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NAVPLG Education Series: Dismantling the Stigma Around Court-Ordered Service and Formerly Incarcerated Volunteers

5/15/2024 - 5/15/2024
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM PST
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Event Description

Each year, millions of Americans interact with our criminal justice system. The vast majority of these individuals will be compelled to complete community service hours as a part of their sentence- often in exchange for reducing fines or avoiding incarceration. While originally well-intentioned, court-ordered service programs often place undue burdens on folks who live at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities. For those convicted of crimes and recently released from incarceration, their first foothold back into the community is often nonprofit organizations, and yet, the opportunities for volunteers with criminal records are quite limited, and the amount of mandatory hours often creates financial hardship.

In this session we will discuss the history of community service & diversion programs, the staggering economic value that these individuals provide to the third sector, concerns around exploitation of this compelled labor, and ways we can provide more meaningful community service to reduce recidivism rates.

In this training, you will learn:

Understand the historical context and evolution of court-ordered community service programs, including their initial intentions and their impact on individuals with intersecting marginalized identities.
Identify the economic and societal contributions of individuals completing court-ordered service, while exploring the ethical concerns regarding the potential exploitation of compelled labor within these programs, especially in light of the barriers returning community members face in seeking employment.
Explore actionable strategies and frameworks to create more meaningful, skill-building, and impactful community service opportunities, aiming to reduce recidivism rates and foster positive reintegration for individuals with criminal records.

Facilitators:
Bex Takacs-Britz (they/them/theirs) is a nonprofit strategist and inclusion advocate from Grand Rapids, Michigan. They hold a Bachelors of Science in public and nonprofit administration from Grand Valley State University. Professionally, Bex has spent the past decade focused on fund development for nonprofits spanning the entire US, from small shop to internationally-scaled organizations. They earned their CNP in 2021, their CFRE in 2022, and their ACNP in 2023. Outside of their day work, Bex is the President & founder of Welcome Home Neighbors, a community re-entry support program. Bex has a focused interest in creating inclusive and accessible workplaces and volunteer spaces.

Chris Boden is a passionate polymath with a storied life. He founded a little Makerspace that turned out to be kinda popular, wrote a few books, made a few videos that some people liked, survived being tossed into two different Federal prisons, and has lived a life through a lens throwing lightning bolts in front of thousands of people for decades. He’s a professional weirdo and rational optimist who is trying to balance misanthropy with philanthropy

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