Offender Reentry
Over 2,000 men and women return from prison to Washington, D.C. each year. CSOSA's Transitional Intervention for Parole Supervision (TIPS) Team assesses returning inmates for risk of re-offending and need for services. The TIPS Team works prinicipally with parolees and supervised released offenders who transition through a Community Corrections Center (CCC) (commonly referred to as a halfway house) operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. (Since December 2001, D.C. offenders serve their time in federal prisons.)
The TIPS Program ensures that offenders transitioning directly to the community or through a halfway house receive assessment, counseling, and appropriate referrals for treatment and/or services. The TIPS Community Supervision Officers (CSOs) work with each offender to develop a transition plan while the offender resides in a halfway house under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
In addition, the TIPS CSOs investigate release plans for those offenders once they are identified to be in a Federal Bureau of Prisons contracted facility. For offenders transitioning directly to the community from prison the transition plan is developed during the period of incarceration.
TIPS CSOs also perform investigations on offenders from other jurisdictions who request to move to the District of Columbia under CSOSA's active supervision through the Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision (ICAOS).
TIPS CSOs perform a key, critical function in the reentry planning process. They not only address offenders' needs upon release so they can have the opportunity to successfully reintegrate in the community, but they also help ensure public safety by approving or denying offender home and employment plans.
Once the offender is released to the community, the offender's supervision is transferred from the TIPS team to a general or special supervision team. Although TIPS work is short-term and intensive, it is critical to ensuring the smooth transition of the offender from incarceration to the community.
Related:
Fact Sheet: Offender Reentry in Washington, DC
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Employment Information
As a Federal agency with a distinctly local mission, CSOSA employees perform challenging work that directly affects public safety in the District of Columbia's neighborhoods.
