Offender Reentry Services
24 Wolcott Hill Road
Wethersfield, CT 06109
Phone: (860) 692-7869
Fax: (860) 692-7586
Directions.
Deputy Warden: Elisha Chornoby
The Offender Reentry Services Unit (ORSU) is under the auspices of The Program and Treatment Division. The goal of the unit is to help incarcerated offenders successfully return to their communities. Each facility in the state has a full-time Reentry Counselor.
Although reentry starts upon admission, the intense work for reentry with offenders takes place 18 months prior to release. For offenders with medical, mental health, and addiction treatment needs, reentry staff works closely with the agency's medical discharge planners and the Addiction Treatment Unit to ensure offenders are afforded: opportunities for healthcare referrals; prescriptions for medications upon release; access to recovery coaches; and appointments with providers in the community. Reentry staff also work closely with Parole and Community Services (PCS) and the Court Support Services Division (CSSD) to further enhance offender reentry efforts.
Reentry counselors attend the CT Reentry Collaborative meetings (Roundtables) around the state http://ctreentry.org/ct-reentry-collaborative to gather the most up-to-date information on programs and services currently offered in various communities. Each offender’s reentry needs vary from person to person.
Reentry Counselors assist with providing the following services: reentry guides for various cities/towns across the state; referrals to community agencies and programs; information on job fairs and other employment services; locating assistance for basic needs; services for veterans; 211 calls for those with housing needs; bus passes; referrals to vital programming; and more. The Reentry Services Unit staff members also collaborate with the Reentry Welcome Centers around the state in order to be able to provide an individual leaving a facility, a “warm handoff” into the community. These centers provide a “one-stop-shop” for all reentry needs.
CT Reentry Welcome Centers
Hartford and Waterbury Welcome Centers: https://cpa-ct.org/reentrywelcomecenter/
New Haven Project Welcome Home: https://www.projectmore.org/ct-programs
Bridgeport Welcome Center: https://careerresources.org/bridgeport-re-entry-welcome-center/
New Britain Welcome Center: https://newlife2.org/
Additionally, the Reentry Counselors assist the offenders with identification procurement, including: birth certificates; social security cards; and renewals or duplicates of their DMV license and non-driver IDs. Monthly, up to 30 inmates (from a prescheduled facility) who are in need of a new non-driver ID, are transported to the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution where they are able complete the necessary paperwork, and - once processed by the DMV - receive a non-driver ID. Offenders from all DOC facilities are eligible to participate in this program.
The DOC must follow the Real ID Act when submitting applications for new non-driver IDs, just as members of the public would when visiting their local DMV office. If the offender does not have the funds in their inmate account to cover the costs of identification, the DOC will pay for duplicate IDs, renewals of non-driver IDs, and birth certificates, by utilizing the inmate welfare fund.
In 2022, PA 22-10 was passed, making commercial driver’s license knowledge tests available to certain incarcerated persons. The test is currently being offered at the Brooklyn and York Correctional Institutions for offenders that have a valid CT driver’s license and are within six months of release. The DOC hopes to expand this program to other facilities in the future.
For offenders that are admitted to DOC with identification, their identification is separated from other property or valuables. Their identification will remain at the facility until they discharge. If the offender discharges and does not claim their IDs, the IDs will remain at the discharging facility for 30 days. If the ID is not claimed by the discharge inmate after 30 days elapses, the IDs is then sent to the DOC Central Office in Wethersfield and will be stored for up to two years after discharge.
To check if an ID is being held at Central Office, please contact 860-692-6836 or 860-692-7869, or you may email DOC.ORSU@ct.gov.
You may also use the above contact information for general identification information or reentry questions.