The Sullivan County Family Based Substance Abuse Treatment Initiative

The Second Chance Act of 2007 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 of needs of these offenders to achieve a successful return to their communities. Section 113 of the Second Chance Act provides a comprehensive response to the increasing number of parents who are incarcerated as well as their families. Research has shown that children may benefit from maintaining healthy relationships with their incarcerated parents. Strong parent-child relationships may aid in children's adjustment to their parents' incarceration and help to mitigate many of the negative outcomes for children that are associated with parental incarceration. Maintaining contact also helps the incarcerated parent by improving the reentry process and reducing recidivism, which would likely benefit the child.

The Second Chance Act Family-Based Offender Substance Abuse Treatment Program is designed to provide prison-based substance abuse treatment and parenting programs for incarcerated parents (including non-custodial parents) of minor children, as well as treatment and other services to the participating offenders' minor children and family members. The goals are to increase public safety and reduce recidivism by providing more effective and successful reentry for offenders. The objective of this program is to provide comprehensive responses through planned, expanded, or implemented family-based substance abuse treatment programs.

The grant recipient will use the FY 2012 SCA grant funds to continue to operate the "Sullivan County Family Based Substance Abuse Treatment Initiative." Sullivan County's reentry model is a multi-phased strategy designed to provide services to inmates transitioning from the Community Corrections Center. The target population will include offenders with minor children, in need of substance abuse treatment and services, serving sentences at the Sullivan County Community Corrections Center. The projected goal for numbers served is 90 for the first year and up to 110 by year five.

The Sullivan County Family Based Substance Abuse Reentry System is designed to implement the principles of effective interventions with the overall goal to increase public safety while reducing recidivism. The preliminary phase includes initial risk/needs assessment, placement into intensive treatment based on the level of risk/needs, followed by either work release or day reporting. The final phase is the transitional services pre/post release. Intervention services include cognitive behavioral therapy (Thinking for a Change and New Directions), substance abuse groups, job readiness and employment skills-building, educational programs (Learning Center Concept), housing, community reintegration planning, and aftercare services.

Sullivan County has a well established and supportive Reentry Task Force. In building a residential treatment center for inmates, which also serves as a Day Reporting Center and Aftercare Center, the County has committed its resources to mitigate substance abuse and criminal behavior in order to reduce the need for future secure beds and improve the quality of life for all county residents.

CA/NCF