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The Drew House
is a family alternative to incarceration program
designed to provide an alternative for female defendants
who would otherwise be incarcerated and separated from
their children.
The Drew House offers an opportunity for these
women to serve their sentences in their own apartment at
Drew House with their children while fulfilling the
Court’s mandates which are monitored by TASC.
Generally, a prospective candidate must be
homeless and have a disability of substance abuse or
mental illness; not currently be using drugs; be charged
with a felony offense, and have custody of dependant
children.
The program offers a wide array of services aimed to
avoid fragmenting the family which frequently occurs
when a mother is incarcerated.
Families receive services to reduce trauma
experienced by the children who are separated from their
mothers, and to help the women achieve stability and
economic security including permanent housing.
The following is a general list of Court ordered
requirements that woman referred to Drew House must
meet. First,
the participant may need to receive treatment services
which would include drug testing, as well as completing
an educational or employment training program.
Counseling, employment services, budgeting,
mentoring and referrals to other needed health,
employment and social services are offered.
A House Manager lives on site, and a Tenant
Services Coordinator and Employment Specialist work with
each woman, as does a family therapist.
Tenants use community day care, health services
and other vocational and educational programs to meet
their individual needs.
The family lives in a one or two bedroom
apartment and agrees to comply with Court mandates and
Drew House rules.
Following the successful completion of their
mandated alternative to incarceration program which
generally last 18 months, the felony charges are
dismissed.
Moreover, the woman and her family can stay for as long
as they need their apartments, thereby avoiding the
possibility of the family again becoming homeless.
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