Reentry Support Research Articles

Exploring the interagency collaboration between a pediatric oncology health care setting and community schools.

Globally, approximately 400,000 youth are diagnosed with pediatric cancer each year. Treatment-related side effects, psychosocial challenges, and frequent school absences may adversely impact learning and the education experience among these youth. Efforts to enhance interagency collaboration between health care settings and community schools are imperative to facilitate school reintegration. The Standards for the Psychosocial Care of Children with Cancer and Their Families outline specific guidelines related to the continuity of education for students impacted by pediatric cancer. In particular, the Academic Continuity and School Reentry Support and Monitoring and Assessment of Neuropsychological Outcomes standards of care highlighted within this article align with extant programmatic efforts for transitioning hospitalized school-aged children back into community schools. This article aims to describe systematic programmatic efforts within hospital-based psychosocial programs that are consistent with the Standards for the Psychosocial Care of Children with Cancer and Their Families, as well as interagency collaboration with community schools to support student-centered education for youth impacted by pediatric cancer. Resources for school psychologists, teachers, hospital-based programs, and others involved in student-centered education for pediatric cancer patients and survivors are presented. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Structural disadvantage and HIV risk - comparing risk factors between trans women's partnerships with cis men and trans women sexual partners.

Little is known about differences in HIV risk for trans women by partner gender, particularly with respect to social determinants and partner-level circumstances that affect behavior. We examined differences in demographic, social determinants, and HIV-related risk behaviors for trans women with cis men and trans women sexual partners. Data are from a cross-sectional survey of trans women and their sexual partners conducted between April 2020 and January 2021. Interviews were held remotely during shelter-in-place due to Covid-19 via videoconference. Analysis characterizedassociations between HIV risk and protective behaviors comparing trans women with cisgender men partners to trans women with non-cisgender sexual partners. A total of 336 sexual partners were identified from 156 trans women. Trans women with cis men partners had significantly less education and employment and more incarceration and recidivism than trans women with trans women partners. Trans women and their cisgender men partners had shared experiences of unstable housing, incarceration, and HIV. Trans women with cisgender men partners reported significantly more sex exchange partners, receptive condomless sex, receptive or insertive condomless sex while using substances, and HIV infection compared to trans women with trans women partners. Trans women with cisgender men sexual partners faced higher HIV risk than trans women with trans women sexual partners. These risks may be related to the social and economic drivers that both trans women and their cis men partners faced, including barriers to education and employment, along with incarceration and recidivism. Interventions focused on economic stability, workforce development and post incarceration re-entry support for housing and employment for trans women with cis men partners and the cisgender men partners as well may have the most impact on reducing HIV risk and incidence.

Combating the Terrorist Stigma: Communicating Rehabilitation and Reducing Barriers to Reintegration

ABSTRACT Stigmatizing behavior and a lack of supportive behavior can act as a barrier to successfully reintegrating terrorist offenders, potentially resulting in reoffending. As such, there have been several efforts to understand how to build community support for reintegration of terrorist offenders, for example through community engagement or messaging from trusted authorities. Research on the drivers of community support for reintegrating criminal offenders further suggests the perceived redeemability of an offender is significant at overcoming stigmatization and promoting support for rehabilitation and re-entry into society. In this study, we deploy an experimental survey design to isolate the causal effect of information which signals offender redeemability and then analyze its effect on four measures of supportive and stigmatizing behavior toward a terrorist offender. We also examine the individual characteristics of those more or less likely to report supportive or stigmatizing behaviors toward the reintegrating offender. The findings show that signaling redeemability decreases one measure of stigmatizing behavior and increases one measure of supportive behavior. While trusted messengers may be important in building community support for reintegration, our findings demonstrate the salience of communicating that an offender has completed a rehabilitation program, even among audiences typically opposed to reintegration.

Against Care: Abolition and the Progressive Jail Assemblage

This article uses the concept of a progressive jail assemblage to think about the focus on jails as both a target of social justice organizing and a tool for advancing social justice goals. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted among formerly incarcerated organizers and their allies in Western Massachusetts (New England), I explore how the sheriffs who operate jails in this region, along with their collaborators, have increasingly sought to redefine the figure of the criminal as not just a danger to others but also a danger to themselves, someone in need of rehabilitative treatment and even care. In doing so, these sheriffs have attempted to reinvent their role, from the quintessentially American crime fighting figure, to one who is also a provider of care. Social justice activism has helped to expand the “caring” role of the jail, through increased addiction treatment, re-entry support, and community outreach – even to the extent of incarcerating individuals dealing with addiction who have not been charged with a crime. As progressive jails have been reconfigured as providers of care, abolitionists are confronted with the ongoing dilemma of how to remain a figure opposed to the use of prisons and jails without being seen as against care.

POSITION STATEMENT: Pass the RESTORE (Re-entry Support Through Opportunities for Resources and Essentials) Act.

Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), current federal policy mandates a lifetime ban for individuals with a past felony drug conviction from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits. Denying nutritional and financial assistance to individuals with a past felony conviction will widen existing structural health inequities, set back individuals' successful re-entry into society, and contribute to recidivism and poorer health outcomes. Therefore, the Society of Behavioral Medicine supports the RESTORE ACT (Re-Entry Support Through Opportunities for Resources and Essentials Act), which would repeal the lifetime ban on receiving SNAP and TANF benefits for individuals convicted of a drug felony.

Why Developing Re-entry Support Matters for Prison Education Programs

Rates of incarceration in the United States are among the highest in the world. Research suggests, however, that corrections education reduces the likelihood of someone returning to prison and peer support is an effective best practice to assist the justice-impacted population to transition from incarceration to the community. 
 This reflective essay explores challenges incarcerated persons face in accessing prison education programs, as well as challenges faced by incarcerated and re-entry populations in completing their educational and career goals pre- and post-release. As a practitioner with lived experience, Ms. Good-Collins will describe critical supports for addressing corrections education barriers and meeting the criminogenic needs of individuals transitioning from incarceration to their community. Moreover, we will discuss how to best support students involved with corrections education pre- and post-release through basic needs acquisition, viable access to education and employment services, and ongoing peer support and mentoring. 
 Finally, we will discuss the logic for higher education institutions currently providing prison education programs to integrate Re-Entry Centers onto their campuses, as well as the importance of staffing them with persons directly impacted by the justice system. Supporting evidence for this essay is gleaned from first-hand experience by the director for the largest on-campus Re-Entry Center in the United States, and its success in effectively supporting corrections education students in transitioning to the community, remaining engaged in the program, and receiving support to achieve their goals. Evidence will include contributions from formerly incarcerated facilitators, coordinators, and administrators of the Re-Entry Center.

Age Differences in the Associations Between Incarceration and Subsequent Substance Use, Sexual Risk-Taking, and Incident STI Among Black Sexual Minority Men and Black Transgender Women in the HIV Prevention Trials 061 Cohort.

Incarceration can lead to different risk behaviors often due to increased distress and disruption of social networks. It is not well known, however, how these associations may differ by age. In this study, we measure age differences in longitudinal associations between incarceration and substance use, sex risk, and sexually transmitted infection (STI) among Black sexual minority men and Black transgender women (BSMM/BTW). We recruited BSMM/BTW from 2009 to 2011 that were part of the HIV Prevention Trials Network 061 study. We compared those less than 30 years old (n = 375) to those 30 years old or greater (n = 794) examining substance use, sex risk, and STI infection stratified by age. Logistic regression with inverse probability weighting was used for the statistical analysis. Approximately 59% of the sample reported incarceration history. In adjusted analysis, incarceration was more strongly associated with alcohol use and stimulant use among older individuals as was sexual risk behaviors including buying and selling sex. Concurrent partnerships were associated with the younger age groups. STI incidence was associated with younger individuals while associations with HIV infection were similar for the two age groups. Understanding differences in substance use and STI risk among age cohorts is imperative to the design and implementation of re-entry programs. Younger BSMM/BTW participating in re-entry support programs may benefit in particular from HIV/STI prevention and care efforts, while post-release substance abuse treatment and harm reduction programs should target older individuals with continued substance abuse.

Assessing the reentry needs of incarcerated individuals with co-occurring opioid use and mental health concerns

Individuals with co-occurring mental health concerns and opioid use disorder (COD) are at high risk of mortality and poor social and health outcomes upon release, and there is a need to better understand the unique reentry needs of this population. The high level of need experienced by individuals with COD will demonstrate a necessity for comprehensive reentry support which includes mental health treatment, Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD), social services such as education, employment, Medicaid, and housing. This sample included 490 adults from a targeted jail/prison reentry program for individuals experiencing COD in a Midwestern state. Program participants had histories of trauma (90%), homelessness (62%), and inpatient psychiatric care (38%). Further, most participants reported needing medical attention for a physical problem (70%) at baseline. Finally, participants had extensive criminal-legal system exposures, with an average of 10 lifetime arrests outside of their current incarceration (M = 9.91, SD = 8.74). The findings have important implications for expanding reentry services to support individuals with COD. This includes the need to begin services prior to release and ensuring the coordination and continuity of care with community-based treatment providers.

Release, Reentry, and Reintegration During COVID-19: Perspectives of Individuals Recently Released from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a large negative impact on people in U.S. prisons. Expedited releases from prison were one strategy used to decrease morbidity and mortality from COVID-19. However, little is known about the reentry experiences of those being rapidly released from custody early in the pandemic. We aimed to examine the perspectives of former residents in the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) regarding release, reentry, and reintegration into their respective communities. We conducted semistructured interviews with 21 recently released individuals primarily recruited through legal aid organizations between September and October 2021. Subjects were incarcerated before and during the early surge in the COVID-19 pandemic. We coded transcripts thematically with domains developed a priori in which we revised iteratively and inductively based on the data. Several major themes emerged. Participants reported that they needed to advocate for themselves to take advantage of the early release process. Compared with normal circumstances, they reported a lack of reentry planning and preparation before participants were released. Finally, experiences with reintegration varied but were often more challenging due to COVID-19. Residents released during COVID-19 reported many challenges with reentry that could have been mitigated by support and guidance from the BOP. Reentry is a process that should begin prelease and continues postrelease to ensure individuals have adequate structural and social supports. Inadequate reentry support has significant impacts on the health and well-being of recently released individuals and contributes to the broader context of achieving health equity for minitorized groups who are disproportionately overrepresented in prisons. Policy and practice reform is needed to address the time-sensitive, life-threatening challenges individuals face when transitioning from prison to community.

Structural Racism in Psychiatric Research Careers: Eradicating Barriers to a More Diverse Workforce.

Investigators from minoritized backgrounds are underrepresented in psychiatric research. That underrepresentation contributes to disparities in outcomes of access to mental health care. Drawing on lived experience, scholarly qualitative reports, and empirical data, the authors review how the underrepresentation of minoritized researchers arises from interlocking, self-reinforcing effects of structural biases in our research training and funding institutions. Minoritized researchers experience diminished early access to advanced training and opportunities, stereotype threats and microaggressions, isolation due to lack of peers and senior mentors, decreased access to early funding, and unique community and personal financial pressures. These represent structural racism-a system of institutional assumptions and practices that perpetuates race-based disparities, in spite of those institutions' efforts to increase diversity and in contradiction to the values that academic leaders outwardly espouse. The authors further review potential approaches to reversing these structural biases, including undergraduate-focused research experiences, financial support for faculty who lead training/mentoring programs, targeted mentoring through scholarly societies, better use of federal diversity supplement funding, support for scientific reentry, cohort building, diversity efforts targeting senior leadership, and rigorous examination of hiring, compensation, and promotion practices. Several of these approaches have empirically proven best practices and models for dissemination. If implemented alongside outcome measurement, they have the potential to reverse decades of structural bias in psychiatry and psychiatric research.

Reentry support in Victoria, Australia: managing risk, or fostering agency?

More than half of Australia’s prison population have experienced prior incarceration. Factors such as homelessness, mental illness, and poverty compound the challenges of reentry. Reentry support in Victoria, Australia is state funded, yet delivered via three non-governmental organizations. In this article we explore practitioners’ experiences of working with people who were incarcerated in the liminal phase of reentry—where one is neither prisoner nor citizen but in-between. Practitioners reported trust and rapport are the central pillars of practice and choose to utilize strengths-based approaches instead of risk-based approaches, but felt that service brokerage is impeded by associated professionals’ concerns around risk.

The impact of COVID-19 on the treatment of opioid use disorder in carceral facilities: a cross-sectional study

While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted healthcare delivery everywhere, persons with carceral system involvement and opioid use disorder (OUD) were disproportionately impacted and vulnerable to severe COVID-associated illness. Carceral settings and community treatment programs (CTPs) rapidly developed protocols to sustain healthcare delivery while reducing risk of COVID-19 transmission. This survey study assessed changes to OUD treatment, telemedicine use, and re-entry support services among carceral and CTPs participating in the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-funded study, Long-Acting Buprenorphine vs. Naltrexone Opioid Treatments in Criminal Justice System-Involved Adults (EXIT-CJS) study. In December 2020, carceral sites (n = 6; median pre-COVID 2020 monthly census = 3468 people) and CTPs (n = 7; median pre-COVID 2020 monthly census = 550 patients) participating in EXIT-CJS completed a cross-sectional web-based survey. The survey assessed changes pre- (January–March 2020) and post- (April–September 2020) COVID-19 in OUD treatment, telemedicine use, re-entry supports and referral practices. Compared to January–March 2020, half of carceral sites (n = 3) increased the total number of persons initiating medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) from April–September 2020, while a third (n = 2) decreased the number of persons initiated. Most CTPs (n = 4) reported a decrease in the number of new admissions from April–September 2020, with two programs stopping or pausing MOUD programs due to COVID-19. All carceral sites with pre-COVID telemedicine use (n = 5) increased or maintained telemedicine use, and all CTPs providing MOUD (n = 6) increased telemedicine use. While expansion of telemedicine services supported MOUD service delivery, the majority of sites experienced challenges providing community support post-release, including referrals to housing, employment, and transportation services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this small sample of carceral and CTP sites innovated to continue delivery of treatment for OUD. Expansion of telemedicine services was critical to support MOUD service delivery. Despite these innovations, sites experienced challenges providing reintegration supports for persons in the community. Pre-COVID strategies for identifying and engaging individuals while incarcerated may be less effective since the pandemic. In addition to expanding research on the most effective telemedicine practices for carceral settings, research exploring strategies to expand housing and employment support during reintegration are critical.

Programmatic approaches to achieving equity for women in anesthesiology.

Programmatic approaches to achieving equity for women in anesthesiology.

Enhancing community integration after incarceration: findings from a prospective study of an intensive peer support intervention for veterans with an historical comparison group

BackgroundThe transition to the community after incarceration presents challenges for returning citizens, including the immediate need to secure housing, employment, and income. Additionally, health care is essential for this population due to high rates of chronic physical health and mental health problems and substance use disorders. There is growing recognition of the need for interventions that support returning citizens as they navigate community reintegration while simultaneously tending to physical and behavioral health needs. We developed and pilot tested a peer support intervention designed to provide social, emotional, and logistic support and promote linkage and engagement in healthcare for returning citizens. We tested the intervention with US military veterans in Massachusetts who were being released from prison and jail. Outcomes related to linkage to and engagement in healthcare were evaluated using an historical comparison group. Engagement in peer support, housing status, and reincarceration rates were monitored for the intervention group.ResultsThere were 43 veterans in the intervention group, and 36 in the historical comparison group. For linkage to primary care within 90 days of release, there were no statistically significant differences between the intervention and comparison groups (58% versus 67%). Intervention participants were significantly more likely to receive substance use treatment than the comparison group (86% versus 19%, p < .0001) and the mean monthly substance use visits was greater in the intervention group (0.96 versus 0.34, p < .007). Engagement in mental health services was greater for the intervention group than the comparison group (93% versus 64%, p < .003). There were no significant differences between groups for emergency department use and hospitalization. At the end of the study period, the majority of intervention participants who had been released for over a year were living in permanent housing (84%). Recidivism among the was low, with 7% re-arrested during the study period.ConclusionsAugmenting reentry support through intensive peer support appears to have substantial benefits for veterans in terms of engaging them in health care and contributing to their longer-term stability, including housing and recidivism. Flexible reentry support such as this intervention may be well suited to meet the widely varying needs of returning citizens.

QOL-35. School reentry of children and adolescents with a brain tumor: can we improve family-school-hospital cooperation? An analysis of supportive and inhibiting factors as a result of a pilot project

OBJECTIVE: School reentry support focusing on providing information to schools and communication between patient/family-hospital-school is defined as a psychosocial standard of care in pediatric oncology (Thompson et al., 2015). This is critical for students with brain tumors (BT) - although it is not yet universally implemented - especially during follow-up, as they are a risk group for late effects. Due to long distances between family-hospital-school, limited personnel capacities and since 2020 Covid-19 restrictions, an online-event (OE) for teachers from external schools was designed, with the aim of: (1) strengthening cooperation, (2) breaking down barriers and (3) increasing level of knowledge. METHODS: 54 teachers participated in each of two OEs. Content was presented by an interdisciplinary team (clinician, clinical/neuropsychologist, social worker, teacher), followed by time for sharing experience. Two months after event 2, participants were asked to complete an evaluation in an anonymous online survey. Supportive and inhibiting factors for successful school reintegration were included in the survey and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: 54% of 23 respondents (70% teaching > 10 years) felt that their training before the event did not prepare them adequately for a teaching setting with seriously ill children (1-3 points on a 10-point Likert-scale). 92% rated their knowledge greater after the event. All interdisciplinary inputs were rated very useful and practical (79-88%: 8-10 points). 38% felt relieved to got to know contact persons. 33% rated teaching a student with BT as fundamentally challenging and felt more confident after the event. CONCLUSION: The results of this pilot project indicate that an online-information-event can increase knowledge and cooperation. Resulting promoting and inhibiting factors for school reintegration will be incorporated into future concept improvement. The findings further highlight the great importance of ongoing support in the form of a reintegration teacher and interdisciplinary input for schools to appropriately support students with BT.

Educational participation of primary school children with cancer from a Life Course perspective: A critical review of the literature

Adult survivors of childhood cancer experience poorer long-term socioeconomic outcomes, yet the influence of educational participation during primary school years is not well understood. This review synthesizes empirical findings from seventy-four quantitative and qualitative peer-reviewed studies, published from 2000-2019 and identified through a search of nine databases. The findings point to the following recommendations to improve policy and practice: provision of teaching and learning away from school; focus on student-centeredness; strengthening home-school-hospital partnerships; facilitation of teacher and peer acceptance; school re-entry support; resources and funding; and advocacy. The findings suggest that a Life Course lens is appropriate to conceptualize the role of educational participation for mitigating long-term impacts of childhood cancer during developmental transitions from childhood to adolescence and adulthood.

Transpedal approach for femoral-popliteal chronic total occlusions using the outback\xae elite re-entry device

BackgroundTranspedal access is increasingly utilized for the treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD). Femoral-popliteal artery chronic total occlusions (CTOs) are some of the most difficult lesion subsets that sometimes require the use of re-entry support devices during percutaneous intervention. Limited data is available on the use of re-entry devices when treating femoral-popliteal CTOs via transpedal access. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of using the Outback® Elite re-entry device for the treatment of femoral-popliteal CTOs via the transpedal approach in an outpatient based lab setting.MethodsSeventeen patients presented with femoral-popliteal CTOs in which treatment required the use of the Outback® Elite re-entry device. All procedures were performed in a single outpatient based lab. Patients were followed at 1 week and 1 month post-procedure, with lower extremity arterial duplex ultrasound assessment during the 1 month follow-up.ResultsThe average patient age was 78 years-old, with 71% being males. Most patients presented with Rutherford class IV symptoms. Procedural success was achieved in all patients with no requirement to convert to femoral artery access in any of the cases. No immediate post-procedural complications nor at any time during follow-up were observed. Ultrasonography at 1 month follow-up showed patent intervention sites and access site vessels in all patients.ConclusionThe use of the Outback® Elite re-entry device for the treatment of femoral-popliteal CTOs via transpedal access is a feasible option and may have potential benefits by avoiding risks associated with traditional femoral artery access.

Food Insecurity and Collateral Consequences of Punishment Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Bipartisan governmental representatives and the public support investment in health care, housing, education, and nutrition programs, plus resources for people leaving prison and jail (Halpin, 2018; Johnson & Beletsky, 2020; USCCR, 2019). The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 banned people with felony drug convictions from receiving food stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Food insecurity, recidivism, and poor mental and physical health outcomes are associated with such bans. Several states have overturned SNAP benefit bans, yet individuals with criminal convictions are still denied benefits due to eligibility criteria modifications. COVID‐19 has impaired lower‐income, food‐insecure communities, which disproportionately absorb people released from prison and jail. Reentry support is sorely lacking. Meanwhile, COVID‐19 introduces immediate novel health risks, economic insecurity, and jail and prison population reductions and early release. Thirty to 50 percent of people in prisons and jails, which are COVID‐19 hotspots, have been released early (Flagg & Neff, 2020; New York Times, 2020; Vera, 2020). The Families First Coronavirus Response Act increases flexibility in providing emergency SNAP supplements and easing program administration during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights recommends eliminating SNAP benefit restrictions based on criminal convictions, which fail to prevent recidivism, promote public safety, or relate to underlying crimes. Policy improvements, administrative flexibility, and cross‐sector collaboration can facilitate SNAP benefit access, plus safer, healthier transitioning from jail or prison to the community.

Continuity and school reentry support of patients with serious diseases: experiences in pediatric oncology.

Dealing with a serious illness always implies, and particularly for a child, important physical and psychological stresses. If on the one hand, the adult could have adaption's resources which allow him to deal with the illness's implications, on the other hand, for a child, the interference of the disease with growing steps may cause serious problems. For this reason, the clinicians and the family have to support the educational and social continuity of the child's interactions. The school experience, in fact, helps and supports the psychological and social development of the patient. This article has the aim of describing the experiences of the authors considering the Italian legislation, discussing the scientific literature and the approaches and resources which can be used in order to maintain the children within their school career. The experiences of the authors have been collected in the Paediatric Unit of an oncology's hospital. However, these experiences may be useful also in other contexts where children are being treated for different diseases.

Time away is time out: narratives of intentional reimprisonment amongst inmates living with HIV in a US setting

ABSTRACT There is a growing effort from a range of professionals and institutions to develop comprehensive integrated prison-to-community healthcare, discharge planning, and community re-entry support for inmates living with HIV. This paper draws from ethnographic data to explore the ‘lived experience’ of HIV-positive inmates in a US State prison system offering an integrated case management support programme. In the US, incarceration is critical for connecting socially marginalised people and those with health needs to certain rights and resources. We present the ways in which imprisonment enables a claims-making process against the state by allowing this group access to resources and rights connected to imprisonment, healthcare, and associated social welfare support. Offenders identified incentives underpinning their expressed desire or ‘intention’ to return to prison over time. Our findings suggest that this group of inmates has increased opportunity to access material, medical, and welfare resources when compared to the general inmate population and those outside the prison system. Multiple gaps remain in this group’s sense of security in the community, ability to cope with the stress of everyday life, sustained support with substance dependency and, most importantly, consistent access to medical and welfare resources that enable them to live independently. Ironically, for many inmates living with HIV, incarceration offers a better chance of accessing public health services than living in the community.