Reentry Services: a pathway to a successful future

Reentry begins on day one
From intake to release, reentry specialists engage individuals in structured planning to remove barriers and build a foundation for success. Within the first 14 days of incarceration, a reentry specialist meets with each individual to start the conversation about their future. As release approaches, these meetings become more frequent—typically at 18 months, 6 months, 30 days, and other key milestones—to ensure a smooth transition.

Areas of Focus:

• Stable Housing – Securing safe, supportive living arrangements that promote long-term success.
• Medical & Mental Health Care – Ensuring access to necessary treatment, prescriptions, and ongoing support.
• Employment & Job Readiness – Connecting individuals with training, job opportunities, and career development resources.
• Transportation & Daily Needs – Addressing practical challenges to ensure individuals can access work, healthcare, and community resources.

Reentry Planner

Incarcerated individuals receive access to an interactive Reentry Planner, which provides resources to help them prepare for release and set goals. From intake to release, reentry specialists work alongside individuals to develop personalized plans that highlight opportunities for growth and assist in addressing barriers to success. Through the engagement with their Reentry Planner, individuals are guided toward stable housing, medical and mental health care, job readiness, transportation, and essential daily needs. NDCS’s reentry planning framework is grounded in the 5-Key Model for Reentry and Well-Being™, ensuring individuals are equipped with the mindset and resources for a fresh start.

The planner includes information about reentry services, identification, addiction recovery, self-care, financial obligations, employment, education, transportation, housing, and many other planning topics. Reentry specialists collaborate with individuals to create a personalized roadmap for success, identifying goals and potential challenges along the way.

Click the image below to view the full Reentry Planner.

Success after incarceration depends on more than just a plan—it requires preparation. Vocational and life skills (VLS) programming equip individuals with the knowledge, competencies, and personal development necessary to sustain a productive, independent life. NDCS partners with providers across Nebraska to offer evidence-based and skill-building programs tailored to real-world success.

The Vocational Life Skills (VLS) program was initiated in 2014 after lawmakers discussed the importance of community supervision of individuals released from prison. Vocational life skills programming uses a strength-based strategy to address client needs. VLS focuses on promoting meaningful employment through a variety of case management and supervision strategies. 

Success after incarceration depends on more than just a plan—it requires preparation. Vocational and life skills (VLS) programming equip individuals with the knowledge, competencies, and personal development necessary to sustain a productive, independent life. NDCS partners with providers across Nebraska to offer evidence-based and skill-building programs tailored to real-world success.

• Education & Training – GED completion, college courses, and specialized certifications in high-demand fields such as skilled trades, information technology, and healthcare. NDCS collaborates with local educational institutions and industry leaders to provide hands-on learning experiences that increase employability.
• Cognitive & Life Skills Development – Courses that focus on critical thinking, emotional regulation, financial literacy, communication, problem-solving, time management, and decision-making. These programs help individuals develop resilience and adaptability in navigating daily life and workplace challenges.
• Substance Use & Mental Health Support – Access to counseling, peer support groups, and evidence-based treatment programs to help individuals manage stress, triggers, and behavioral health needs. Specialized support for co-occurring disorders ensures a comprehensive approach to mental well-being.
• Employment Preparation – Comprehensive job readiness training covering resume building, mock interviews, workplace expectations, soft skill development, communication tactics, and job retention strategies. Individuals learn how to navigate job applications, professional networking, and employer expectations to enhance their chances of long-term success.
• Family Reunification & Social Development – Programming and counseling aimed at strengthening family relationships, improving communication, and resolving conflicts.  Additionally, NDCS provides parenting classes, support groups, and mentorship opportunities to help individuals reestablish meaningful connections within their communities.

VLS programs and services provider partner descriptions can be found below. 

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is part of a national company that provides trade-specific apprenticeships training and work-based learning opportunities for careers in the construction industry. Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) delivers pre-employment training, trade specific apprenticeship training, and work-based education courses with learning objectives tailored to participants with career goals in the construction industry. ABC offers the following courses: Applied Construction Math, Carpentry, Construction Technology Levels 1, 2, 3, Core Curriculum, Electrical, HVAC, OSHA 10-hour Construction, OSHA 10-hour General Industry, OSHA 30 Hour Construction, Plumbing, Trades Curriculum, Virtual Electrical, Virtual Welding. 

BAMB provides a safe, supportive, and inspiring environment for men transitioning from incarceration back into the Omaha, NE community. They develop vocational, individual, family, and transitional phase goals and work on a plan to achieve them. 

Black Men United (BMU) is a non-profit corporation that was founded in 2023 and focuses on human services, training, and community development. The primary goal of Black Men United is to help black men and boys grow and support the development of their communities. Black Men United supports justice-involved individuals by providing them a safe space to conduct job searches, take classes, and work one on one with reentry navigators at the Kumani Restorative Justice Center. Specifically, the reentry work helps these individuals navigate the challenges of reintegrating back into their communities. They aim to help participants find employment, housing, transportation, and other supportive providers. In addition, all Black Men United clients have access to a private food pantry, which provides food and basic care needs. 

Bristol Station with the Western Alternative Corrections, Inc assists formerly incarcerated individuals in transitioning into the community in a residential setting located in Hastings, Nebraska. They provide opportunities of self-discovery and encourages participants to develop sustainable pro-social routines. Bristol Station provides program intervention and case management aimed to accelerate psychological and social development related to behavior and thinking. 

Care Corps, Inc (LifeHouse) serves homeless and near-homeless individuals and families in the Dodge County area, providing case management and services via housing programs, prevention, and an emergency shelter program.

The Catherine Rylee House and Robert Scott House are staff-operated transitional homes for men and women that offer a safe environment for residents to acquire the tools needed to be successful in transitioning into a more independent living situation.

Community Alliance serves individuals and their families across the Omaha area and surrounding counties. They provide a diverse range of services such as psychiatric and health care, supportive housing, family education, vocational and community rehabilitation. Additionally, they provide aid to the homeless, transition-age youth, families, and overall care coordination. Community Alliance provides supervised and independent apartment living with the goal of promoting independence and safety. They use licensed physicians, nurse practitioners, and professional counselors for their services and outreach programs.

The Community Justice Center (CJC) provides restorative justice programming and restorative reentry services. This organization helps individuals in both the Omah and Lincoln areas. CJC follows the 5 key model for reentry which is family reunification, peer support services, promote connections, enhance civic engagement, and reduce the risk of recidivism. CJC represents a holistic approach to the reentry process by focusing on multiple sides of the problem. They support communication, transportation, technology, housing, employment, family reunification, and prevention through services. CJC partners with other communities and reentry organizations to achieve their holistic approach. The mission of CJC is to transform harm to healing and hope by advancing community safety, respect, responsibility, reintegration, relationships, and healing through restorative justice evidence-based programming. 

Connecting Links assists formerly incarcerated men and women in transitioning back into the community in Lincoln, NE. They provide a safe and comfortable environment for recovery. They have intensive outpatient and outpatient services for individuals with mental health and substance use needs as well as a food pantry. 

Crossroads Mission Avenue (Crossroads Center) is a faith based homeless shelter and recovery program who provide transitional living for men, women, and children. Crossroads’ housing program in Kearney, Grand Island and Hastings helps meet the need for affordable housing for those coming out of our 4-Phase Recovery Program, entering the job market and managing the demands of living within their community, while still receiving guidance and accountability through Crossroads’ services. This provides a step of supported transitional housing as guests move on to more independence and self-sufficiency. Transitional housing also reduces recidivism with longer-term mentoring and life coaching for our guests.

The Curtis Center (People City Mission) offers supportive housing for individuals seeking a new start on life. They offer evidenced-based, cognitive behavioral programming to give Curtis Center residents tools and support for positive life changes and self-sufficiency.

Fresh Start has a vision to assist women to overcome homelessness. Their housing program uses client focused practices to overcome barriers to self-sufficiency. Fresh Start is more than a shelter, it's a goals program designed to support women who are working diligently to improve their lives.

Kearney's Village Transitional Housing Program provides shelter and sober living programming to aid homeless members of our community regain their footing during their transformation to sobriety and self-sufficiency. They offer transitional housing and sober living programs.

Mental Health Association (MHA) promotes a culture of hope and healing through Intentional Peer Support services that includes evidence-based programming in both residential and correctional settings. The Mental Health Association (MHA) provides wrap-around reentry services through the Intentional Peer Support Model, focusing on wellness and connections to the community. MHA strives to create a safe and inclusive transitional living, peer supported employment and other services specific to the individual’s needs and hopes for success. Together they explore community resources, natural community support, access to mental and physical health care, basic needs, and support in self-advocacy. 

Metropolitan Community College is a public education institution that supports the 180 Re-Entry Assistance Program (180 RAP).180 RAP delivers student-centered education and cognitive-based interventions through case management to participants both within a correctional setting and on their Omaha campus. Participants are provided work readiness and life skills training, direct services, and transitional support. 

Midland University created the Reentry Code Academy (RCA) which aims to teach individuals transferable skills marketable for junior developer employment that allows participants to attain a living wage after release. In addition to providing participants with education, the program also focuses on developing interpersonal skills to obtain and maintain meaningful employment. 

Opening Doors is a program administered by the Center for People. Opening Doors provides comprehensive services and opportunities to support low-income, high needs families and individuals as they strive to lift themselves out of poverty and achieve economic self-sufficiency. Opening doors case managers assign programming in line with participant needs and preferences to improve reentry transitions back into the community. 

Persevere is a non-profit organization with the goals of increasing public safety and reducing recidivism. They offer a holistic and comprehensive approach to achieve their goals of helping the justice-involved population. Their programming includes technology-based job training, career readiness instruction and support, case management, job placement, and long-term reentry support. This program provides certification and secure employment upon reentry to society from NDCS. Technology training occurs during the year before their release into society which assists with post-release job placement. 

Project Reset located at the Nebraska Center for Workforce Development and Education (NCWDE) is a non-profit organization focused on increasing the qualified workforce in Nebraska. Project Reset mentors’ justice involved individuals into life changing careers in the skilled trades and labor industry to bridge the gap of a qualified workforce and recidivism in our community. 

ReConnect, Inc offers short courses that balance life skills and cognitive restructuring techniques with employment training to help clients reach their full potential. ReConnect, Inc provides participants with tools needed to transform their lives and the communities in which they live. Programs focus on reentry support and services like job readiness, life skills, educational tutoring, and family mediation. 

RISE seeks to end cycles of incarceration by equipping currently and formerly incarcerated people with job readiness, reentry planning, housing and employment pathways that help participants thrive. RISE uses peer facilitators (previous RISE graduates) to facilitate programming inside correctional facilities. 

York University is a private education institution that provides participants with education courses to earn an Associate of Arts degree and prepares them for gainful employment using a spiritual approach to improve cognitive thinking skills and relationship skills. Their mission is to transform lives through Christ-centered education and to equip students for lifelong service to God, family, and society. 

These programs empower individuals to take ownership of their growth and prepare for the challenges and opportunities they will face upon release.

These programs empower individuals to take ownership of their growth and prepare for the challenges and opportunities they will face upon release.

A meaningful career is a key component of long-term stability and successful reintegration. NDCS workforce development initiatives bridge the gap between incarceration and employment by providing hands-on training, industry-recognized certifications, and direct connections to employers.

Career specialists work with individuals to assess their skills and interests along with their current educaiton level. Participation in education is highly encouraged as it is often a requirement for meaningful work. The career specialists work with idnividuals to identify their career pathway and to ensure they take the necessary steps to achieve their desired career.

An important component of this work is to build relationships with employers to encourage second chance hiring and to ensure NDCS is prepared to provide the skills and abilities employers are looking for. This includes skill-building, apprenticeships, and industry certifications.