Cafe Momentum is a non-profit restaurant that serves as a paid post-release internship for juvenile offenders. Youth are released from detention into the sheltered environment of Café Momentum’s post-release program. Café Momentum’s program teaches critical skills that allow youth to re-enter society in a safe, real-world environment of nurturing accountability. By participating in our program, at-risk young people rotate through every aspect of the restaurant from waiting tables to washing dishes, while working side-by-side with established chefs. The paid internship gives them the opportunity to exercise and practice their new skills while continuing to develop leadership, social, and vocational skills for as long as they choose to maintain involvement with Café Momentum. Additionally, Café Momentum works with the Dallas County Juvenile Justice Department to serve youth deemed highest risk for incarceration.