Community-Based Reentry

WestCare Tennessee, Inc.’s proposed program, Breaking the Cycle, is a reentry initiative to provide comprehensive assessments, community-based substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, intensive case management, and a wide range of wraparound services for 75 adult men and women diagnosed with a SUD or co-occurring mental health disorder (COD) and returning to the community after incarceration in Cocke and Jefferson Counties, Tennessee. To deliver this program, WestCare Tennessee will partner with the Cocke County Jail. WestCare Tennessee currently provides programming within the jail, and we regularly accept their referrals into our SUD treatment programs. For Breaking the Cycle, Cocke County Jail will provide authorization for WestCare staff to enter the facility to begin case management planning prior to each participant’s release from detention. They will also enable regular communication between WestCare and jail staff to facilitate release dates; provide information regarding participants’ medical, mental health, and criminal history; provide various pre-release programming and interventions; and provide demographic and arrest data for program participants, including charges, average length of days incarcerated, and special needs. Jail staff will identify eligible individuals from the target population scheduled for release and refer these individuals to WestCare Tennessee for assessment. All participants will receive comprehensive assessments using the Ohio Risk Assessment System (ORAS) and The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Criteria prior to their release. The assessment results will be used to develop individualized treatment and transition plans for each participant based on their unique strengths and needs. Post-release services will include SUD treatment, intensive case management, and linkage to recovery support services, including primary medical care, testing for HIV and Hepatitis, transportation, employment services, housing assistance, life skills training, parent education, and any other needed services. WestCare Tennessee will use a linkage or “warm hand-off” model to ensure that participants receive necessary care in a timely manner, including transportation to local providers, assistance with scheduling appointments, and any other similar activities that may be necessary. An individual’s specific needs and progress will determine the length of services, not a specified timeframe. WestCare Tennessee is seeking priority consideration under Priority 1(A), and its plan to respond to this priority consideration is discussed in pages 14-15 in the narrative.