NJDOC, Give Back Partner To Provide Support For Children Of Incarcerated Persons
Delany Smith, a recipient of a Give Back scholarship and now a success coach for the organization, addresses attendees of the NJDOC and Give Back partnership MOU signing. Photo credit: Dean Johnson
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story first appeared on Follow South Jersey on August 21, 2025.
BY DEAN JOHNSON | Editor-in-Chief, Follow South Jersey
BRIDGETON – The New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC) and Give Something Back (Give Back) have announced a partnership to support youth affected by incarceration through long-term coaching and mentoring to create pathways to stability, education, and success.
The NJDOC and Give Back, a non-profit organization, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to deliver long-term coaching and academic support to youth affected by parental incarceration and other significant childhood adversity.
“My team can tell you that I have been so excited about the prospect of the program,” NJDOC Commissioner Victoria L. Kuhn, Esq. said at the MOU signing ceremony that took place at the Hopeloft in Bridgeton on Wednesday, August 20. “These last four years have been a true labor of love in developing community partnerships and really developing programs within the DOC that we can provide those real, honest rehabilitative programs in education [and] social services.”
According to NJDOC, under the agreement, Give Back will provide long-term coaching and supportive services to youth with high Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), including the children of incarcerated women at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility.
As part of the Give Back program, each young person builds a personal success plan and receives consistent one-on-one support. Services include academic guidance, college and career coaching, trauma-informed mentoring, and access to basic needs like food and transportation.
Melissa Helmbrecht, Chief Executive Officer of Give Back, said that the partnership with NJDOC was a dream long in the making.
“For us at Give Back, today is one of the best days in our 20 year history,” Helmbrecht said. “It represents both a culmination of a dream and also a kick-off for the future, so it’s a very special moment for us. This partnership is going to guide our development nationwide, and it’s because of [Kuhn’s] leadership.”
Give Back, founded by entrepreneur Bob Carr, is a national nonprofit dedicated to helping youth overcome barriers to education and economic stability through long-term coaching and mentoring to break cycles of poverty and incarceration. Give Back has supported more than 2,000 young people nationally with more than 80 percent of those served having earned a post-secondary degree or are on track to do so.
“When I first met Bob Carr more than ten years ago, our very first conversation was about Edna Mahan [Correctional Facility],” Helmbrecht stated in a press release from NJDOC. “He had just sold Heartland Systems and wanted to dedicate his resources to changing outcomes for children of incarcerated mothers, who face more obstacles than most. He couldn’t imagine a more compelling purpose, and he has stayed true to that vision ever since – investing more than $100M to college readiness, access and completion for the most vulnerable students.”
According to Kuhn, New Jersey has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the nation at less than five percent, and the female population that the new program will be working with, is less than one percent. However, the goal of the partnership is to prevent the children of the incarcerated women from ever entering the prison system.
“What we have to be able to do is break the pipeline,” Kuhn said. “We have to stop the pipeline of people that are coming into prison because the unfortunate truth is even though folks aren’t coming back, our prison population is staying the same. For the last three years we’re staying at 13,000 individuals that are incarcerated. It’s too many.
“We have been looking to probably exceed what the typical jurisdiction would be of the department of corrections, knowing what our population needs and wants, and looking for community partners that will help us with helping break that cycle on the front end.
“That is why we are so excited to be here today, to enter into this agreement, to take advantage of [Giveback’s] resources, to partner with you, and we’re thankful that you trust us to partner with us.”
Delany Smith, who is from Bridgeton, was a recipient of a Give Back scholarship and now works for the organization as a success coach.
“Giveback is a home to me, not a building or a place but a feeling,” Smith said. “This organization has funded and changed many students’ lives for the better, including mine. Living my life as a student success coach, I am glad to motivate and inspire the youth after me.”
NJDOC’s commitment to reducing recidivism and improving public safety along with Give Back’s outcomes-oriented approach, NJDOC says that the partnership aims to expand access to education, mentoring and post-secondary opportunities for youth across New Jersey.
“Like all parents, we want the best for our kids,” Kuhn said. “That’s the same thing that our incarcerated population at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for women want. Their number one concern every day is their kids that they had to leave behind.”
NJDOC and Give Back will work together to break cycles of incarceration, open pathways to economic stability, and ensure that every young person served has the tools and support to succeed.
“We’re so excited for the changes that come because of [the program] for hopefully generations to come,” Kuhn said.
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