Module 1: Section 2: Goal of the Online Resource

The aim of this online learning resource is to provide you, our TJC partners and those interested in community transition efforts, with practical information to help you implement the model. The TJC learning sites were instrumental in the development and continued revisions of the Toolkit. Working with these sites throughout the last years allows us to tailor the Toolkit content based on the actual needs and reality jails and communities face when implementing a reentry initiative. This resource has several purposes:

  • Give an overview of the TJC initiative.
  • Help begin the process of implementing a reentry initiative in your community.
  • Foster an understanding of the key elements necessary to implement the TJC model.
  • Explain basic TJC concepts and terms.
  • Provide resources for jail administrators, community providers, elected officials, and other stakeholders.
  • Serve as an advocacy tool for community stakeholders interested in gaining support for the model.

This online resource is arranged in nine user-friendly modules based on the key components of the TJC model:

Module 1: Getting Started introduces the Transition from Jail to the Community Initiative and outlines how to use this online learning resource.

Module 2: Leadership, Vision, and Organizational Culture focuses on leadership, vision, and organizational culture in the success of your community's jail transition strategies.

Module 3: Collaborative Structure and Joint Ownership provides practical information to help you develop a reentry system where collaboration and joint ownership permeates the transition process.

Module 4: Data-Driven Understanding of Local Reentry examines the vital role that reliable data plays in successfully transitioning people from jail to the community, and provides tools and information to help jurisdictions collect and manage data.

Module 5: Targeted Intervention Strategies provides an overview of targeted intervention strategies to improve outcomes of people transitioning from jail to the community.

Module 6: Screening and Assessment focuses on the importance of identifying the risks and needs of your population as the starting point of any targeted intervention strategy.

Module 7: Transition Plan Development emphasizes the elements of an individualized written transition plan that lays out the intervention, treatment, and services for a person in jail and after release based on a prior assessment of the person's risk and needs.

Module 8: Targeted Transition Interventions concentrates on the development and implementation of appropriate jail transition strategies and follow-up services in your community.

Module 9: Self-Evaluation and Sustainability highlights the use of data and scientific evaluation to understand the effectiveness of interventions and system initiatives, determine their fit within a system of transition and reentry, and highlights strategies to help sustain the Initiative's efforts.

In addition, two key documents, the TJC Implementation Roadmap and the TJC Triage Matrix Implementation Tool guided the content of this learning resource. The roadmap identifies the tasks, subtasks, participants, and associated milestones and products for implementing the TJC model. Included in the Implementation Roadmap is the TJC Implementation Tracking Tool to help you track your milestones and timeframe when implementing the TJC framework. The Triage Matrix Tool outlines implementation considerations related to the targeted intervention elements of the TJC model.

Additional resources providing more information on the TJC initiative are located at the TJC web site, including the TJC brochure, which provides a brief overview of the initiative and the model and the Final Report: Process & Systems Change Evaluation Findings from the TJC Initiative, examining implementation of the TJC model across the six Phase 1 learning sites.