Quality of Life Project

The purpose of the Quality of Life (QoL) is to defer people who have low level felony or misdemeanor charges, are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness, and may have a contributing unaddressed mental health or substance abuse issue from the criminal justice system and connect them to treatment and support services to help them lead healthy lives. 125 individuals will be served over the term of the project.

The Marion County Public Defenders Agency is the lead applicant and fiduciary for the project.  Adult & Child Health is the mental health partner.  $549,924 in federal funding is being requested.  $228,536 in kind match is being provided.

Other partners include the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, the Marion County Reentry Coalition, the Assessment and Intervention Center, Horizon House, and PACE.

Program specific priority areas are addressed in the application.

The primary activities are: 

Assessment of criminal history
Care Coordination to support the implementation of the Deferral Plan
Development of a court-approved Deferral Plan
Engagement in primary care, mental health, and substance use services and supports
Resolution of homelessness
Coordination of services provided by community partners
Check-ins with the court
Completion of Deferral Plan and charges dropped

The primary goal of the QoL Program is to implement a collaborative program that promotes public safety and public health and interrupts the cycle of contact with the criminal justice system for people with low level offenses who are experiencing homelessness and have a MHD and/or MHSUD.

The expected long term outcome is the client is successful in the community.  The primary indicators of this are rate of re-arrest and rate of re-incarceration. 
The service area is Marion County/Indianapolis, Indiana.  The subrecipients are the mental health provider, Adult & Child Health, and the Marion County Reentry Coalition which will serve as the Reentry Task Force for the project.