Slide 1:

Discharge Planning: Getting Mainstream Systems to the Table

“Improving Access to Mainstream Services for People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness”
Denver, Colorado
October 27, 2003

Slide 2:

Reentry and Discharge Planning

The Reentry Initiative is a systematic approach which has the potential to utilize effective discharge planning to lessen the rate of homelessness among offenders returning from prison to the community.

Slide 3:

The Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (Reentry)

Reentry responds to the release and reentry of thousands of adult and juvenile, high-risk offenders into communities across the country.

Slide 4:

Federal Partners

The Reentry Initiative is a collaborative effort of multiple Federal Partners consisting of the U.S. Departments of:

• Justice
• Labor
• Health and Human Services
• Housing and Urban Development
• Education
• Veteran’s Affairs
• Social Security Administration

Slide 5:

The Grantees

There are 68 sites throughout the country that have received up to $2,000,000 to plan, implement, and operate reentry programs.

Slide 6:

Getting Mainstream Systems to the Table

Collaboration

• Federal - Key agency representatives collaborate at the Federal level to ensure that state and local grantees have access to funding opportunities and SVORI resources.
• State and local - Key state and local stakeholders collaborate on a multi-disciplinary level to access existing resources and bridge gaps.

Slide 7:

Goals

The goals of the Reentry Initiative are to assist adult and juvenile offenders in making a successful transition from prison/detention to the community by –

• Locating a stable place to live
• Finding employment
• Achieving educational goals
• Staying off drugs
• Addressing mental health issues
• Addressing family issues
• Establishing positive support networks

Slide 8:

Assessing the Need

Each eligible offender goes through a comprehensive needs assessment process to determine what services he/she will need.

This process occurs at Phase I-Institution, Phase II-Community Reentry, and Phase III-Stabilization.

• Housing
• Education
• Faith-based
• Labor
• Medical Services
• Mental Health
• Substance Abuse
• Case Management
• Domestic Violence
• Family Reunification
• Support Services

Slide 9:

Providing the Service

Local service providers work together to ensure that eligible Reentry participants are treated holistically.

If the participant is dealing with substance abuse issues, doesn’t have a job or job skills, and does not have a home to return to, providers need to address all three issues simultaneously to provide the participant with the greatest chance of success.

Slide 10:

How Do We Get There?

The National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC), in partnership with the Federal Partners, works with the SVORI grantees to develop strategies to ensure that services are in place for offenders reentering the community. Some of these strategies include:

• Comprehensive needs assessments
• Regional trainings to address aggregate technical assistance needs
• Onsite training and technical assistance
• The Resource Map
• The Training and Technical Assistance Directory

Slide 11:

Comprehensive Discharge Planning

This Initiative provides a prime example of how mainstream systems can work together towards the common goal of comprehensive discharge planning...wherein a key component is the provision of housing for persons who upon release are potentially homeless.

Slide 12:

Key Components to Successful Discharge Planning

Collaboration

• Federal, state and local level
• Multidisciplinary approach
• Public and Private

Service Delivery Approach

• Holistic
• Continuum of services / phases of Reentry

Slide 13:

Reentry Links

Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI)
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reentry

National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC)
http://www.nttac.org
1-800-830-4031