The NetWork for Better Futures
Our Mission
Reduce the economic and social costs of high-risk adults, primarily African American men, with histories of incarceration, substance abuse, mental illness, chronic unemployment, and homelessness.
This ambitious endeavor was created and is being sponsored by a team of Minnesota’s leading healthcare, housing, workforce, community corrections, and human service practitioners. By setting high expectations and providing direct access to the resources one needs to meet these expectations (housing, behavioral health and primary health care, short term employment, and community reengagement), men in The NetWork are offered the opportunity to become contributing, productive, and positive members of society.
The NetWork is not a “program.” It is an enterprise built on a culture of execution. Unlike many non-profit service organizations and businesses, it is focused sharply on performance, on systems, operations and people, and on structuring an inter-agency service delivery model unlike any other. This attitude and discipline will help us meet performance expectations and achieve financial sustainability over the long term.
A core feature of this venture is Better Futures, The NetWork’s jobs enterprise which serves a dual role: provide immediate, short term work for participants and generate earned income for The NetWork. Along with marketing its work crews to public and private employers, The NetWork is developing several new businesses to meet its employment and income goals.
An Innovative Enterprise
The NetWork is a common sense approach with the comprehensive level of resources needed to help high risk men reenter the community as workers, fathers and positive forces in society. This innovative endeavor is designed to respond immediately to participants’ most basic needs: safe, decent affordable housing and a job. Once the basic needs of shelter and work are met, the value and impact of other services accelerates. Moreover, each man transforms from a “client” totally dependent on public benefits to a worker, who earns a wage, pays taxes and child support and is no longer chronically dependent on public assistance.
The initial success of The NetWork has been dramatic. Along with securing start-up investments of over $4.8 million from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Minnesota State Legislature, The NetWork enrolled 224 high risk adults in 2008. 124 or 55% of these men were still enrolled on December 31, 2008. All the men received a rent subsidy; they were working and paying child support, and every man secured health insurance. Preliminary data indicates that The Network’s approach appears to generate a positive return for the community and public safety. The men enrolled in The NetWork experienced lower return to prison rates, lower rearrest rates and lower rates of convictions for new crimes.
The NetWork will ultimately enable policymakers to “right-size” jail, prison, and shelter systems, reduce spending on crisis-care services, and shift more resources from expensive institutional services to prevention and human development efforts.
Learn About Our Results »
The NetWork for Better Futures was established by a team of Minnesota’s leading healthcare, housing, workforce, community corrections, and human service practitioners. Find out more about our Partners.
