The DOOR Project

The Second Chance Act of 2007 (Pub. L. 110-199) provides a comprehensive response to the increasing number of people who are released from prison and jail and returning to communities, including resources to address the myriad needs of these offenders to achieve a successful return to their communities. Section 201 of the Second Chance Act authorizes the Second Chance Act Reentry Demonstration Program Targeting Offenders with Co-occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Disorders Program, which is designed to provide treatment and recovery support services to offenders during incarceration and after their return to the community. This section specifically addresses the treatment needs of offenders who have substance abuse disorders and authorizes grants to states, units of local government, territories, and Indian tribes to improve the provision of drug treatment to offenders in prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities during the period of incarceration and through the completion of parole or other court supervision after release into the community.

The term co-occurring disorders (COD) refers to co-occurring substance-related and mental disorders. Clients said to have COD have one or more substance-related disorders as well as one or more mental disorders. At the individual level, COD exist when at least one disorder of each type can be established independent of the other and is not simply a cluster of symptoms resulting from [a single] disorder. Projects will implement or expand offender treatment programs for re-entering offenders with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders. Programs should require urinalysis and/or other proven reliable forms of drug and alcohol testing for program participants, including both periodic and random testing, and for former participants while they remain in the custody, or under community supervision, of the state, local, or tribal government.

The Colorado Division of Criminal Justice proposes the Diversion Offenders Opportunity for Re-Entry, (DOOR.) The DOOR Project targets adult offenders (18 years of age and older)with a dual diagnoses of serious mental illness and substance abuse. The offenders are sentenced to a state-supported community corrections facility as Diversion clients or offenders who are provisionally placed in a halfway house instead of prison for a minimum of 6-12 months before their scheduled release from residential to protracted non-residential. The Door
Project is a collaboration of the Department of Criminal Justice, Intervention Community Correction Services, and the Jefferson Center, in coordination with the Colorado Division of Behavioral Health (DBH), the state substance abuse and mental health authority. The DOOR Project will utilize effective case management and evidence-based treatment to provide a comprehensive and continuous reentry process. The Project will be monitored and evaluated by an advisory committee involving each partner agency. The goals of the DOOR Project are to reduce recidivism and ensure the successful re-entry of offenders with co-occurring disorders by integrating community corrections supervision with intensive therapeutic and case management services. The DOOR Project will provide integrated treatment that considers both disorders as primary. Through the assessment process, individualized needs will be identified and individualized treatment plans will be developed. Pharmacological interventions will be used, where appropriate. Evidence-based treatment will be enhanced through case management and wrap-around services

CA/NCF