Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2010, $464,766)
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.
Gaston County will use the FY 2010 grant funds to target 100 male higher-risk offenders in the Gaston County Jail who have been dually diagnosed with co-occurring disorders. Local agencies (ACPP, Inc. and Pathways) will provide effective case assessment and management abilities. The program will focus on the West Gastonia geographic area, which has the highest crime rate in Gaston County, and the largest number of incarcerated offenders at the Gaston County Jail. The goals of the project are to implement a multi-agency, public-private effort to provide intensive treatment services for inmates being held in the Gaston County Jail who have been diagnosed with co-occurring substance/alcohol abuse and mental disorders. In addition, the program will provide on-going, long-term support through a dedicated case manager position for successful re-entry into the community. Individualized treatment plans will be formulated based upon results from screening assessments. The targeted population will have individualized re-entry plans incorporating long-term support and assistance through a variety of community-based agencies and a dedicated case manager position for up to 18 months following release.
CA/NCF