Reentry Support Research Articles

\u201cIt\u2019s like I was out there by myself\u201d: The receipt of reentry support among HIV-infected formerly incarcerated individuals in New York City

BackgroundIn the U.S., approximately one in seven HIV-infected individuals experience incarceration at least once in their lifetime. While HIV-infected individuals experience positive health outcomes during periods of incarceration, they tend to experience treatment disruption as they return to their community after custody which results in poor health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore the transitional support received from the Department of Corrections during the reentry period.MethodsWe conducted in-depth interviews with 20 HIV-infected formerly incarcerated individuals in New York City. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Three researchers performed line-by-line reading of the transcripts to identify dominant codes and themes that emerged. A mixture of deductive and inductive techniques was used to identify patterns that emerged in the data.ResultsMost of the participants were male and racial and ethnic minorities. There were five dominant themes that emerged during our analysis: 1) variations in the quantity of antiretroviral medication received during transition; 2) linkages to community-based physical health care providers was not well-coordinated; 3) insufficient housing and social resources; 4) structural and social challenges to post-release well-being; and 5) family as a source of resilience.ConclusionsDischarge support planning should include sufficient medication to prevent treatment disruption and a more comprehensive approach to linkage to community-based healthcare services. Such planning should also include thorough pre-release assessments to identify appropriate levels of support needed, including employment and housing assistance, which will be useful for resource allocation. Broadening public health partnerships may also increase availability and promote accessibility to the most appropriate healthcare services and programs, which may provide better opportunities to receive coordinated care and ensure continuity of care. Finally, ties to family members and other loved ones should be leveraged to help facilitate the achievement of optimal health outcomes among this population.

Schooling while incarcerated as a turning point for serious juvenile and young adult offenders

IntroductionAttending school and working are consistently associated with positive outcomes for juvenile offenders returning to the community. MethodsUsing longitudinal data from the Pathways to Desistance Study, we used structural equation modeling to test whether better school experiences while incarcerated was positively connected to adjustment upon release among serious juvenile offenders (91% male) in the U.S. Adjustment was assessed as attending school for 310 legal minors (<18 years), and engaging in work for 259 emerging adults (≥18 years), as well as self-reported delinquency for all participants. ResultsAccounting for incarceration and school history, results showed that facility school attachment, but not grades, was associated with decreased delinquency 12 months after release across sex in both age groups. Additionally, facility school attachment predicted engagement in school for returning minors. However, facility school experience was not related to engaging in work for returning emerging adults. ConclusionsResults indicate that facility school climate matters for all juvenile offenders returning to their communities and that correctional education done right presents an important opportunity to reconnect returning minors with school, an important normative context of development. Conversely, results suggest that returning offenders who have ‘aged out’ of high school are a separate vulnerable group who may need additional support for successful reentry.

Coordinating across correctional, community, and VA systems: applying the Collaborative\xa0Chronic Care Model to post-incarceration healthcare and reentry support for veterans with mental health and substance use disorders

BackgroundBetween 12,000 and 16,000 veterans leave incarceration annually. As is known to be the case for justice-involved populations in general, mental health disorders (MHDs) and substance use disorders (SUDs) are highly prevalent among incarcerated veterans, and individuals with MHDs and SUDs reentering the community are at increased risk of deteriorating health and recidivism. We sought to identify opportunities to better coordinate care/services across correctional, community, and VA systems for reentry veterans with MHDs and SUDs.MethodsWe interviewed 16 veterans post-incarceration and 22 stakeholders from reentry-involved federal/state/community organizations. We performed a grounded thematic analysis, and recognizing consistencies between the emergent themes and the evidence-based Collaborative Chronic Care Model (CCM), we mapped findings to the CCM’s elements – work role redesign (WRR), patient self-management support (PSS), provider decision support (PDS), clinical information systems (CIS), linkages to community resources (LCR), and organizational/leadership support (OLS).ResultsEmergent themes included (i) WRR – coordination challenges among organizations involved in veterans’ reentry; (ii) PSS – veterans’ fear of reentering society; (iii) PDS – uneven knowledge by reentry support providers regarding available services when deciding which services to connect a reentry veteran to and whether he/she is ready and/or willing to receive services; (iv) CIS – lapses in MHD/SUD medications between release and a first scheduled health care appointment, as well as challenges in transfer of medical records; (v) LCR – inconsistent awareness of existing services and resources available across a disparate reentry system; and (vi) OLS – reentry plans designed to address only immediate transitional needs upon release, which do not always prioritize MHD/SUD needs.ConclusionsApplying the CCM to coordinating cross-system health care and reentry support may contribute to reductions in mental health crises and overdoses in the precarious first weeks of the reentry period.

A novel application of process mapping in a criminal justice setting to examine implementation of peer support for veterans leaving incarceration

BackgroundBetween 12,000 and 16,000 veterans leave incarceration every year, yet resources are limited for reentry support that helps veterans remain connected to VA and community health care and services after leaving incarceration. Homelessness and criminal justice recidivism may result when such follow-up and support are lacking. In order to determine where gaps exist in current reentry support efforts, we developed a novel methodological adaptation of process mapping (a visualization technique being increasingly used in health care to identify gaps in services and linkages) in the context of a larger implementation study of a peer-support intervention to link veterans to health-related services after incarceration (https://clinicaltrials.gov/, NCT02964897, registered November 4, 2016) to support their reentry into the community.MethodsWe employed process mapping to analyze qualitative interviews with staff from organizations providing reentry support. Interview data were used to generate process maps specifying the sequence of events and the multiple parties that connect veterans to post-incarceration services. Process maps were then analyzed for uncertainties, gaps, and bottlenecks.ResultsWe found that reentry programs lack systematic means of identifying soon-to-be released veterans who may become their clients; veterans in prisons/jails, and recently released, lack information about reentry supports and how to access them; and veterans’ whereabouts between their release and their health care appointments are often unknown to reentry and health care teams. These system-level shortcomings informed our intervention development and implementation planning of peer-support services for veterans’ reentry.ConclusionsSystematic information sharing that is inherent to process mapping makes more transparent the research needed, helping to engage participants and operational partners who are critical for successful implementation of interventions to improve reentry support for veterans leaving incarceration. Even beyond our immediate study, process mapping based on qualitative interview data enables visualization of data that is useful for 1) verifying the research team’s interpretation of interviewee’s accounts, 2) specifying the events that occur within processes that the implementation is targeting (identifying knowledge gaps and inefficiencies), and 3) articulating and tracking the pre- to post-implementation changes clearly to support dissemination of evidence-based health care practices for justice-involved populations.

TAC grades states on policies for community re‐entry support

TAC grades states on policies for community re‐entry support

An Integrative Theoretical Model of Public Support for Ex-Offender Reentry.

Prior research suggests that public and ex-offender characteristics are associated with attitudes toward ex-offenders and support for their reentry; however, research examining reasons for these associations is limited. Research also is limited on the association between attitudes toward ex-offenders generally, and support for their reentry, specifically. Implicit theory offers a new approach to explaining public attitudes through beliefs in the fixed or malleable nature of people (i.e., mindsets). We developed and tested an integrative model applying implicit theory to investigate mechanisms through which beliefs explain support for reentry. Results showed that growth mindsets predicted more positive attitudes toward ex-offenders, which, in turn, predicted greater support for reentry. Belief in a just world, prior contact with an ex-offender, and political orientation were among the covariates of reentry support. Beyond supporting the application of implicit theory in this context, findings suggest that anti-stigma interventions should target growth mindsets to promote community reintegration.

Academic Continuity and School Reentry Support as a Standard of Care in Pediatric Oncology.

Clinicians agree that return to school after diagnosis promotes the positive adjustment of children and adolescents with cancer; however, the school reentry process can present challenges. The aim of this review was to critically evaluate the literature on school reentry support for youth with cancer. Seventeen publications were identified. School reentry services were well-received by families and educators; increased teacher and peer knowledge about childhood cancer; influenced peer and educator attitudes toward the patient; and improved communication and collaboration between patients/families, school, and the healthcare team. Evidence supports a strong recommendation for school reentry support for youth with cancer.

Support for school reentry and relationships between children with cancer, peers, and teachers.

Returning to school after a cancer diagnosis can be socially challenging for children with cancer. This study investigated the form of support for school reentry and the associations with social support from peers and teachers. This was a multicenter cross-sectional study. Children with cancer and their guardians completed questionnaires. Their guardians also underwent a semi-structured interview to describe the background of support for school reentry. Thirty-nine children with cancer and guardian dyads completed questionnaires and three guardians underwent semi-structured interview. Peer visits and their understanding of hospital experiences and how to interact with children were related to social support from peers. Teachers' understanding of physical appearance, academic performance, hospital experience and of how to interact with children was related to social support from peers. Teachers' understanding of diagnosis/treatment, academic performance and their status as the liaison between doctors/nurses in hospitals and teachers in local schools were also related to social support from teachers. Furthermore, children with cancer were also encouraged to establish supportive relationships with peers and teachers as a result of school reentry support that (i) helped children to feel that they are still members of the local school; (ii) improved peer and teacher understanding of the long-term recovery process of children with cancer; and (iii) facilitated the children's own awareness that they are fighting the disease. The multidisciplinary team consisting of the children with cancer, their families, doctors, nurses and teachers in the local school need to communicate with peers regarding positive experiences of fighting, and overcoming, severe disease.

Raising educational attainment: how young people's experiences speak back to the Compact with young Australians

In the context of international consensus that the knowledge economy requires more highly educated people, the Australian federal, state and territory governments agreed on a set of policies and targets for lifting the minimum level of educational attainment of young people, which are analysed in Part 1 of this paper. This Compact with young Australians will have the most impact on the quarter of young people who in the past would have left school early. The second part of the paper explores the transition experiences of early leavers who move on to a ‘second chance’ school. Based on their experiences, the paper concludes that to genuinely enable more young people to complete senior secondary education requires recognition of a broad range of benefits, rather than focusing mainly on economic outcomes, and support for re-entry through second chance education rather than coercing young people to remain in mainstream schooling.

A Survey on the Demands for School Reentry Support of Children with Health Impairments

본 연구는 건강장애 학생들이 치료 후, 학교로 성공적으로 복귀하고 적응할 수 있도록 건강장애 학생의 부모를 대상으로 학교복귀 지원 요구에 대해 연구함으로써 건강장애 학생의 학교복귀 지원 방안을 모색하는데 그 목적이 있다. 연구방법으로는 현재 광주광역시와 전라남도에 거주하고 있는 건강장애 학생의 부모(N=50)를 대상으로 하였으며, 조사도구로는 설문지를 사용하였다. 본 연구를 통하여 얻은 몇 가지 중요한 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 건강장애 학생의 부모들의 76.0%가 치료 후 학교생활이 매우 중요하다고 응답하였으며, 학교복귀 지원의 중요성에 있어서도 80.0%가 필요하다고 답하였다. 구체적으로 요구한 학교복귀 지원 서비스는 사회성 향상, 학습지원, 건강관리 지원, 심리ㆍ정서 지원의 순으로 나타났다. 그리고 학교복귀 지원을 위한 주도적 역할 담당자는 담임교사, 특수교사, 병원학교교사, 부모, 사회복지사의 순으로 나타났다. 둘째, 의료진관련 지원요구사항은 정보 제공에 대한 지원 요구가 가장 높았다. 셋째, 학교관련 지원요구사항은 교사연수 및 상담 서비스, 보조인력 확보가 필요하다는 의견이 높게 나타났다. 넷째, 교사관련 지원요구사항은 교과학습, 사회, 정서적 지원에 대한 요구가 높게 나타났다. 다섯째, 부모관련 지원요구사항은 부모참여확대, 부모교육 등이 필요한 것으로 나타났다. 이런 연구결과를 바탕으로 건강장애 학생의 학교복귀에 대한 논의와 후속연구를 위한 제언을 하고자 한다.

Critical Time Intervention for Reentry From Prison for Persons With Mental Illness

Critical time intervention (CTI) is a nine-month, three-stage intervention that strategically develops individualized linkages in the community and seeks to enhance engagement with treatment and community supports through building problem-solving skills, motivational coaching, and advocacy with community agencies. It is an empirically supported practice shown to enhance continuity of care for people with mental illness after discharge from homeless shelters and psychiatric hospitals. This article describes CTI as a promising model to provide support for reentry from prison for people with mental illness. A conceptual model is presented for evaluating the impact of CTI on the transition from correctional settings to the community. The model is potentially useful for further development of mental health service-driven models of reentry process and outcome. Although CTI is a potentially useful model for reentry services for this population, challenges remain in adapting it to specific correctional facilities, justice systems, and community contexts.

The Seventh International Buddhist-Christian Conference: "Hear the Cries of the World"

The Seventh International Buddhist-Christian Conference:"Hear the Cries of the World" Darnise C. Martin The SBCS Seventh International Conference honoring the ongoing Buddhist-Christian dialogue was hosted by Loyola Marymount University, June 3–8, 2005. The campus provided a picturesque and temperate backdrop to conversations, workshops, worship experiences, musical performances, and academic sessions inspired by the theme, "Hear the Cries of the World." This focus shaped our time together as we discussed issues, both old and new, that continue to polarize our world and ways in which we might heal and grow into more holistic ways of being. Loyola Marymount University was pleased to welcome more than 120 participants from close to home and around the world. In addition to representation from many parts of the United States, we also had guests from Japan, Belgium, Germany, Korea, and Sweden. With such a diverse group having a range of needs and concerns, I was heartened to receive positive feedback from all of our attendees, who expressed their satisfaction with the programming and events as well as the general logistics, organization, and staff accessibility throughout the conference. The conference got underway with bittersweet opening ceremonies. We began with words of welcome to our international group, as well as expressions of sadness at the loss of David Chappell, founding member of the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies. David's memory was lifted up in the presence of his family, dear friends, and colleagues. The Society will carry on his work of dialogue, healing, and reconciliation. The conference had many highlights. One of the most notable features of the conference was the visually and musically stunning dance performance by Viji Prakash, [End Page 185] acclaimed international choreographer and dancer. Her dance troupe, Shakti Dance Company, performed "From Prince to Buddha: A Journey to Enlightenment," an energetic production based on the life of the Buddha. The audience was thoroughly enchanted and entertained by this performance. The academic sessions offered many and varied expressions of the theme, "Hear the Cries of the World." Scholars, activists, and clergy came together to present papers and personal experiences around issues of ecological healing, prison ministry, youth outreach, women's responses to poverty and injustice, as well as the traditional figures of compassion, the Virgin Mary, Kuan Yin, and the way of the Bodhisattva. In particular, our group was intensely moved through an evening presentation on prison ministry presented by two people working intimately in the area of bringing compassion to this field. One presenter was Fleet Maull, founder of the Prison Dharma Network and the National Prison Hospice Association, who has been in the prison system as an inmate himself. He shared the experiences that led to his incarceration as well as the dehumanizing ways in which people are treated as inmates. He spoke of meditation as a tool by which prisoners may develop awareness and regain their humanity, even if for only brief moments. These moments can maintain hope for people who otherwise would have none. Maull, who was ordained a Buddhist priest while in prison, began a ministry to provide hospice care to terminally ill inmates, a ministry that has continued after his release through a growing network of participating prisons. The second presenter, Beth Ross of First African Methodist Episcopal (FAME) Church in Los Angeles, also discussed her work as part of the church's prison ministry outreach. Ross spoke about ministering not only to the person in prison, but also to the family of the inmate. Each has particular needs. The church has responded to prisoners' needs to not feel abandoned and isolated by instituting a letter-writing campaign. She said this helps people stay connected to a community and begin to heal. The church also provides re-entry support as prisoners are released and need to find housing and employment. Ross advocates for these former inmates needing a second chance. Without help, she notes, they are destined to commit further crimes against society and return to prison. FAME hopes to be a beacon of hope to these former prisoners. This was a powerful session for everyone. Speaking for myself, I had often thought about how society permanently demonizes former inmates. What chance do...

System problems in creating re-entry support networks for child mental patients

The supportive services needed to resettle mental hospitalized children and adolescents in some familial setting, with their peers, in school, and with other service agencies responsible for them are virtually antithetical to the role, authority, and knowledge structure and the service cultures that constitute the present system of services for these patients. Until these impediments are altered to facilitate resettlement, we can hardly expect it to get much assistance from this service system, and the most immediately practical alteration is the imposition of fiscal constraints favoring resettlement efforts and their coordination. The most important alteration, however, is the widespread realization that the present service system is structually and culturally, though not yet self-consciously, opposed to serious coordinated resettlement work.

Facilitation of ventricular tachycardia induction with abrupt changes in ventricular cycle length

The effect of abrupt short-to-long changes in cycle length (CL) on the postulated reentrant circuit of ventricular tachycardia (VT) was evaluated. This was performed using single and double ventricular extrastimuli in a group of 21 patients clinically suspected of having VT in whom VT could not be induced at comparable or shorter constant CLs. A second group of 10 patients without suspected VT was similarly studied. Compared with constant CLs of equal or shorter duration preceding the single or double ventricular extrastimuli, abrupt short-to-long CL changes resulted in (1) initiation of sustained VT in 13 of 21 patients in whom VT could not be induced at constant CLs despite the use of shorter S 1S 3 by 66 ± 17 ms; (2) increased incidence of initiation of sustained VT after the V 3 phenomenon resulting from macroreentry within the His-Purkinje system (ReHPS); (3) a small but higher incidence of sustained VT due to sustained Re-HPS; and (4) no induction of sustained or nonsustained VT with either method in the second group of patients. These results provide additional support for reentry as the basis for sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Abrupt short-to-long CL changes may be effective for initiating sustained VT in patients at risk for these arrhythmias.