General Info

Virginia CARES (Community Action Re-Entry System) is a heralded, statewide network of Community Action Agenies (CAAs) formed to address the successful reentry and de-institutionalization of felons in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The agency presently operates pre-release programs in 15 prisons and 11 regional and local jails, as well as post-release programs in 43 Virginia localities, which receive the largest numbers of parolees. Since 1981 Virginia CARES has worked with more than 70,000 felons with a proven record of recidivist reduction. Virginia CARES began as a joint program of Roanoke-based community action agency formerly known as Total Action Against Poverty (now known as Total Action for Progress TAP), and the local Department of Social Services (DSS) Vocational Rehabilitation program.