BROKEN Inside
Relationship Before Release
Dream Teams provide weekly contact, commissary support, and a reentry fund. Case prep starts with intake, document readiness, and a release plan.
Inside → Release Day → Rebuild
See the five-stage BC Model →
Release Day
72 hrs
Stabilization
Gate pickup, lodging, phone, food, IDs, benefits, and the first supervision report, with checkpoints at 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours.
Rebuild
Connection & Follow-Up
Referrals through the county directory and partners; follow-up at 30, 90, and 365 days; a veterans track; voluntary discipleship.
From inputs to impact
Definitions follow the W.K. Kellogg Foundation logic model guide: outputs are products of activities; outcomes are changes in participants' status and functioning.
1
Inputs
- Trained, screened volunteers (Waypointers)
- Staff and reentry specialist
- Case-prep database
- Indiana county resource directory
- Church, employer, and credit-union partners
- Private gifts and grants
2
Activities
- Recruit, screen, and train Dream Teams
- Weekly calls, visits, letters
- Commissary support and reentry fund
- Intake and release planning
- Gate pickup and 72-hour stabilization
- 30/90/365-day follow-up
- Veterans referrals
- Voluntary discipleship (privately funded)
3
Outputs
- # people matched to a full 12-member team
- # contacts logged per person
- # releases met at the gate
- # Freedom and Survival Bags
- # nights of lodging
- # referrals made and completed
- # Waypointers trained and retained
4
Short-Term Outcomes (0–12 mo)
- Valid state ID and Social Security card within 30 days
- Safe housing at 30 and 90 days
- Benefits applied for within 72 hours
- First supervision report on time
- Employment or income by 90 days
- Credit history established before release
5
Long-Term Outcomes (1–5 yr)
- Stable housing and income at 365 days
- Fewer returns to IDOC custody than the statewide rate (measured with IDOC's definition)
- Restored family and community ties
- Participants who later serve others
What the evidence suggests
The Evidence
Mentoring and transitional services are core purposes of the federal Second Chance Act. In an independent university evaluation of a faith-rooted reentry mentoring program in Nevada, mentoring was the strongest predictor of employment among participants. Credit-union reentry programs elsewhere have helped participants build credit scores from nothing within a year.
Why this design
Relationship first, structure always
We designed Dream Teams around those lessons: relationship first, structure always, and money routed through systems rather than individuals.
Assumptions We Will Test
- Twelve-person teams retain volunteers longer than one-to-one mentoring.
- Contact before release improves first-72-hour stability.
- Early document readiness speeds employment and housing.
- Credit history at release improves access to housing and transportation.