Washington County Re-Entry Program

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

In April 2015, a unique, multi-disciplinary team representing various Washington County departments and Canvas Health, a local mental health agency, collaborated to establish the Re-Entry Assistance Program (RAP). This program was developed to assist the successful reintegration of jail inmates to the community. Offenders released from incarceration often have significant unmet medical, physical, or environmental needs that contribute to their ongoing personal crisis and a cycle of recidivism and re-incarceration. Recidivism is considered the act of re-engaging in criminal offending despite having been punished. This collaborative approach addresses post-incarceration barriers through team consultation and effective case planning and establishes foundational support for an offender’s successful re-entry into the community. In addition to participation from Canvas Health, this multi-disciplinary team includes representatives from Washington County departments of Community Services, Public Health and Environment, Jail Administration and Programs, Housing, and Community Corrections. RAP works to discourage offenders from re-offending by helping them find services in the community for housing, substance abuse treatment, health care, child support assistance, employment, and more. The multidisciplinary approach has proven to be an efficient process to develop and coordinate individual release plans for the high-risk program participants as interventions are started prior to the offender’s release. Since inception, RAP has accepted 53 clients into the program. Forty-nine of those clients did complete the program and used the expertise of the team to the fullest. Benefits of this program are being realized by participating clients and the communities of Washington County. Since the program was established, interest and participation from jail inmates has exceeded expectations. For each offender served, an intervention is provided that was not otherwise available, offering an opportunity to break their criminal cycle and enable them to become productive citizens. This positive approach toward inmates allows them to return to the community with the support in place to help reduce re-incarceration and associated costs, as well as recidivism rates for program participants.