Re-Entry Program for the Recidivism Reduction in Louisiana

Introduction 

The US has a reputation of being the nation that incarcerates the largest number of people around the world. For instance, just over 2.2 million of the US populace are held in the different forms of correctional facilities across the nation, and the trend has been rising over the past years (Pettit & Western, 2016). An even more worrying and a cause for alarm is the fact that approximately two-thirds of the incarcerated populations are repeat offenders. It means that every day, a large number of people return to the correctional facilities around the country. Most of the persons who go back to prisons face the same challenges after leaving the correctional facilities as they did before entering. Extant literature suggests that such people have had to face issues such as chemical dependency, mental illness, homelessness, unstable housing, unemployment, and poverty. As much as the challenges identified could be among the leading causes for entry into prison, addressing them would help in the reduction of the rates of recidivism, which is why this essay outlines a re-entry program that would help reduce recidivism into the correctional facilities for those leaving them in the Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. 

The Safe Jefferson Parish Re-Entry Program will target all populations leaving prison who reside in the parish. The mission of the program would be to foster a supportive environment in which ex-convicts have room to fit back to society and contribute positively to the reduction in the rates of incarceration. The program proposed in this document shall be both prison and community-based since effective re-entry programs begin from the correctional facilities to facilitate a change in the perspectives of the offenders towards the types of crimes that led to their incarceration. The program further addresses four goals that are designed to fit the two criteria—prison and community-based—for re-entry. 

Design Concept 

The Target Population 

The Safe Jefferson Parish Re-Entry Program will target the entire population that leaves prisons and other institutions of corrections within the Jefferson Parish. It means that the program does not discriminate the ex-offenders based on age, gender, types of offenses, and other categories that would be used to distinguish them. The rationale for the choice of this general approach to the target population is the fact that the State of Louisiana has one of the leading jail populations around the nation, which suggests that it is among the leading incarcerating regions of the globe (Piquero & Steinberg, 2014). Being one of the most populous parishes in the state, Jefferson parish has a higher rate of incarceration in the state. Therefore, any attempts to reduce the number of people staying in correctional facilities in the parish would entail dealing with the incidence of recidivism. With such an approach in mind, therefore, targeting a specific population would almost be a waste of efforts and resources. 

The Program Goals and Structure 

Goals and Rationale 

It should be noted that most of the people leaving prisons and other detention centers in the US face the same challenges in their re-entry as they did while going to prison. Specifically, most people have to deal with issues of homelessness and stability in housing, unstable incomes, substance dependency, and lack of government support for welfare programs (Listwan, Cullen, & Latessa, 2006). For these reasons, the proposed program is designed to meet four goals as outlined below: 

Raise the status of housing of the persons leaving jail and other correctional facilities in the parish 

Lower the proportion of inmates who keep relying on public shelter or who become homeless following their release from the correctional facilities 

Raise the stability for individuals who are marginally housed following leaving jail facilities 

Raise the proportion of inmates who will keep their current housing during short jail and detention spells 

Raise the self-sufficient employment rates for persons who leave jail in the parish 

Raise the availability of vocational training, job training, and evidence-based education through the expansion of the present programs for such training 

Raise the capabilities of the individuals seeking re-entry to be competitive within the labor market through the expansion of the job initiative of Jefferson Parish 

Extend the programs of high school equivalency to each person in detention and link them to providers of services in the community who have the capacity of providing continued opportunities of education or employment 

Ensure the access to effective primary, chemical dependency, and mental health care services to the incarcerated populations prior to and after their exit from the correctional facilities 

Raising the prevalence of adoption of evidence-based primary care, chemical dependency, and mental health screening, evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment within the department of criminal justice 

Ensure that the target population accesses effective primary care, chemical dependency, and mental health treatment services 

Sustain the use of programs of government assistance among the offenders 

Raise the enrollment timelines in the programs of government assistance 

Deter or reduce the disruption in the cycles of benefits meant for inmates during their re-entry into the society 

Structure 

Most of the elements of crime, including the factors that increase the risk of offending, cannot be dealt with effectively after the ex-convicts leave jail. One example concerns violent crimes in which the offenders are likely to resume their ways of crime as soon as they live prison based on what they encounter while in the correctional facilities (Binswanger et al., 2012). The same case would apply to other forms of crime, such as substance abuse, sex offenses, and others. Therefore, it would be plausible that targeting effective re-entry for the incarcerated population starts from the prisons because of the generality of the target population. On the other hand, some factors, such as housing and others might not be dealt with effectively while in prison. Consequently, the program will also adopt a community-based approach that would enable the freed populations to re-enter the community efficiently and avoid incidences of recidivism. 

The Re-Entry Taskforce 

The Safe Jefferson Parish Re-Entry Program requires a determination of a taskforce that would be useful in ensuring the efficacy of the entire program. The taskforce outlined subsequently has people from diverse backgrounds agency wise throughout the parish and will include representatives from the following departments: 

Stakeholders in the community 

Executive council- representatives from the Jefferson Parish Executive Office, the County Council, and city representatives 

The Community and Human Services Department 

Jail health services 

Louisiana State Department of Corrections 

The Department of Juvenile and Adult Detention 

Community corrections- Jefferson Parish and city jails 

Public defense agencies 

The office of the Prosecuting Attorney 

Social, chemical dependency, and mental health service providers 

Probation-municipal and district courts 

Courts- municipal, district, and superior courts 

Law enforcement- the sheriff’s office in Jefferson Parish as well as local departments of police 

Jefferson Parish will be required to designate an officer to coordinate the re-entry program through the identification of gaps in service as well as the provision of coordinated services to the ex-offenders who face the highest recidivism risks and who have the highest needs of re-integration. The re-integration services in question in this case will include the treatment for substance abuse, mental health issues, and the provision of employment opportunities, health care, and housing among others. 

Mission of the Program 

According to Draine et al. (2005), re-entry programs need to be systematic and holistic in their approach to seeking and reducing the chances of further criminal behavior. Beginning from the instance of sentencing and proceeding beyond the release of the offenders from detention facilities, this program will evaluate, establish, and connect offenders to services that would be effective for their needs. Precisely, the mission of the program would be to foster a supportive environment in which ex-convicts have room to fit back to society and contribute positively to the reduction in the rates of incarceration. The program would only be a success if different stakeholders shall collaborate during its implementation. Therefore, the victims, partners from criminal justice system, families, and community stakeholders would be instrumental in ensuring the success of the program. 

The Schedule of Implementation 

A complete implementation of the proposed objectives of the Safe Jefferson Parish Re-Entry Program will result in the development of a comprehensive and coordinated system of re-entry within the Jefferson Parish region. The speed and extent to which the selected region can attain the ideal system of re-entry will be reliant on the availability of funding. With the support of the selected taskforce, the parish would seek the funding of the Second Chance Act that President Bush passed to law in 2008 to promote effective re-entry of inmates to the society. Table 1 indicates the detailed outline of the Safe Jefferson Parish Re-Entry Program. 

The Re-Entry Goal	Objectives	Proposed Strategies	Proposed Activities
Raise the status of housing of the persons leaving jail and other correctional facilities in the parish	Lower the proportion of inmates who keep relying on public shelter or who become homeless following their release from the correctional facilities	Improve the options within the housing market for the ex-convicts  Leveraging the existing sources of funding to ensure the support of the housing programs for the people seeking re-entry  Assessing the individual housing needs of the former inmates at intake  Educating the former prisoners on the best approaches to obtaining and maintaining housing	Expanding the CJI housing voucher capacity to cover the needs of the former inmates  Developing policies and admitting and evicting people from public houses that would be considerate of the individual circumstances, especially those that would accommodate the needs of the inmates  Ensuring the elimination of blanket prohibitions concerning public housing against persons who have histories of crime and incarceration  Encouraging the government, as well as nonprofits to develop programs of housing that would be accessible to persons under detention in correctional facilities in the parish  Ensuring the coordination with officials from the Public Housing Authority for the adoption of more inclusive criteria of eligibility that would favor the former offenders  Ensuring the leveraging enough funding for conventional public safety for such funds to be used in the creation of supportive conventional housing for the inmates  Champion the adoption of evidence-based systems for the assessment and determination of the levels of need of the affected population  Seeking enough funding for the increased proportions of personnel of jail intake  Ensuring the provision of literature and workshops that would the public on tenant rights as well as proper housing services  Ensuring that transition planners familiarize with all the options of housing available to help the former inmates  The provision of family services of counselling and support
	Raise the stability for individuals who are marginally housed following leaving jail facilities
	Raise the proportion of inmates who will keep their current housing during short jail and detention spells
Raise the self-sufficient employment rates for persons who leave jail in the parish	Raise the availability of vocational training, job training, and evidence-based education through the expansion of the present programs for such training	The provision of vocational training, which would be enough to meet the needs of the local labor market  The provision of elementary chances of education for the former prisoners  The preparation of the inmates for successful entry and prosperity in the labor market  Working with employers with the objective of raising and bettering the opportunities of employment that would address the employment needs of people transiting from jail	Analysis of the prevalent labor market with the objective of identifying the needs  Determination of the types of industries and employers who are comfortable with hiring laborers with histories of crime  Assessing the personal vocational and educational needs of the target population through evidence-based tools  Engaging the service providers within the community for the implementation of programs of education that are jail-based  Extending the programs of high school equivalency to each inmates regardless of their age  Ensuring the provision of jail-based workshops and trainings on issues of financial management, skills of employment, and job search  Expanding the programs of supported employment for inmates who live with disabilities  Supporting the inmates in the initiation of job searches before they are released from the correctional facilities  Working with the prisoners in the creation of written release plans, which entail information concerning their prospective employers, educational and vocational chances, documentation of the unique skills of the inmates in addition to their experience, as well as options for them to obtain identification information after their releases from the facilities  Identifying and developing opportunities for skill-building internship or volunteer that would be useful for inmates who have limited skills  Reviewing the policies and legislation on employment concerning persons with histories of offending and eliminating the ones that do not have close ties with public safety  The creation, expansion and publicizing of hiring incentives as well as ensuring the retention of the persons seeking re-entry into society
	Raise the capabilities of the individuals seeking re-entry to be competitive within the labor market through the expansion of the job initiative of Jefferson Parish
	Extend the programs of high school equivalency to each person in detention and link them to providers of services in the community who have the capacity of providing continued opportunities of education or employment
Ensure the access to effective primary, chemical dependency, and mental health care services to the incarcerated populations prior to and after their exit from the correctional facilities	Raising the prevalence of adoption of evidence-based primary care, chemical dependency, and mental health screening, evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment within the department of criminal justice	Routing the inmates living with mental illness problems to services that would be most appropriate for their care  Ensuring an increment in the capacity of treatments for mental illnesses that are jail-based  Ensuring the provision of individualize services in support of persons living with mental health problems during their re-entry into the society  Ensuring the provision of culturally suitable and holistic treatment within the community for former inmates with the identified issues	Building the ability of courts dealing with mental health cases to ensure that they direct more persons with mental health issues from the jail facilities to the most appropriate therapies  Assessing the personal mental health requirements of the inmates while employing evidence-based tools  Working in association with the RSN agencies in the provision of personal jail-based programs of mental health treatments  Ensuring the provision of on-going open-door groups of therapy that would be useful in dealing with specific cases of mental health problems  Ensuring that the jails and other correctional facilities in the parish have an access to the most useful and efficient psychotropic medications  Encouraging the utilization of trauma-informed approaches to former and current inmates  Ensuring education to the community mental health providers with the objective of making them understand the psychological impacts of being involved in criminal justice systems while living with mental health issues.  Ensuring that the histories of offending of the inmates do not impede their access to services of RSN or community mental health  Ensuring the expansion of the ability of teams of forensic assertive treatment that would be useful in working with the jailed persons who have high needs of substance treatment  The provision of jailed persons living with mental health problems the correct prescriptions following their release for re-entry
	Ensure that the target population accesses effective primary care, chemical dependency, and mental health treatment services
Sustain the use of programs of government assistance among the offenders	Raise the enrollment timelines in the programs of government assistance	Assessing the eligibility of the inmates for qualification  Assisting the detained persons during their application for benefits  The prevention of histories of offending from being used as a criterion in the exclusion of persons from benefiting from social services  Suspending instead of terminating federal benefits when persons are incarcerated	Ensuring the screening of the target population for their eligibility for veteran, food stamps, SSI, Medicaid, TANF, and other benefits  Training personnel who would aid in the transition on state and federal benefit guidelines  Ensuring the provision of the target population with documents of identification while still in the correctional facilities  Raising the proportion of liaisons of the criminal justice system  Aiding local agencies of social service in the provision of trauma-informed and culturally appropriate services of mental health care as well as dependency on chemicals  Identification of local agencies that offer services that would be useful for former offenders  Collaborating with the providers of social services in the society to avoid the exclusion of people with histories of crime  Include benefit preservation to the initiatives of lobbying with the state by the parish
	Deter or reduce the disruption in the cycles of benefits meant for inmates during their re-entry into the society

Table 1: the comprehensive Safe Jefferson Parish Re-Entry Program 

Conclusion 

The Safe Jefferson Parish Re-Entry Program relies on the contributions of stakeholders from different sectors. It should be noted that this type of program would be effective only when proper funding for the different projects identified are implemented with the required levels of urgency. It should also be noted that the effectiveness of the program would rely heavily on the levels of coordination among the different departments and stakeholders who have been identified. Since the program is both prison and community-based, effective implementation would held lower the levels of recidivism that are common in the Jefferson Parish area of Louisiana. 

References 

Binswanger, I. A., Nowels, C., Corsi, K. F., Glanz, J., Long, J., Booth, R. E., & Steiner, J. F. (2012). Return to drug use and overdose after release from prison: a qualitative study of risk and protective factors.  Addiction science & clinical practice ,  7 (1), 3. 

Draine, J., Wolff, N., Jacoby, J. E., Hartwell, S., & Duclos, C. (2005). Understanding community re‐entry of former prisoners with mental illness: a conceptual model to guide new research.  Behavioral sciences & the law ,  23 (5), 689-707. 

Listwan, S. J., Cullen, F. T., & Latessa, E. J. (2006). How to prevent prisoners re-entry programs from failing: Insights from evidence-based corrections.  Fed. Probation ,  70 , 19. 

Pettit, B., & Western, B. (2016). Mass imprisonment and the life course: Race and class inequality in US incarceration.  American sociological review ,  69 (2), 151-169. 

Piquero, A. R., & Steinberg, L. (2014). Public preferences for rehabilitation versus incarceration of juvenile offenders.  Journal of Criminal Justice ,  38 (1), 1-6.