Offenders About to Step Into Society

Each year Volunteers of America's Project OASIS helps more than 300 pre-release offenders, in the custody of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, prepare for reentry into society. Our three Northern New Jersey facilities - Ballington House, Field House, and Tremont House - help residents return to their community equipped with the skills and experience necessary to secure and maintain gainful employment, strengthen family relationships, and establish positive support networks. Residents are required to work, attend school or do a combination of both. If employed, they are expected to fulfill financial obligations, such as contributing to child support.

Moral Recognition Therapy

Moral Recognition Therapy is an integral part of every resident's therapeutic plan. Specifically designed for correctional settings, the 16-step program teaches offenders self-discipline, conflict resolution techniques and advanced moral reasoning. With new insights into their behavior and enhanced decision-making skills, residents have a significantly better chance of remaining crime-free, improving the quality of their life, and becoming productive members of their community.

Adkins Life Skills

Project OASIS employs the Adkins Life Skills model, a vocational counseling program that teaches individuals how to make sound career choices, and locate and maintain employment. Key components include: identifying the resident's employment interests, marketable skills and experiences, and helping him develop effective job search strategies and job interviewing skills.

Substance Abuse Relapse Prevention

Before leaving Project OASIS, residents complete a highly structured eight-week relapse prevention program to locate and connect with ongoing community programs that address substance abuse issues.

Permanent Solutions

Studies indicate that offenders who receive intensive therapeutic support before reentering the community, have a significantly lower rate of recidivism. Our skilled and dedicated staff work in partnership with each resident to create an individualized treatment plan that sets realistic goals, guidelines and consequences. Through the concentrated support offenders experience at Project OASIS, they learn alternatives to socially unacceptable behavior and have a much better chance of leaving the corrections system permanently.

For more information, please contact: 

Project OASIS

205 W. Milton Avenue

Rahway, NJ 07065

Tel: 732-827-2444, ext. 212

Fax: 732-827-2440

The New Jersey Department of Corrections provides funding for this program.