WHO WE ARE

Berks Connections / Pretrial Services is a community based organization that provides direct services, through professional staff and trained volunteers, to adult defendants, inmates, returning citizens and their families.

BCPS believes that people can change.

Adult offenders can reenter society and become contributing members of our society. It is difficult to return to society from incarceration; therefore, people need help reentering life outside of jail or prison.

The work we do and the way we do it improves the success rate of returning citizens. While people are incarcerated, their families are negatively impacted as well. These family members, young and old, need assistance and it is an essential component of our mission and vision to help them.

BCPS is a tax-exempt charitable organization funded through the County of Berks, the United Way of Berks County, the PA Department of Corrections, state and federal grants, foundation grants, local church groups and the generous ongoing support of businesses and individuals.

Mission Statement

Berks Connections/Pretrial Services improves lives and creates safer, more prosperous communities by providing services, support, and community reintegration to individuals involved in the justice system and to their families.

Vision Statement

The communities we serve are safer and healthier because people in the justice system have the tools and support to live productive, law-abiding lives.

Stand Together Against Racism Pledge.

Along with other organizations within our community, BCPS has signed the following pledge and promises to:
* Be patient with others who have different opinions from me.
* Never use any racial slurs, regardless of whether or not I mean them as a joke and call out my peers when they use racial slurs.
* Avoid thinking/sharing racial stereotypes when meeting new people.
* Speak up when peers make inferences about others based on their race.
* Educate myself about past and present racial injustice.
* Listen to minorities’ voices and perspectives.
* Create an atmosphere in my school/house/job/church/community/

business that is welcoming to people of all races.
* Keep an open mind when learning about cultures that are not my own.
* Embrace and share my own background to help others understand.
* Reflect on internal biases and fight them with knowledge and

conversation with others.
* Stay active in the fight against racism.