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Theme: Community Integration

This web-based resource shares personal experiences and insights from returning individuals about their transition related to community reintegration, securing housing, mental health services, substance use disorder treatment, employment, healthcare, family reunification support. The conversations, a unique partnership between American Institutes for Research (AIR) and JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA), featured a series of facilitated group discussions with individuals returning to the community from across the United States that occurred between August and October 2022. In the final segment of the group discussions, the topic turned to each person’s experiences with integration into their community. This segment was an opportunity for the participants to reflect on the reasons they have been successful as well as to identify the kinds of supportive services they felt were missing that would have been helpful. We also invited the participants to share whether they experienced any barriers related to a sense of stigma associated with their convictions. Here we present a series of themes that emerged from the participants’ collective responses. Each theme (a bulleted statement in boldface) is supported by direct quotes from the participants.

The Effects of Incarceration and Reentry on Community Health and Well-Being

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop on June 6, 2018. The workshop’s mission was to investigate the connection between incarceration and health inequities to better understand the distributive impact of incarceration on low-income families and communities of color. Topics of discussion focused on the experience of incarceration and reentry, mass incarceration as a public health issue, women’s health in jails and prisons, the effects of reentry on the individual and the community, and promising practices and models for reentry. The programs and models that are described in this publication are all Philadelphia-based because Philadelphia has one of the highest rates of incarceration of any major American city. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions of the workshop.

Correctional Industries: A Guide to Reentry-Focused Performance Excellence

This online toolkit, created by National Correctional Industries Association (NCIA) and the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), outlines key components of successful reentry programming. Definitions and key practices associated with each component are provided. These components are: incorporate strategic planning; maintain financial stability; recruit, develop and retain staff; engage stakeholders; replicate private industry environment; provide certified technical skills training; maximize job opportunities for incarcerated individuals; and create a culture of employment readiness and retention for incarcerated individuals.

Prevention and care can reduce suicides in jail

Using the CES-D-7 as a Screening Instrument to Detect Major Depression among the Inmate Population

The practice of prescribing in jails and prisons is often different from that in the community. Serious mental illness is common among inmates, and so are co-morbidities such as substance use, impulse-control, attention-deficit/hyperactivity, and personality disorders. Operational requirements, staffing, and the physical plant of the institution may complicate the provision of treatment according to community standards. Problems related to medication nonadherence, as well as the pursuit of medications for nonmedical reasons, are often seen in these settings and may be managed differently than they are elsewhere. Existing practice resources rarely account for these challenges. Pursuant to a recommendation by the Correctional Committee of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL), the AAPL Council in May 2015 approved the creation of a task force charged with producing a document on prescribing in correctional facilities.

Opioid Addiction Guide: A guide for Patients, Families and Friends

This document provides facts about treatment from the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).

Integrate Routine Screening for Substance Use and Misuse and Co-occurring Disorders into Key Points in the Criminal Justice System

Abstract: Routine screening for substance use and misuse and co-occurring disorders at all intercepts of the criminal justice system is an effective way of making an initial determination about the presence of behavioral disorders and connecting an individual to further assessment and services. Universal screening for substance use disorders by staff members at jail booking, police holding cells, court lockups, and prior to the first court appearance offers a critical opportunity to identify options for diversion. Ensuring that information from screening and assessments is used for clinical decision making and reentry planning can support individuals in achieving recovery goals and reduce the likelihood of overdose post-release.

How Correctional Agencies Can Develop and Implement Collaborative Comprehensive Case Plans

Many programs struggle to develop and maintain case plans that assist their participants in reducing their risk for recidivating and advancing their goals for recovery. However, the web-based tool Collaborative Comprehensive Case Plans: Addressing Criminogenic Risk and Behavioral Health Needs can help criminal justice and behavioral health professionals better integrate critical behavioral health and criminogenic risk and needs information into collaborative comprehensive case plans that actively engage the participant. The National Reentry Resource Center will host a series of webinars to discuss how corrections and behavioral health professionals can use this web-based tool and highlight different agencies as lead case planners that oversee the case planning process. The first webinar in this series focuses on a correctional agency as the lead case planner and features the reentry program of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) in Greenfield, Massachusetts. The webinar provides a conceptual overview of the FCSO reentry program and discusses the program’s processes in three key areas: (1) interagency collaboration and information sharing; (2) staff training; and (3) screening and assessment as part of their collaborative comprehensive case plan process. Video Run Time: 1 hr., 27 mins.

ES TTA Webinar: Using Evaluation Findings to Improve Service Delivery in Reentry Programs

In this 60-minute webinar, presenters from RTI International, Center for Court Innovation, and the Primary Care Research Institute at the University of Buffalo share strategies for how to use evaluation results to improve and sustain reentry programs. Strategies for using evaluation data in both a formative manner, to guide ongoing, continuous program improvement; and a reflective manner, to gain deep insights at the conclusion of the program to inform decisions about program sustainability and replication, will be shared. The webinar also presents an example of real-world application shared by the Erie County Jails New Dawn Initiative team, including the perspective of the research partners and Program Director. Webinar attendees had the opportunity to engage with presenters to learn more about how to best leverage evaluation data and findings to improve their reentry programs. Video Run Time: 1 hr.

CIWA-AR Assessment for Alcohol Withdrawal

The Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment Alcohol Scale Revised (CIWA-AR) is an instrument used by medical professionals to assess and diagnose the severity of alcohol withdrawal. The CIWA-AR is one of the most common methods of treating alcohol withdrawal and is often used by family physicians.