Issued: January 2026
Conference Date: August 14, 2026
Location: Grand Valley State University
The RFP window is officially open for Reentry United 2026, and for people doing real reentry work, this is not a box-checking exercise or a branding opportunity. It is an invitation to bring substance into a room that matters.
Hosted by Michigan Works! West Central in partnership with Reentry United, the 2026 conference will take place at Grand Valley State University and will convene practitioners, advocates, system actors, and people with lived experience from across Michigan and nationwide.
I attended last year, and it was an absolutely amazing event.
This year’s theme is Breaking Barriers: Returning to the basics to spark real, lasting change.
The framing signals an important shift; one that moves away from performative innovation and toward work that actually moves people through reentry with dignity, stability, and outcomes.
What This RFP Is Asking For (And What It Is Not)
Reentry United 2026 is seeking programs, perspectives, and presentations that remove barriers, not rename them.
Priority areas include:
- Justice-impacted expertise grounded in direct service or lived experience
- Housing solutions that create long-term stability after incarceration
- Innovative support programs with measurable impact
- Lived experience voices willing to speak honestly about reentry
- System partnerships that actually work, not just exist on paper
- Family reunification efforts that repair real harm
- Workforce pathways tied to sustainable careers and skilled trades
If you are proposing a program, you are expected to show why it works. If you are proposing a story, it needs to illuminate solutions, not just survival.
The RFP Window and Why Timing Matters
RFP windows in justice spaces are often treated as administrative details; I assure you, they are not.
They define who gets to speak, whose work is validated, and what ideas circulate in rooms where policy, funding, and partnerships form.
For Reentry United 2026, the window is clear and firm:
- Proposal deadline: Friday, February 20, 2026 at 3:30 PM
- Acceptance notifications: March 13, 2026
- Final presentations due: June 17, 2026
- Conference date: August 14, 2026
Late submissions will not be considered.
Accessibility, Lived Experience, and Inclusion Are Not Side Notes
Michigan Works! West Central and Reentry United explicitly encourage proposals from individuals with lived experience and from underrepresented communities.
As an attendee of last year’s event, I can confirm there is real recognition that reentry expertise does not only live inside institutions. Some of the most valuable insights come from people who navigated the system without a safety net and built something better anyway.
This is not about exposure for exposure’s sake. It is about bringing people into a network that can extend the life of good work beyond a single conference.
I Will See You There
If you are doing reentry work that actually breaks barriers instead of documenting them, you belong in this room.
If you have lived the gaps in housing, employment, supervision, and family reunification and turned that knowledge into solutions, this stage is for you.
If your work is quiet, effective, and built on trust rather than buzzwords, submit the proposal.
See you there!
