The Turn About Program is exclusively for women transitioning from prison to return to society. Well in advance of a scheduled/tentative release date, interested women send a letter to our TAP Case Manager, indicating their interest in the program and requesting an application. The interested person completes the application and returns it to the TAP Case Manager.
The TAP Case Manager reviews the application and schedules an interview for those candidates that pass the "paper test." In most cases, women who make it this far in the process also will have interviews with residential providers that we work with to assist in finding housing upon release. Patience is the key for our TAP candidates because the process proceeds according to the policies in place within each prison.
Once all the hoops have been jumped through, we are ready for the release. Our Case Manager takes great pride in ensuring that all the items on the person's checklist are checked, so that when the woman is released the first few days go smoothly, according to the schedule she has prepared for the woman.
Unlike someone being released from prison without a program like TAP, our women are given way more that the $50 and a bag of their personal possessions. We provide transport for our new client from the prison to a temporary housing location of our choice, for one night, to establish the woman as being homeless. The following morning we transport the woman to her new home, which could be one a number of housing opportunities in Baltimore. Unlike a simple release from prison with no where to go, we arrange an entire program of activities, along with the residential provider for the new client.
Our TAP clients must report to ADI at least two times each week for individual and group counseling as well as a monthly visit with their Parole Agent. Our program is individualized, so some women may be involved in drug treatment, GED program or attending college courses, or in job preparation training, or one of many other possibilities, such as parenting, anger or stress management classes. The initial months in the program emphasize recovery, re-acclimation and re-connection rather than employment.
Employment for us is very important, but not as important is the establishment of positive relationships, skills and new habits under a controlled environment. Once the woman has been in the program for a period of time (which differs from woman to woman) she can begin to think about employment. Our Case Manager will assist in the process of finding a job, and be supportive during the first few months of employment.
At the end of one year, we are ready to release the woman back to life with greater independence, but we are still not far away (just a phone call) from providing support, as needed. After the second year passes and assuming all is going well, we prepare our final evaluation for the woman and provide her with some closing recommendations!
Women with multiple arrests/convictions are on a ruinous path unless they steer themselves in a positive direction. TAP intervenes at times when these women still have a viable positive option of choosing to live a productive and meaningful life for decades to come. TAP's counseling, case management, and support on topics such as how to make a positive appearance in court, how to resolves disputes in a safe and healthy way, and how to overcome a history of abuse and trauma, and more drastically increase the likelihood of success upon release.
Many Maryland Nonprofits offer quality services desperately needed by women after they are released from prison. But how do women behind bars find out about them? Our TAP Program Director brings our information inside the gates to make soon-to-be-released women aware of the help they can access. TAP puts a human face to the nonprofit world of services available outside prison walls where women can find the support they need.
If you know of someone who may be interested in being considered for release, just click the link below for an application.
The TAP Case Manager reviews the application and schedules an interview for those candidates that pass the "paper test." In most cases, women who make it this far in the process also will have interviews with residential providers that we work with to assist in finding housing upon release. Patience is the key for our TAP candidates because the process proceeds according to the policies in place within each prison.
Once all the hoops have been jumped through, we are ready for the release. Our Case Manager takes great pride in ensuring that all the items on the person's checklist are checked, so that when the woman is released the first few days go smoothly, according to the schedule she has prepared for the woman.
Unlike someone being released from prison without a program like TAP, our women are given way more that the $50 and a bag of their personal possessions. We provide transport for our new client from the prison to a temporary housing location of our choice, for one night, to establish the woman as being homeless. The following morning we transport the woman to her new home, which could be one a number of housing opportunities in Baltimore. Unlike a simple release from prison with no where to go, we arrange an entire program of activities, along with the residential provider for the new client.
Our TAP clients must report to ADI at least two times each week for individual and group counseling as well as a monthly visit with their Parole Agent. Our program is individualized, so some women may be involved in drug treatment, GED program or attending college courses, or in job preparation training, or one of many other possibilities, such as parenting, anger or stress management classes. The initial months in the program emphasize recovery, re-acclimation and re-connection rather than employment.
Employment for us is very important, but not as important is the establishment of positive relationships, skills and new habits under a controlled environment. Once the woman has been in the program for a period of time (which differs from woman to woman) she can begin to think about employment. Our Case Manager will assist in the process of finding a job, and be supportive during the first few months of employment.
At the end of one year, we are ready to release the woman back to life with greater independence, but we are still not far away (just a phone call) from providing support, as needed. After the second year passes and assuming all is going well, we prepare our final evaluation for the woman and provide her with some closing recommendations!
Women with multiple arrests/convictions are on a ruinous path unless they steer themselves in a positive direction. TAP intervenes at times when these women still have a viable positive option of choosing to live a productive and meaningful life for decades to come. TAP's counseling, case management, and support on topics such as how to make a positive appearance in court, how to resolves disputes in a safe and healthy way, and how to overcome a history of abuse and trauma, and more drastically increase the likelihood of success upon release.
Many Maryland Nonprofits offer quality services desperately needed by women after they are released from prison. But how do women behind bars find out about them? Our TAP Program Director brings our information inside the gates to make soon-to-be-released women aware of the help they can access. TAP puts a human face to the nonprofit world of services available outside prison walls where women can find the support they need.
If you know of someone who may be interested in being considered for release, just click the link below for an application.