Project Impact: A Public Community College Campus–Based Support and Reentry Program for Justice-Impacted Students in New York City

Abstract

Background: Between 70 million and 100 million Americans have a record of interaction with the criminal legal system, a group facing stigma and discrimination in civic participation, housing, employment, and education. Justice-impacted people face collateral consequences in the community, making reentry programs essential to success at reintegration. Focus of Study: Project Impact (PI) at the Borough of Manhattan Community College/City University of New York (BMCC/CUNY) supports students impacted by the criminal legal system. PI provides direct services to justice-impacted students through an extensive peer mentoring program and a high school equivalency program, and by offering college credit–bearing courses to students presently incarcerated in partnership with John Jay College’s Prison-to-College Pipeline. PI defines “justice impacted” expansively as students who have been formerly incarcerated, have family who have been incarcerated or arrested, have had issues in family court, or in any other way have been significantly affected by the criminal legal system. Research Design/Conclusions: This evaluation provides unequivocal evidence of the strong, positive impact that PI is making, serving as a rare campus-based reentry program within a community college in New York City.