Reentryforwomen

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Executive Summary

New Chapter Women's Reentry is a nonprofit in Indiana that helps women leaving incarceration in Indianapolis rebuild their lives through transitional housing, trauma-informed case management, job training partnerships and family reunification support. We operate a ten-bed transitional home for up to 12 months per resident, begin outreach inside Indiana Women's Prison 90 days before a woman's release and provide case management through at least 12 months after she moves out.

Most reentry programs were built for men. Women returning from incarceration are more likely to be primary caregivers of children, more likely to have histories of domestic violence and sexual trauma and more likely to be returning to child welfare cases that require them to meet court mandates while simultaneously finding housing and income. Without housing specifically designed for women's reentry, most of those mandates are impossible to meet. With this grant we will pay our case manager and a portion of the home's operating costs. We do not supervise anyone on probation or parole, and we never give cash to participants.

What we are asking for. Our program has a Year 1 budget of about $295,000. We are asking for $72,000 from a reentry fund for case manager salary and a portion of transitional home operating costs. The rest comes from other grants and donors listed in the funding section. Every dollar amount in this plan is an estimate.

Company Description

New Chapter Women's Reentry is a nonprofit organization recognized under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code, governed by a volunteer board that includes one formerly incarcerated woman, a DFCS official, a Goodwill Industries representative and a legal aid attorney. The board meets monthly, approves the budget and oversees the executive director. A new organization without its own determination letter can use a fiscal sponsor, explained in the funding section.

What we believe. A woman coming home from prison deserves a door that actually opens for her. For most of our clients, the door is the transitional home.

What we do:
- Pre-release outreach. A case manager visits Indiana Women's Prison every two weeks to meet women within 90 days of release, conduct an intake assessment and begin the housing and employment plan.
- Transitional home. Up to ten women at a time in the New Chapter home for up to 12 months. Written house agreements, required program participation and case management are part of residency.
- Trauma recovery group. Weekly group facilitated by the licensed social worker using trauma-informed approaches.
- Job training partnerships. We refer women to Goodwill Industries for immediate placement in jobs that do not automatically exclude them by background check, and to Ivy Tech Community College for credential programs in healthcare and logistics.
- Family reunification. The case manager advocates with DFCS, accompanies women to court dates related to child welfare and connects to family therapy when children are involved. The Children's Reunification Fund provides small grants of $200 to $500 for DFCS-mandated costs such as drug testing fees, background check fees and childcare setup.
- Legal aid referrals. For expungement petitions and child custody matters.

What we do not do. We do not supervise probation or parole. We do not give cash to residents. We do not provide legal representation ourselves. We are mandatory reporters and follow all Indiana reporting requirements.

Who we serve. Women ages 18 and older being released from Indiana Women's Prison into the Indianapolis metro area.

Our board has at least five members, including at least one person who has used our services or lives in the community we serve, and only a minority of board members may be related to each other or paid by the organization.

We keep a written conflict of interest policy, a whistleblower policy and a record retention policy, and the board reviews them every year.

Problem & Opportunity

Women leaving incarceration in Indianapolis face compounding barriers that standard reentry programs are not designed to address.

1. Housing. Indianapolis has approximately 40 transitional housing beds for women leaving incarceration. Indiana Women's Prison releases approximately 800 women per year into the metro area. The math does not work.
2. Child welfare. Most incarcerated women in Indiana are mothers. Children are placed in foster care or with relatives during incarceration. Upon release, women must meet DFCS mandates - drug testing, parenting classes, stable housing, income - while simultaneously having no housing and no income.
3. Domestic violence history. Research consistently shows that 70% to 85% of incarcerated women have experienced domestic violence. Most men's reentry programs do not address this.
4. Employment. Indiana law and many employers allow automatic exclusion of applicants with felony records. Women face additional barriers: gaps in childcare, no work history after incarceration and the need to attend multiple DFCS-mandated appointments.

Why it matters now. Women are the fastest-growing segment of the incarcerated population in Indiana. The state has made Second Chance Act commitments but has not funded gender-specific transitional housing at the scale the population needs.

How we know the need is real. We reviewed IDOC release data, interviewed the DFCS Marion County director, surveyed 20 women within 90 days of release at Indiana Women's Prison and talked with the existing transitional housing programs that maintain waiting lists. Every source confirmed the gap. In a 15-woman pilot, 87% were employed at 12 months and none were reincarcerated. The detail is in the appendix.

Products & Services

What the funded project will do. With this grant we will pay the case manager's salary and a portion of the transitional home's operating costs.

How a woman moves through the program:
1. Pre-release meeting. The case manager visits IWP on a biweekly schedule. A woman within 90 days of release can request a meeting, or the prison's discharge planner refers her.
2. Housing plan. The case manager assesses the woman's needs and goals, explains the house agreement and confirms a bed if one is available.
3. Move-in. On release day or within 72 hours, the woman moves into the home with her belongings. The house manager gives an orientation.
4. Weekly case management. One-on-one meetings with the case manager covering employment, child welfare case status, appointments and goals.
5. Weekly trauma recovery group. Required for residents; facilitated by the licensed social worker.
6. Employment. Within two weeks, the case manager connects the woman to Goodwill for immediate placement or Ivy Tech for credential enrollment.
7. DFCS coordination. The case manager attends DFCS case conferences and court hearings with the woman when transportation is a barrier.
8. Move-out planning. Beginning at month 9, the case manager works on permanent housing: rental applications, security deposits and utility setup.
9. Follow-up. Monthly check-ins for 12 months after move-out.

What the grant pays for. This request covers the case manager's salary and a portion of home rent and utilities.

What we do not promise. We do not promise that every woman will find employment, that DFCS will reunify every family or that every woman will complete the program. We track residents housed, employment at 6 and 12 months, child welfare case closure, program completion and 12-month recidivism, and we report honestly.

Safety. We are mandatory reporters. We have a domestic violence safety protocol. We do not share a resident's information with her abuser under any circumstances. We call 911 in an emergency and refer anyone in crisis to 988.

Market Analysis

Who benefits from this project are women being released from Indiana Women's Prison into the Indianapolis metro area.

Who we serve. Women ages 18 and older leaving IWP, most of them mothers, most with child welfare cases, most without housing, employment or family support in Indianapolis.

How many people we plan to serve. In Year 1 we plan to house 60 women in the transitional home (average stay 8 months, 10 beds). By Year 5 we plan to serve 100 women per year with a larger home or a second site. We chose those numbers from the ten-bed home capacity and average stay.

Where we serve. Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana, with pre-release outreach at Indiana Women's Prison.

Who else benefits. Children who are reunified with a stable parent. The foster care system, which benefits when children are safely reunified. The state, which saves on reincarceration costs.

We choose how many residents to house from the number of beds we really have, not from the size of the need.

Competitive Landscape

Other transitional housing in Indianapolis.

1. Horizon House. Provides transitional housing but is not women-specific or trauma-informed. We receive overflow referrals from them.
2. Wheeler Mission Women's Campus. Provides emergency shelter and some transitional housing with a faith-based model. We coordinate referrals for women who prefer that environment.
3. PACE. Provides general reentry case management but has limited women-specific programming. We accept referrals for women who need housing.
4. IDOC reentry programs. Provide general support inside the facility. We pick up where they stop, at the gate.

What makes us different. We are the only women-specific reentry organization in Indianapolis that combines a transitional home, pre-release outreach beginning 90 days before release, child welfare advocacy and a Children's Reunification Fund for DFCS-mandated costs. A woman who comes to us does not have to navigate five agencies; she has one case manager.

How we avoid duplication. We coordinate monthly with Horizon House, Wheeler Mission and PACE on shared clients and waitlist referrals.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How we will reach women once the project is funded.

Pre-release outreach. The case manager visits Indiana Women's Prison on a biweekly schedule. The prison's discharge planner refers women who have no confirmed housing plan.

IDOC reentry case managers. Inside the prison, IDOC reentry staff refer women to us when a bed is available and the woman's release date is approaching.

Probation and parole officers. Officers who have a newly released woman on their caseload without housing refer her to us directly.

Word of mouth. Women who complete the program tell women they met inside. This is consistently our second-largest referral source in the pilot.

New Chapter Benefit Dinner. An annual dinner fundraiser raises individual donor support and community awareness.

Funding cultivation. Second Chance Act grants, the Vera Institute, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Indiana state reentry funding are the primary grant prospects.

Operations Plan

How the project will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1. Month 1: confirm home lease, hire house manager if not in place, confirm pre-release schedule with IWP. Month 2: move in first cohort of residents. Months 3 to 12: run the full program on a rolling admission basis as beds turn over.

The home. A leased ten-bedroom house in a residential Indianapolis neighborhood near public transit. The lease is in the organization's name. House rules and a signed house agreement are required for residency. A house manager is on site during overnight hours for safety.

Partners. Indiana DOC for pre-release access, DFCS Marion County for child welfare coordination, Goodwill Industries and Ivy Tech for employment, two legal aid organizations and a contracted licensed social worker for the weekly group. Each has a written agreement.

Money controls. The Children's Reunification Fund is held in a separate account. Two people approve every payment from that fund. Home operating costs require two signatures. No cash is ever given to residents.

Records and reporting. We track residents housed, employment at 6 and 12 months, DFCS case closures, program completion and 12-month recidivism. We report to funders twice a year.

Management & Organization

The executive director manages the organization and the external partnerships. The case manager holds the full caseload of active residents and pre-release contacts. The house manager provides overnight on-site support. The contracted licensed social worker facilitates the weekly trauma recovery group.

The team. Pay figures include payroll taxes and workers' compensation insurance. The numbers in parentheses are how many people we plan to have in Years 1 through 5. A number with a half, such as 2.5, means a hire phased in during the year or one part-time person.
- Executive Director: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 (Years 1 to 5), about $62,000 a year.
- Case Manager: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2 (Years 1 to 5), about $52,000 a year each.
- House Manager: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 (Years 1 to 5), about $36,000 a year.
- Program Associate (added as the budget grows): 0, 0, 0, 0.5, 0.5 (Years 1 to 5), about $38,000 a year each, hired as new grant money arrives.
- Contracted Licensed Social Worker (group facilitation, part-time): about $16,000 a year.

Governance and money controls. The board reviews financials monthly. An outside accountant prepares the yearly tax return and audit-ready records. Every grant is in its own budget line. The Children's Reunification Fund is tracked separately.

Feedback and complaints. Any resident can give feedback to the case manager, in writing or by phone. We reply within five business days and report themes to the board quarterly. No resident loses housing for speaking up.

Milestones Narrative

Goals for each of the first five years. These are goals, not promises.
- Before the grant starts: confirm home lease, finalize pre-release agreement with IWP, confirm Goodwill and Ivy Tech partnerships, hire house manager.
- Year 1: house 60 women, achieve 85% employment at 12 months, achieve 12-month recidivism below 15%. Budget about $295,000.
- Year 2: hire a second case manager when active caseload exceeds 25. Budget about $348,000.
- Year 3: launch a paid internship program with three Indianapolis employer partners for program graduates. Budget about $390,000.
- Year 4: expand home capacity to 14 beds or open a second site depending on demand and available property. Budget about $428,000.
- Year 5: serve 100 women per year and publish a plain results report. Budget about $465,000.

How we will measure results: women housed, employment at 6 and 12 months, DFCS case closures, program completion, 12-month recidivism and Children's Reunification Fund distributed. We report to funders twice a year.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $72,000 from a reentry fund for case manager salary and a portion of transitional home operating costs, for January through December 2027.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: Case Manager salary, $52,000.
- Other: Transitional home rent and utilities (portion), $20,000 (other funds cover the remaining $22,000 of the annual home cost).

Other money in the program. This request is about 29% of Year 1 grant income. Other grants and donors pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $295,000, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $7,300 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: Grant Revenue $248,000; Individual Donors and New Chapter Benefit Dinner $47,000. Year 1 costs: executive director $62,000; case manager $52,000; house manager $36,000; licensed social worker $16,000; home rent and utilities $42,000; children's Reunification Fund $15,000; job training coordination and DFCS advocacy costs $10,000; new Chapter Benefit Dinner $12,000; office and reporting $14,000; program supplies, participant support and contingency $27,200.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $15,600 are paid once from startup funds: $4,200 for home setup - beds, locks, a key system and a kitchen stock, $3,200 for laptops and a secure case management system, $2,800 for policy development and legal review including the house agreement and mandatory reporter procedures, $2,600 for staff training in reentry, trauma-informed practice and domestic violence safety, and $2,800 for banners, intake forms and a website.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($15,600), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $3,000) and a cash cushion of about $71,600, which is about 3 months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $90,500. We start with $24,000 of our own savings and $67,000 in startup support from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and board contributions, $91,000 in all, which covers that amount.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $295,000 in Year 1 to about $465,000 in Year 5. Grant revenue is planned at $248,000, $244,000, $275,000, $306,000 and $299,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows as sponsors and donors join. The program plans to end each year with a surplus, about $7,300, $44,000, $14,300, $9,400 and $17,500 in Years 1 to 5, which we put into savings. Some years are larger because new grant money arrives before the added staff are hired. The lowest year-end cash in the plan is about $80,600.

After the grant. Second Chance Act grants and state reentry funding become the primary revenue sources. The Benefit Dinner grows into a sustainable annual event.

Risks:
- A resident may violate house rules and need to be asked to leave. We have a graduated response policy and a written appeals process.
- Home lease renewal may be complicated if the landlord or neighborhood changes. We begin lease renewal conversations six months early.
- Child welfare cases involve DFCS decisions that are outside our control. We document our advocacy and track what is within our influence.
- A major grant may end. We grow individual donors and the Benefit Dinner each year to reduce dependence.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach before you send this proposal:

- Your IRS determination letter showing 501(c)(3) status, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your board list and board minutes approving the application.
- Your most recent budget and financial statements.
- A list of other funders and what each has given or been asked to give.
- Pre-release program agreement with Indiana Women's Prison.
- DFCS Marion County coordination agreement.
- Goodwill Industries and Ivy Tech partnership agreements.
- Licensed social worker contract and license.
- Home lease agreement.
- House agreement template and house rules.
- Children's Reunification Fund policy.
- Pilot data: 15 women, 87% employment at 12 months, 0 reincarcerated.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers:
- Grant Revenue: $248,000 in Year 1, planned to reach $299,000 in Year 5.
- Individual Donors and Benefit Dinner: $47,000 in Year 1, growing to $166,000 in Year 5.
- Case Manager: $52,000 including payroll taxes and workers' compensation.
- Home rent and utilities: $42,000 per year for a ten-bedroom house in Indianapolis near public transit.
- Children's Reunification Fund: $15,000 per year in Year 1, with grants averaging $250 to $500 per recipient.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate.

Plain words used in this proposal:
- DFCS: Division of Family and Children Services, Indiana's child welfare agency.
- Second Chance Act: a federal law funding reentry programs that reduce recidivism.
- Transitional housing: supervised housing for a defined period to help people build stability.
- Mandatory reporter: a person legally required to report suspected child abuse or neglect.
- 501(c)(3): the tax status that lets a nonprofit receive tax-deductible gifts and many grants.

Startup Costs