Second Chance for Sobriety

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 Mental Health Mental Retardation of Tarrant County will use grant funds for the project entitled Second Chance for Sobriety. The purpose of the program is to decrease recidivism and increase public safety. To accomplish this, the funds will help the Second Chance for Sobriety to add dual diagnosis case management and substance abuse treatment to existing mental health services and basic needs case management for adult clients with co-occurring psychological and substance disorders. The Mental Health Mental Retardation of Tarrant County (MHMRTC)'s Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Mental and Medical Impairments (MHMRTC-TCOOMMI) program is the area's main provider of outpatient psychiatric treatment. Currently, the program is able to meet the assessment, mental health, case management and aftercare needs of these clients, but does not have funds to provide them with substance abuse treatment. To increase access to substance abuse treatment, the grant funds will be used to contract with MHMRTC's Addiction Services Division (AdS) to provide detoxification, inpatient, and outpatient services to approximately 85 clients per year. Outpatient and residential treatment programs will utilize Seeking Safety, a cognitive behavioral model, to simultaneously treat clients' chemical dependency and trauma. Additionally, MHMRTC-TCOOMMI will provide clients with a Primary Case Manager who will assist them in meeting their basic and criminogenic needs and hire two COPSD Case Managers who will ensure that they receive the proper levels of mental health and substance abuse treatment.

CA/NCF