Fresh Start Program

The Second Chance Act of 2007 provides a comprehensive response to the increasing number of people who are released from prison, 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 201 of the Second Chance Act authorizes federal awards to states, units of local government, and Indian tribes to improve the provision of treatment to adult offenders in prisons and jails during the period of incarceration and through the completion of parole or other court supervision after release into the community.

The goal of this program is to reduce recidivism and improve public safety and public health by providing screening, assessment, and pre- and post-release treatment for individuals with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders. This includes increasing screening and assessment for criminogenic risk and needs, substance use, and mental disorders in jails and prisons, improving the provision of integrated treatment to adults with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders pre- and post-release from incarceration, and developing reentry case plans that incorporate the results for risk and needs assessment, substance use disorders, and mental disorders to develop supervision program components.

The grantee will use funds towards the Fresh Start program. The goals are to implement a treatment model that increases access to co-occurring disorder treatment services for people in the county jail setting; provide seamless services to program participants who will be released back into the community; implement multiple long-term relapse prevention programming; and reduce recidivism by increasing access to treatment services in the jail. This program will serve 150 moderate to high risk offenders.

CA/NCF