Flathead Reservation Reentry Program

Legal name of the grant recipient and the title of the project:  Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Flathead Reservation Reentry Program (FRRP).

Geographic location:  Flathead Indian Reservation.

Whether the correctional partner agency/facility is a state, local, or tribal entity:  Tribal, local counties, and Montana’s Department of Corrections are partners.

Project Purpose/Goal:  To stabilize the Flathead Reservation community by reintegrating offenders into the community and reducing recidivism.

Project Objectives/Deliverables:  Facilitate planning process, culminating in an Action Plan at 6 months; Provide comprehensive case management plans and services; Conduct performance measurements, including client satisfaction survey, culminating in a Final Report to BJA; Conduct evaluation; Provide 4 trainings to participants, community members, TDO staff; Conduct annual community outreach clinics on criminal records expungement, driver’s license restoration, navigating the criminal justice system/correctional facilities. 

Target population characteristics and projected number of participants to be served through the project: The project will provide services to 100 participants during the grant award period.  The target population includes any adult member of a federally recognized tribe, returning to the Flathead Reservation from tribal, county, or state incarceration who are at medium to high risk for recidivism.

The baseline recidivism rate and method used to calculate it:  FRRP defines recidivism as a conviction for any criminal offense—from low-level misdemeanor to felony—at any time after entering FRRP.  During the most recent reporting year, FRRP’s recidivism rate was 44%, a significant reduction from the 100% baseline prior to implementation of FRRP in 2015.  Our goal is to maintain a recidivism rate of 44%. 

Name of the validated risk and needs assessment tool(s) used, either by the program or by the partner correctional agency/ies, to appropriately target moderate to high-risk offenders and appropriately match treatment and services:  Reentry Intake and Assessment Tool (RIAT)

Description of both the pre- and post-release services to be provided: Standardized screening for substance abuse and mental illness; evidence-based pre- and post-release substance abuse and mental illness treatment and cognitive behavioral interventions; collaborative, comprehensive case plans that incorporate criminogenic risk assessment and substance abuse/mental illness assessments; services addressing clients’ holistic needs—legal, housing, vocational, employment, literacy/education, transportation, physical health, parenting/family, cultural, collateral consequences.

Description of training and other supports provided to staff:  Staff will be trained to administer the RIAT and all other project evidence-based modalities.  Staff also will receive training on traumatic brain injury.  

Confirmation that an MOA has been obtained from the correctional agencies:  All correctional agencies have signed MOAs.

Indication if the specific priority considerations have been met:  The project will implement activities that have been demonstrated effective in facilitating the successful reentry of offenders, and will conduct an independent evaluation.

Indication if the project meets OJP Priority Areas—High Poverty Areas or Persistent Poverty Counties:  Yes, the project meets the High Poverty Areas priority.