Public Policy Solution #7
Providing a Comprehensive Range of Services Increases the Likelihood of Successful Reentry
 

Across the country innovative programs are achieving great success in helping people who are leaving the criminal justice system or who still may be under its supervision reintegrate into their communities. This includes programs that divert appropriate individuals to community sanctions and those that help individuals who have been incarcerated make the transition from prison or jail into the community and connect to treatment and other health services as well as other sources of support.

The most effective programs embrace a public health/public safety integration strategy and share a core set of components:

• Provision of quality addiction treatment services in the community
• Close supervision of individuals to ensure their compliance and the use of consequences for noncompliance
• Inclusion of the person’s family, where appropriate
• Provision of mental health, HIV, hepatitis and other needed health care services
• Relapse prevention strategies
• Job training, placement and education;
• Diversion programs offering the opportunity for clients to avoid incarceration or a criminal record
• Post-incarceration programs addressing special needs of individuals leaving prison or jail.¹

Studies show that the most effective programs utilize the components described above. See Public Policy Lessons 2, 3 and 4 for data on treatment and relapse prevention effectiveness, Public Policy Lesson 6 for benefits of family engagement, and Public Policy Lesson 9 for importance of providing other health care services.

Education and employment reduce recidivism and increase the chance that a formerly incarcerated person will successfully transition into the community. According to a recent study by the U.S. Department of Education, participation in state correctional education programs lowers the likelihood of re-incarceration by 29 percent. A federal Bureau of Prisons study found a 33 percent drop in recidivism among federal prisoners who participated in vocational and apprenticeship training.² Studies have also found that an individual with a job is less likely to commit another crime following release from incarceration. In an evaluation of the Windham School District, a prison educational system in Texas, 70 percent of individuals in the program were employed during their first year of release. Of those, the employed individuals had a recidivism rate of 15 percent, significantly lower than the rate for the general prison population.³

Case Study of Successful Diversion Program: TASC

Treatment Accountability and Safer Communities (TASC) programs in parts of the country identify individuals who may be appropriate for an alternative to incarceration such as mandated addiction treatment, monitor and report back to the court on their progress, and address their multiple needs in a community-based setting. TASC programs typically provide counseling, medical care, parenting instruction, family counseling, school and job training, and legal and employment services. The key features of TASC include (1) coordination of criminal justice and drug and alcohol treatment; (2) early identification, assessment, and referral of drug involved individuals; (3) monitoring individuals through drug and alcohol testing; and (4) use of legal sanctions as inducements to remain in treatment.⁴

In a comprehensive study of six TASC sites conducted by the RAND institute, researchers found that individuals’ involvement in TASC case management resulted in significantly more substance abuse and other services received compared to non-TASC control groups.⁵ In addition, TASC clients, particularly in Birmingham, Alabama and Chicago, Illinois, showed reductions in both drug use and crime six months after intervention, compared to control groups.⁶

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