The Valued Community Member Program.

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.

Network180, in collaboration with the Kent County Correctional Facility and the Arbor Circle Corporation, will use the grant funds to implement the Valued Community Member program (VCM). The VCM program targets adult male co-occurring individuals within the Kent County Jail who are at a high risk of reoffending. Most individuals identified for the program have already been arrested approximately five times during the last four years. The VCM Program will provide reentry and treatment planning using the APIC (Assess, Plan, Identify, and Coordinate) Model as well as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for offenders while they are in jail. VCM will also provide CBT treatment and community based outreach case management for offenders for 12 months post discharge from jail. Psychiatric treatment, including mediations, will be provided or coordinated for all clients in the program. The VCM program staff will coordinate with the jail, probation, parole, and all needed community agencies and resources.

CA/NCF