ReCA is based on a peer-to-peer coaching system that utilizes peer life coaches and facilitators during the first (18) months of being released from incarceration. It will assist people returning from prison to transition successfully back to the community by providing them with the skills and support that they need to be productive and successful in society. These first eighteen months of release are deemed the most critical period that builds the foundation to determine if a person will be successful in society or not. ReCA will manage this time of instability through the following two-phase system:
Phase 1: Cognitive-Behavioral Awareness
Phase 2: Life Coaching Introduction and Facilitator Certification
Suit Up (one day)
This class is a one-day workshop to highlight each participant’s different personality traits. The
exercises incorporated in the class will help the participants to identify both positive and
negative characteristics that they have. While we focus most of our attention on feeding and
growing positive qualities, we do take a look at the negative to be aware of them when they
arise and are therefore better able to deal with them quickly. Once the attributes of each
individual are looked at, we then look at how knowing oneself better and knowing that others
have unique characteristics as well will enable us to communicate and work with others more
effectively.
T.R.I.P (eight weeks)
T.R.I.P is a eight-week collaboration where the objective is to facilitate change and reduce delinquent behavior by reiterating the idea that intentional living and alternatives to decision making work by working.
Taking Responsibility in Person will cover fundamental areas from a cognitive behavior perspective with the intentions of addressing issues that contribute to a healthier lifestyle; therefore improving greatly on the quality of life.
Get S.M.A.R.T. (four weeks)
Get S.M.A.R.T. is a four-week goal-setting and habit-tracking course. It has been designed to
introduce the participants to setting goals—which in this population many have never
experienced setting and achieving goals—through the acronym S.M.A.R.T.
(Smart…Measurable…Achievable…Realistic…Time-oriented). This class also has the participants
take a look at their positive and negative habits as well as create new ones. Upon completion of Get S.M.A.R.T., the participants will be eligible to attend the Fresh Start class, with a week layoff for assessing fieldwork—assessments are lenient at this stage and gradually increase scrutiny.
Fresh Start (eight weeks)
This is an eight-week course that is designed to challenge the participants’ old mind-sets and
beliefs. It does that by first highlighting the conditioning that we have all undergone. During this
time of increased awareness of how our experiences have conditioned us to think and believe
certain erroneous things, it is often an eye-opening and liberating experience for the
participants. Now, we can be intentional about how we let our experiences influence us.
Upon completion of Fresh Start, the participants will be eligible to attend the Live Now class,
with a week layoff for assessing quality of work and projects—critiques are becoming
increasingly more thorough.
F.A.C.T.S. (Facilitator Awareness & Competency Training System) (eighteen weeks)
This is an 18-week, two-phase course that will start at the mid-term of the H.O.P.E. class, and
there will be a two-week layoff from phase one of F.A.C.T.S. and phase two of F.A.C.T.S. The
participants will be delving into professional facilitation training dealing with public-
speaking—individually and presenting projects with a team. Then, the participants will learn
facilitation skills through a combination of lecture and hands-on experience. Once they start
leading and facilitating exercises and/or classes, the participants will get valuable experience
that is transferable to managing others’ energies at whatever career they choose. Finally, they
will learn how to build a curriculum of their own by completing exercises as well as work with a
team to create and present a curriculum.
Workforce Development
Our program will also consist of one day a week for workforce development for the entire 21
weeks of Phase 1. The participants will learn how to build their resume, how to respond in an
interview, proper dress etiquette, etc. Also, each participant will have access to their own coach
starting in the second month and continuing for the next sixteen weeks.
Recreation outside of the class
The participants will also be required to spend time outside of the class doing recreational and
other leisure activities to build bonds with their cohort and facilitators so that a network of
positive peer influences can form. This time will be coordinated with the facilitators and will
occur on one of the days that they meet—either on the coaching class day or the workforce
development class day.
Stipend
Each participant will receive a $150 stipend per week for the first four weeks of the program.
This stipend will be their compensation for using their valuable time to receive training—just
like any organization pays for the training and time away from work. This also corresponds to
the time when the participants are first coming home from prison, and this stipend will be an
essential element to enable them to train, instead of using that time to do other productive
things.
One-to-one Coaching
We will offer one-to-one coaching at the rate of $100 per hour, which is the lower end of the
national average for life coaches, and will give a discount to $75 per hour if three months are
paid in advance. Our staff coaches are located around the country and will be offering their
services via tele-coaching sessions, with email support. Our coaches’ specialties range
anywhere from career, spiritual, and relationship coaching to coaching youth. For our coach-approach programs, participants will be required to receive a coach to maintain their scholarship and continue through our system. We will assess the participants coming through our courses at the completion of Get S.M.A.R.T. to match them with a coach. The fees
associated with the one-on-one coaching for the program will be $50 per hour because they
will be paid for the whole duration (sixteen hour-long sessions) by the scholarships they
receive, which comes from the monies we get to fund this academy. The participants will be
coached by our one-to-one coaching specialists for each week they are enrolled in the final two
classes of the Core 4. For instance, they will be coached for all eight weeks of Fresh Start, but
not during the week off while transitioning into Live Now. Then, they will be coached for all
eight weeks of Live Now. This will give the participants a total of 16 hours of individualized
coaching with a specialist coach. The combination of group coaching through our classes and
individualized coaching through the one-to-one sessions is what allows the participants to
flourish in our training system, and more importantly in life. Once they are in H.O.P.E., they will
be applying the coach-approach among themselves to continue their growth.