Offender Aid & Restoration Arlington Co Oar Arlington Alexandria Falls Church

“The Board of Directors makes all decisions for OAR. Board committees do not have authority to act on behalf of the Board, only to make recommendations to the Board.”

“A copy of the Form 990 is reviewed by the accounting firm and approved by the Executive Director. Upon Executive Director's approval, it is forwarded to the full Board of Directors for approval.”

“Each director, officer, and key staff is required to review a copy of the conflict of interest policy yearly, which requires each person to disclose any relationships, positions or circumstances in which he or she believes could contribute to a conflict. Following full disclosure of a possible conflict of interest, the Board of Directors shall determine whether a conflict of interest exists and, if so the Board shall vote to authorize or reject the transaction or take any other action deemed necessary to address the conflict and protect OAR's best interests.”

“Compensation decisions for the Executive Director are made using comparability data for similar positions in comparable organizations, and are reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors. The organization currently has no other compensated officers or employees meeting the key employee definition.”

“OAR makes its governing documents, certain policies (including conflict of interest policy) and financial statements available upon request based on discretion of management.”

“Through our Upstream work, we are confronting and dismantling individual racism and racism in the legal system and across all systems and changing laws (approximately 700 people a year hear our message). Our Downstream work allows us to be on the journey with individuals of all genders impacted by the criminal legal system and their families. We offer alternative sentencing options (including community service) and diversion programs so people can avoid the trauma of incarceration and instead help the community thrive (approximately 100 youth and 1,000 adults a year). And we journey with people (about 600 people a year) during their incarceration (pre-release) and returning from incarceration (post-release) and their families (approximately 300 children and families a year). OAR is a collective, non-dominant, decolonizing, pro-Black, racially and ethnically just, radically joyful, deeply loving, come as you are, and liberated organization that puts participants first. We center authentic and fully engaged relationships with all members of the OAR community. OAR uses people-first and strength-based language and sees participants as experts on themselves and leaders of their own lives and plans. OAR actively recruits collective members, volunteers, board members, and contractors who have shared life experiences with program participants (i.e., experience with incarceration or directly impacted by the criminal legal system; experienced racial and ethnic discrimination; experience with substance use disorder or mental health needs; experience with having a loved one affected by incarceration, the criminal legal system, racial and ethnic discrimination, substance use disorder, or mental health needs). In addition, program participants are active in our Action Network and other community programs for racial justice and liberation (always with stipends or further compensation for their valuable time and travel costs), not only sharing their knowledge of and lived experience with racism and mass incarceration with others but also emerging as advocates and leaders for racial justice and liberation whose voices carry the same or more weight as those of others in the room.”

“Individuals with the wisdom and insight of shared experiences lead supportive programs in the detention facilities. OAR's pre-release one-on-one and group programs include the following training, courses, sessions, and activities: evidence-based cognitive-behavioral support, fatherhood and healthy relationships, psychotherapy, vocational/ educational/ personal development, wellness, substance use, transition planning and reentry readiness programs, and family reunification. Post-release, OAR's Reentry Program is a welcoming, warm, and loving community. Each week the reentry community gathers for a virtual support group. OAR provides individualized coaching and assistance with transition, employment, housing, cell phones, laptops, clothing, food, referrals, and more, to individuals while they secure a safe reentry back into the community for themselves. In addition, we provide family reunification programs where children whose parents are experiencing incarceration can stay connected with them monthly through handwritten communications and send special wishes during back-to-school and during the winter season. OAR is expanding our offerings of therapeutic services. Along with the small group psychotherapy offered at Arlington County Detention Facility, OAR has established a post-release pilot, gender-responsive, clinical services initiative in Old Town, Alexandria. We may also launch an alternative to violence program in 2023. In addition, we were part of a guaranteed income/ cash transfer pilot program with Arlington and Alexandria to provide monthly stipends to 20 OAR participants. OAR also enjoys long-established connections with both public social service agencies and other nonprofits in our area who team with us to assist Reentry program participants. For example, OAR has longstanding partnerships with the Arlington County Sheriff's Office, the Alexandria Sheriff's Office, and the Virginia Department of Corrections, which manage the correctional facilities where we work. Our partners also include the governments of Arlington County, City of Alexandria, and City of Falls Church, Arlington County and City of Falls Church Commonwealth Attorney's Office and Courts, Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, Arlington and Alexandria Probation and Parole offices, Arlington and Alexandria Reentry Discharge Committees, and Arlington and Alexandria Community Criminal Justice Boards, among others.”

“OAR is implementing a Diversion program in partnership with the Vera Institute and Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney - Arlington County and the City of Falls Church to reduce recidivism and racial disparities amongst individuals sentenced to diversion programs. As a result, instead of experiencing the trauma of incarceration, more than 1,200 participants stayed in the community. They performed meaningful volunteer work through our alternative sentencing and diversion programs with a 98% success rate. Some participants also get their cases dismissed altogether, and several have been hired at their service sites because of their hard work and dedication. In addition, we have access to a network of more than 300 nonprofits, government organizations, civic organizations, and faith communities that welcome Community Service participants as volunteers.”

“Some of these efforts include facilitating virtual learning cohorts for community members that address racial justice and liberation. Through engagement, OAR's 10-week Virtual Learning Cohorts work to stop the structural racism behind mass incarceration and other societal inequities. Our cohorts achieve this by helping BILAM (Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, Multicultural) and white people (WP), especially leaders in the criminal legal system, confront and accept their racism and ingrained biases. The "Liberation" cohort for BILAM focuses on de-conditioning, ancestral trauma, and working towards liberation. The "Dismantling Whiteness" cohort for WP discusses personal racism, the impact of vocabulary and language, racial superiority/inferiority, white fragility, and white energy. We offer full scholarships to our virtual learning cohorts to individuals previously incarcerated, law enforcement officers, criminal legal and corrections staff, and individuals working on criminal-legal system policies, and reduced costs to all others. All OAR volunteers attend one of the Cohorts before starting volunteer service. Through advocacy, we commit to ending the crippling injustices created by racism, including mass incarceration, one of our time's leading civil rights issues. OAR collective members hold the title of Racial Justice and Liberation Ambassador. OAR also works with local law enforcement agencies, courts, and the Commonwealth Attorney's offices to eliminate discriminatory practices and policies. The PAPIS (Pre-release and Post- Incarceration Services) Coalition, a group of nine organizations (including OAR), hires a lobbying firm to advocate for increased reentry funding from Virginia. In addition, OAR's organizing allows BILAM and people silenced by incarceration to lead. The OAR Action Network is a group of OAR supporters that advocate for specific actions with a racial justice and liberation mindset. OAR's Social Justice group of residents at the Arlington County Detention Facility and our post-release support group (at least 90% BILAM and their families) function as consultants and "idea generators" to guide Network action, advocacy, and legislative agenda. BILAM members may also do community outreach and meet with politicians and the media. WP Network members are allies and supporters. Their role is to lean out, listen, and lift the voices of BILAM while executing much of the functional "footwork" involved in Network operations. This division recognizes the weathering that BILAM people experience in pro-Black work and shifts the burden of labor-intensive aspects of Network operations. We will also contract with a lobbying firm in Richmond to help with the 45-point advocacy and legislative plan informed by many stakeholders to focus our efforts for the next 3-5 years, including 1) Reducing the incarcerated population by 20% each year; 2) Decreasing the disparity in sentencing between BILAM communities and WP by at least 20%; 3) Establishing expungement in Virginia; and 4) Banning the Box on all applications, including employment, housing, and educational intuitions. OAR is proud to be a pro-Black organization. Due to the most marginalized people in the world being Black, we believe that the opposite of racism is pro-Blackness. It is not enough to be "anti-racist." That is the bare minimum of what we as human beings should be as a part of this community. Being pro-Black does not equal "anti-others." Pro-Blackness and celebrating and uplifting Blackness is for the benefit of all, which means we ALL win.”

“Members of OAR's Board of Directors assume responsibility for oversight of the audit, including selection of independent accountant. This process is consistent with prior years.”