Ready for Reentry
Facilitator Guide
by D'Angelo Stefani
Release day is not a speech. It is a sequence. Ready for Reentry is a facilitator curriculum for instructors working in prisons, jails, and community programs. Fourteen structured modules walk learners through the work that actually happens after the gate: securing ID, mapping the first twenty-four hours, lining up verified housing, keeping medications going, reading supervision orders, getting to work, and keeping cash from disappearing. Lesson plans, classroom standards, and student activities are written for real facilities—lockdowns, short stays, mixed reading levels, and release dates that move. You teach verification, not promises. You teach documentation, not legal advice. Participants leave with a personal reentry portfolio they can carry, not a stack of hope. If you train people who are going home, this is the guide you can run tomorrow.
- Instructional Guide
- Educational & Academic
- Self-Help
- Organizational Skills
- Education & Pedagogy
- Life Transitions
Module 1: Building My Release Plan and Setting Priorities
Objectives: Participants will assess 12 life areas, identify three urgent priorities, distinguish confirmed plans from assumptions, and create a Plan A and a Plan B.
Key terms: confirmed, assumed, priority, timeline, support map, backup plan.
Opening prompt: “What is one part of a plan that must be confirmed by another person or agency?” Do not ask participants to reveal personal release details.
Activity: Complete the readiness check privately. Have participants mark their top three needs, then apply FACTS (Facts, Assumptions, Confirmations Needed, Threats to Compliance, Steps Forward) to one need. Use Leroy’s fictional scenario to identify what is known, what is assumed, and what must be verified.
VERIFY — Confirm the participant’s priority, responsible contact, deadline, and Plan B using current information.
REFER — Refer unresolved housing, identification, medication, transportation, supervision, or support needs through approved channels.
Facilitator emphasis: A blank or “need help” response is useful information, not failure. Planning should cover pre-release, release day, the first week, and the first 30 days.
CLOSE — Record three priorities, one verification action, one next step, and one backup plan.
Evidence of learning: Three priorities, one confirmation action, and one backup plan are documented according to rubric criteria: Proficient when each priority specifies a verifiable contact and realistic timeline, the confirmation action identifies an official document or certified channel rather than informal word of mouth, and Plan B provides a distinct, concrete alternative for reporting or housing; Developing if items rely on unconfirmed assumptions or omit reporting deadlines.
Facilitator Lesson Plan
Materials: Participant workbook, pencils, priority cards or scrap paper, board, and approved local referral sheet.
PREPARE
Preparation: Review the 12 life areas, the Leroy case scenario, reporting process, and local referral pathway. Prepare three sample plans labeled Confirmed, Assumed, and Need Information.
TEACH
Timed instructions: 0–10 welcome and agreements; 10–25 explain connected life areas; 25–40 complete readiness check; 40–55 discuss Leroy; 55–72 select three priorities and apply FACTS; 72–82 draft Plan A and Plan B plans; 82–88 knowledge check; 88–90 next-step commitment.
DISCUSS
Discussion questions: Which single missing item can block several other goals? What makes a plan truly confirmed? When should Plan B be activated?
PRACTICE
Optional activities: Priority-card sort; pair teach-back using a fictional release plan; create a wall timeline without personal information.
Module 2: Securing Vital Identification and Essential Documents
Objectives: Participants will inventory identification documents, identify name-linking records, and draft a clear request to authorized facility staff.Key terms: certified copy, primary identification, secondary identification, verification letter, legal name chain, standard ID, REAL ID.Activity: Use Marsha’s scenario to arrange documents in a log…