RE-NU Life Center RSAT for Reentry

Program Abstract

RE-NU Life Center RSAT for Reentry Centers

In collaboration with Arkansas Community Correction, Lumina Behavioral Health, and Dr. Kristin Martin, RE-NU Life Center began the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for Reentry Centers Model in January 2020. In 2022 the collective commitment was strengthened with detailed Memorandums of Understanding.

The model engages medium to high-risk offenders screened and diagnosed with Substance Use Disorder using the validated tools TCU Drug Screen V with Opioid Supplement and the Addiction Severity Index (ASI). The proposed model is a holistic model using best practices reported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the National Institute of Justice’s CrimeSolutions.

A licensed counselor will start the Continuum of Care with a substance use disorder diagnosis, criminogenic risk and needs assessment, and treatment plan. Dr. Kristin Martin will manage the medical needs of each participant to include MAT if indicated. Counselors and staff are trained to address the increasing number of black men and women with opioid addiction. See response to priority consideration 1(A) on pages 14 and 15 of the program narrative.

The Matrix Model for criminal justice settings combines a CBT-focused substance abuse curriculum with individual and group counseling. The licensed counselor and peer support specialists will facilitate the CBT programming curricula. Treatment plans, intensive case notes, and referrals to community service providers who will serve on the post-release Care Team are accomplished using the Good Grid collaborative case management system.

This grant will serve approximately 150 incarcerated men and women selected from prisons across the state for transfer to a reentry center for pre-release programming. As of September 2019, the baseline recidivism rate for Little Rock was 56.3%. However, recidivism rates in the medium to high-risk population served through this grant can be 70 percent or higher. The recidivism rates are calculated by dividing the number returned to incarceration by the number released to an area within the last three years.

The licensed counselor and Peer Support Specialists will continue to manage each participant’s unique treatment and case plan providing six additional months of case management, counseling, and support. Lumina Behavioral Health will assist with post-release counseling by providing substance abuse and mental health counseling via tele-counseling technology.

This grant-funded model for Reentry Centers will prove that pre-release transfer to a community-based Reentry Center provides the most effective model for reducing substance abuse among justice-involved men and women, therefore solving a significant cause of recidivism.