Omar Narvaez said his brother had trouble finding a job in Houston when he was released from prison. The Dallas City Council member said he doesn’t want that to happen to others who have paid their debt and want to become productive members of society. He and other council members voted unanimously Wednesday to allocate up to $500,000 in state grant money toward housing and job skills training and placement for those leaving prison so they don’t wind up back behind bars.
This move was bolstered by the 5-Key Model program being tested in Dallas. The program’s leader, Carrie Pettus-Davis, the founding executive director of the Institute for Justice Research and Development, has called Dallas a natural test site. She has said the city was well ahead of the curve on providing reentry services for its large ex-offender population.