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The LOC Family Services program, funded by the United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance in the 2018 Second Chance Act Grant, is being hailed as a massive success due to its zero recidivism rate. “Through the Changing Lanes Program, LOC Family Services served 107 men medium to high risk of reoffending according to the criminogenic validated assessment called the Offender Screening Tool,” a press release from LOC Family services noted.

“In 2018, LOC Family Services (LOCFS) was awarded the 2018 Second Chance Act grant. It was among the first cohort of faith-based, nonprofits and rural organizations that received The Second Chance Act Grant to serve the reentry population in rural areas. The program has shown tremendous success in serving black men compared to other ethnicities, and the researcher found that the measures of success in the program were statistically significant,” the release further stated.

LOCFS findings indicated that the Changing Lanes Program is in sync with recently released data on the Virginia justice system, stating, “Black men are overrepresented in Virginia’s prison and jail system, as they make up 19% of the state population but 58% are incarcerated; in comparison, white males are underrepresented making up 65% of the state’s population and 37% in the justice system. Anteangelia, A & Durose, M. (2021). Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 24 States in 2008: A 10-Year Follow-Up Period (2008–2018). Bureau of Justice Statistics.” The evaluation study shows that no one who completed the Changing Lanes program recidivated. “That is an amazing accomplishment” stated Joseph Williams, Senior TA Consultant for the American Institutes of Research.

“Research states, to address the social determinants of mass incarceration in rural communities, strategic programming that takes into account the multifaceted needs of the inmate upon release is necessary to deter recidivism rates.” said Program Director of the Changing Lanes Project, Co-Founder and Executive Director of LOC Family Services Shelley Mays-Couch.