Second Chance Act Puerto Rico Treatment and Recovery

Guara Bi, Inc. in partnership with the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections (PRDC) will lower recidivism rates and assist inmates pre- and post- release with their reentry into society throughout the geographic catchment of Puerto Rico (PR) via the inclusion of the island’s department of corrections jurisdictions across the state.  Second Chance Act Puerto Rico Treatment and Recovery will provide 25 individuals per year (75 clients over the life of the grant) who are referred to Guara Bi by the PRDC who are in need of substance use and/or mental health treatment, and related family treatment recovery services and supportive reentry services including residential treatment and continuum of care step down transitional Intensive Outpatient/OutPatient services. The project will pre- and post- release: 1) offer evidence-based, gender responsive and trauma-informed substance use, mental health and co-occurring treatment and family treatment; 2) provide clients with an individual transitional and reentry plan; 3) provide substance use and mental health assessments; 4) expand Guara Bi ORP capacity to serve more clients; 5) provide Case Management Services; 6)  provide linkages to housing and rehome with family when appropriate, and 7) provide vocational and employment readiness services. Guara Bi will utilized evidence based practices including 1) Brief Strengths Based Case Management for Substance Use, a case management practice designed to assist substance users; 2) Moral Reconation Therapy, a cognitive behavioral therapy proven effective for substance use in the correction population; 3) Motivational Interviewing, a brief psychotherapeutic intervention for helping people change addictive behavior; 4) Seeking Safety, a present-focused therapy to help people attain safety from trauma/Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and substance use; 5) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which offers effective and time-limited treatments for limited anger control skills often experienced by our clients; 6) The Nurturing Parenting Program is listed in SAMHSA’s National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices. Incarcerated pregnant and/or parenting individuals are given the opportunity to practice new skills with their children while program staff are available to monitor and assist; and 7) The Living in Balance curriculum which includes parenting skills training. Using a number of evidence-based programs and practices rooted in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Motivational Interviewing, Guara Bi will break the cycle of criminal behavior. Anticipated outcomes include: increased abstinence from substance use, decreased recidivism rates, decreased criminal justice involvement, improved individual and family resiliency and well-being, improved treatment retention, increased social connectedness, decreased risky behaviors, and maintain stable housing post-release.