Location

Our strategic location in Williamsport gives the residents opportunities to transition back into a positive community environment. The atmosphere of the historic district is relaxed with its array of parks and ball fields.  We are located within a couple of minutes from two colleges. Lycoming College is located about 2 miles from TLC and Pennsylvania College of Technology is just across the street from us. TLC provides a meaningful internship experience for college students every semester. In addition our residents have the opportunity to gain valuable skills. There are many churches and non-profit organizations around the area which help provide the residents with donations and volunteer work. The community of Williamsport comes together to provide a wonderful, positive place for the residents to learn and reenter the community.

 Community Corrections Services

At TLC, a caring and supportive atmosphere allows women to gain the skills needed to function in the outside community.

We instill:

Responsibility

Through our disciplinary process, residents learn that actions have consequences. The use of graduated and proportional punishments, along with the use of frequent rewards, helps residents take responsibility for their actions.

Traditional Family Values

We teach an ethic of hard work and achieving goals. Parenting skills and the ability to build positive relationships are integral parts of our program. Through good behavior, women can earn furlough time, which enables them to rebuild stable relationships with their children and families.

Evaluation and referral

75% of women in TLC are chemically dependent, and 60% have suffered physical or sexual abuse. We evaluate each resident and direct them to necessary resources.  Each resident is fully involved in the decision-making process. TLC residents participate in community services such as
           
            - Drug and alcohol counseling
            - Mental health counseling services
            - Job training
            - Educational Services – from literacy programs to college
            - Volunteering

Funding

Funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, TLC operates under specific contracts with the state. Women contribute financially to stay in the house, and contribute to the community by paying local and State taxes.

Important support for TLC comes from individuals, organizations, agencies, businesses, and foundations.

TLC is incorporated as a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) corporation and, therefore, donations are tax deductible.

 

Philosophy

Crimes are committed by individuals with anti-social personality traits. By instilling pro-social coping skills and enhancing residents’ thoughts and behaviors, TLC disrupts anti-social thinking and relationships.

 

We all Benefit From Community Corrections

With no transitional help, nationally, 50% of released prisoners return to a life of crime and eventually wind up back into prison. In Pennsylvania, 37% of women offenders return to prison within 3 years.

Of the women who completed our program over the past years, only 14% returned to prison. That’s below the national average of 16% for those who received prerelease, transitional help.

This program is not only necessary to break the cycle of crime, but is also essential in saving taxpayers the high cost of incarceration. To the extent possible, women in our program pay for their own counseling and medical bills.

In short, this program costs less than traditional prison incarceration.

Eligibility

To become a resident at TLC, a woman must:
                       

• Be at least 18 years old
• Have completed at least half her minimum sentence
• Have less than one year to serve on minimum sentence
• Have no major misconducts (Class I)
• Have no more than one minor misconduct (Class II) in the past nine months
• Have the approval of the sentencing judge

 

Purpose

It is the purpose of the Transitional Living Centers, Inc. to assist women who have been incarcerated of convicted of a crime to reintegrate themselves into our communities. TLC operates a residential program for women who have been sentenced within the criminal justice system.  At the discretion of the Board of Directors, the Center may accept women who are released from incarceration, women who remain on probation or parole, and other such persons as may be deemed appropriate.  The Center will provide assistance to all residents to obtain education, counseling, and/or any other services that will accomplish the goals of the Transitional Living Center. The Board of Directors are all volunteers from the community who receive no financial benefits from their service.


Program Philosophy

Residents of TLC have committed an offense that has led to incarceration.  These actions have been the result of a variety of factors, including poor decision-making and problem solving skills that are a necessity for productive living.  The rehabilitation or habilitation process of transitional living is an agent for change and development. Positive outcomes are optimized when the individual internalizes the need for change. Staff is available to facilitate the development of goals and to structure and guide the process of lifestyle change.

The therapeutic process includes opportunities to:

• Explore the past and present skills, roles habits and values that have resulted in maladaptive strategies for the client’s daily living
• Establish priorities for goals that will foster more productive patterns and practices for daily living;
• Practice those skills in a structured and supportive environment that will guide the individual through development of constructive lifestyle changes;
• Identify some measure of outcomes as reinforcement of the change process.

 

Throughout the process of programming it is vital to respect the life space diversity of each client. This, in an environment of mutual support and trust, should facilitate the Program Mission for residents to make a positive and productive transition back into society.

Objectives

• Establish and enforce the safety and respect of the community within and external to the facility.
• Provide a structured environment that will guide residents through a productive experience of transition back into society.
• Provide a structured environment that will guide residents through a productive experience of transition back into society.
• Provide an environment where residents will feel safe to proceed through a therapeutic process.
• Facilitate the therapeutic process to assist residents in:
• Developing the insight they need to accept personal responsibility for their individual habilitation and/or rehabilitation process;
• Identifying values, roles and habits that have both supported and defeated adaptive patterns and practices of daily living;
• Identifying goals for establishing more constructive patterns and strategies for productive living.
• Learning adaptive life skills (through direct teaching or referral to appropriate resources);
• Evaluating the consequences of decision making or problem solving strategies.
• Provide a process of systematic program evaluation that will reflect the individual’s as well as the program’s outcomes.
• Provide opportunities for residents to maintain a supportive network upon their parole.

 

Implementation

The philosophy of the TLC is to help the offender prepare to cope with post-release problems and successfully reintegrate into the community as a productive member of society. To accomplish this objective, the TLC will provide residents with food, shelter, coordination of employment, educational and counseling services, and support and guidance geared specifically to the needs of the offender.

Both pre-released and post-released offenders will be served. Pre-release residents are those whom the sentencing judge determines may benefit from transfer to a community corrections facility to serve the final year of their sentence. Like those in a work-release program, pre-release residents will serve the remainder of their sentence at the Center while finding work, renewing living skills, and attending appropriate counseling sessions.

Post-release residents are parolees who may be referred to the Center by the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole. The Center provides a place for parolees to seek help if they are experiencing difficulties in the community.