. The ACT Workshops bring awareness of what these women will be facing when they are released, and provide resources of agencies to contact for varying needs. Speakers are encouraged to bring any literature from their agencies that will be helpful in guiding these women toward housing, jobs, physical and mental health care, substance abuse facilities, and other related topics. This gives the women names and telephone numbers readily available to them upon their release which is a necessary component for successful reentry.

Positive Directions

A grant from the United States Department of Labor enabled Alternative Directions to begin a reentry program for men and women leaving prison. The Positive Directions program focuses on addressing barriers to employment that face people leaving prison. In this post-911 world, simply obtaining a Social Security card has become a difficult process taking 4 – 6 weeks. Many of our clients are also in need of medical care, housing, and a bus pass for transportation. We have assisted our clients to enroll in GED classes, job training, and apprenticeships. Our clients are overcoming these barriers, they are finding employment and beginning a new life.

Out For Justice Project