Coming Home-Staying Home

Promoting Successful Re-entry

Here’s a fact-94% of the incarcerated people in this country will eventually be released from detention. Most people who go away eventually come home. Only 6% of incarcerated people in the United States will never leave confinement permanently. I add the world permanently because prison jail has unfortunately a revolving door. On average the recidivism rate, the tendency of a person who has been convicted of a crime to repeat or reoffend a crime after already receiving punishment or serving their sentence, is horrendous half to more than half of formerly incarcerated people go back to jail. The term is often used in conjunction with substance abuse as a synonym for “relapse” but is specifically used for criminal behaviour. , is deplorable. 44% of people released from confinement return before the first year out of prison. About 68% of returning citizens are arrested for a new crime within three years, and 77% were arrested within five years. The state of Alaska with the highest at 60% and the state of Oregon at 13% and surprisingly the state of Texas with the second lowest recidivism rate in the nation at 20.3%. These statistics are general across the board. Interestingly enough when factored d over a 10-year period of time the bureau of Justice (interesting name I think) estimates that 82% of people released from state prisons were rearrested at least once. So, the numbers the incidences of recidivism do not get better over time.

Here’s another fact People who experience IDD are over-represented in the criminal legal system. What does the over representation mean. First, we know that relative to rate of contact with police people with IDD when compared to those without, have the highest rates of incarceration. The over representation figures tell us that less than 1% of the total US population has a diagnosed IDD and between 2-10% of people caught up in the system either in jail, prison or awaiting trial have IDD. Regarding recidivism…the recidivism rate within the first year of release seems to be on par with the wider population at 43% same within the first 3 years with rates at 71% compared to 68% for the wider population. That mean well over half of people with IDD are going back to jail within the first year and over the long term is the Justice bureau statistics are accurate we assume they are over the long term almost every on goes to prison at some point within the 10-year span of being released. Why? Why do over half of people in general but close to half of the people with IDD return to confinement after being released. The simplest answer is no plan. No connection no support. What about the other half. Why is the other half able to stay out of confinement upon release. There are many thoughts and theories around this very question most studies and anecdotal stories for formerly incarcerated people assert that connection to healthcare, employment housing, skill/educational development, mentorship, and social networks are among the major factors that contribute to successful re-entry experience. This true from the perspective of the wider population it is equally and maybe more so true for people with IDD who have incarcerated to not only need similar resources but adding another payer to be connected with the resources that understand their enhanced level of need and capable and ready to support those needs.

What does successful entry look like for specifically for people with IDD?

1.     Connection with the IDD system is connection that has not been established prior to incarceration. This is extremely important considering that being connected with the IDD system gets the person in most cases a support coordinator who then acts as the connector between the person and a vast array of community programs services that ID specific or not. Depending upon the need. The SC can also do the leg work of identifying family and social networks so when the individual is finally out from behind the wall they are walking into an established system of care.

2.     Mentorship is extremely important regardless of variations in form and function. One reason we know that mentorship is extremely important for people experiencing IDD is that it gives them supported decision making capability. The National Re-entry Resource Center has a well sourced and well written report on mentoring as a component of successful re-entry. Though they do not address people with IDD specifically the point is just as cogent. Peer support is another valuable resource for people with IDD, having someone in your corner, who has walked where you have walked is encouraging.

3.     Physical and Mental health treatment

a.     There are astounding gaps between the IDD population and the wider population across all components of the social determinant of health to the detriment of people with IDD diagnostic overshadowing is a critical contributory factor. So not just getting connected with a viable source for primary health care, but a physical that has experience working with neuro-divergent patients.

b.     American Enterprise Institute suggest that successful re-entry programs that build upon the innate desire for people to stay out of prison provide the greatest levels of success. How do you tap into this innate desire. AEI suggests implementing CBT therapy groups and activities that address trauma and dysfunctional thinking long before release date. We know that people with IDD are 6-10 times more like than the wider population to be abused, neglected and exploited over a longer period by more people. The levels of trauma in the lives of people with IDD are breathtaking. The victimization only gets worse behind the wall, exacerbating the trauma experience.

4.     Education and Skill building avenues-connection to vocational rehabilitation and other avenues where the returning citizens can support themselves. Keys to employment and employment gainful self-sustaining employment being at the top of the components that keep people from re-offending.

5.     Housing. The University of Minnesota released a study in 2023 with data asserting that 29% of people with IDD that left incarceration went into large state-run facilities or institutions. Depending upon the need it doesn’t appear that this is a least restrictive environment or in the best interest of the person. Stable housing keeps people off the streets. There are plenty of stories of people going back to jail for the 3 hots, and cot.

This of course is not an exhaustive list, but these are consistently at the top of most lists and data delineating the important components to successful re-entry.

Re-entry is complicated. Many of the issues and challenges we face in general are complicated but especially for the IDD population things get even more tricky. Systems thinking represents one of the clearest way forwards to examining and understanding complex situations because complex situations have complex solutions. Most of our institutions and mindset have been constructed around analysis reductionist way of thinking trying to solve problems by examining the parts of a system. This manner of thinking has led to some fixes some successes in some areas but the unintended consequences from the fixes that come from reductionist was of examine problems don’t move us forward. Russel Ackoff tells us that our old ways of perceiving the world the machine age reductionism, Cartesian perceptions are dysfunctional then the institutions and organizations and system that are the products of those dysfunctional perceptions need to be reviewed and redesigned.

The Leverage point:

i.               Kardell Simm – founder of On the Inside Re-entry program- I had the great pleasure of hearing a presentation he gave during the African American conference on Disabilities in Arizona back in February of this year. Mr. Simm points out that “re-entry begins on the inside both of prison and self.”

ii.             The intervention needed to address this phenomenon of successful re-entry is first at the level of paradigm. Changing our paradigms, the way we think about confinement and rehabilitation, changing our perceptions about the purpose of confinement and incarceration. Systems are the result of paradigms; the structure of the system generates the behaviour of that system. If we move from punitive mindset to a holistic restorative mindset rehabilitation happens upon entry and new ways of being, lead to what the American Enterprise Institute calls the innate desire to be successful upon release. This means a specific curriculum and structure of schedule of day within the jail and/or prison system that looks very different than it does now. This could be considered the Breadth and Depth of the period of incarceration

iii.            The next place of intervention or leverage point is in Transition planning. In collaboration with curriculum phase or the breadth and depth component is the application. Transition planning should begin as soon as possible.   Assessment and evaluation would lead to accurate identification of people with IDD who are behind bars. Which leads or should lead to an accurate development of the level and intensity of treatment and support behind bars then leading to a more comprehensive and appropriate transition plan; building a vision for the future, addressing trauma and faulty mental models, and building a successful support network.

iv.            How is all of this done in prison? Isn’t prison supposed to be punitive? Support coordination external to the Department of corrections

v.              The Next leverage point is at the systems level. A Coordinated Community response to re-entry is one extremely successful model that has helped across populations. Initiated first in the Domestica Violence space. The CCR has proved to be, not unsurprising to systems thinkers, one of the most efficient mechanisms for treating and supporting the whole person. Social Emotional Physical financial needs. My first experience with CCR was in Maryland when I developed Cecil County’s first ever DV Coordinating Committee. CCR brings together representatives from every part of the social system which creates a form of collective impact and ensures that everyone has an investment some skin in the game if you will on the success of the people being supported.

Is this working? Who’s doing this? Are you preaching Pie in the sky Dr Steve? The Kingman Project in AZ is a great model, the state of Texas; The Lead Center and Sharif Brown in North Carolina working to reduced silos; GEO Re-entry services in Louisiana not specifically for people with IDD but the model is right; Philly Based resources for Human development is a systems thinking organization that has a re-entry program that has the model correct; The state of Texas has many initiatives that are moving in the right direction from diversion programs to re-entry programs;

Paradigms-Coordinated Community response Committee/Team that connects the IDD system and the legal system- that is your leverage point.