Contact Information NJDOC Office of Transitional Services Post Office Box 863 Trenton, New Jersey 08625 Phone: 609-826-5632 via email

OTS Resources Council of State Governments Re-entry Policy Council National Governors Association New Jersey Institute for Social Justice CamConnect Camden Safer Cities Initiative Police Institute Rutgers/Newark Greater Newark National Institute of Corrections U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Reentry Reentry National Media Outreach Campaign Reentry Resources Center - New York Did You Know? Office of Transitional Services Brochure Reentry Myth Busters Office of Transitional Services BSW/MSW Field Placement “Internship” Opportunities

More than 14,000 offenders are released from state prison in New Jersey each year. Over the next five years, an estimated 70,000 offenders will leave state prison to their communities. More than half of released offenders will be rearrested for a new crime within nine months, and many will return to prison within three years. The cost associated with high recidivism rates range from the incalculable cost to communities, families and victims affected by crime to ballooning budgets needed for the incarceration of offenders. In an effort to combat this pressing public safety problem, in 2004 the New Jersey Department of Corrections established the Office of Transitional Services.

The goal of the Office of Transitional Services is to implement a seamless continuum of care for offenders utilizing cost-effective, proven practices system wide that increase offenders’ abilities and motivation to practice responsible, crime-free behavior. The Office of Transitional Services has oversight over the transitional and social services programs within the department. The office has developed partnerships with federal, state and local agencies for creating linkages to resources that provide support to returning offenders. Services are coordinated in four key interrelated areas: employment and economic stability; mental, physical and spiritual health; housing; and family stability. Offenders are provided with the tools necessary to become productive members of the community.

Our vision is that every offender released from prison will be prepared to reenter society as a productive, law-abiding citizen of New Jersey.

Our mission is to enhance public safety by reducing the risk that offenders will reoffend and return to prison by providing comprehensive services from the time they enter prison through their reintegration back into society.