Challenging offenders to Maintain Positive Associations and Social Stability

Over the past decade, Rhode Island, among several other states, developed new programs designed to improve successful community reentry of inmates following incarceration. With assistance from federal funding, e.g. Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI), one such program, COMPASS--Challenging Offenders to Maintain Positive Associations and Social Stability--integrates transitional services, focusing on return to the community with a long term goal of decreasing the high rate of recidivism. Details of this program as well as nationwide results of such programs are reviewed.

Following the closure of state hospitals across the U.S. decades earlier, many urban environments experienced an increase in the number of mentally ill and ultimately the homeless phenomenon. Despite the evolution of community mental health centers, there was insufficient resources to meet the needs of this growing population. Many within the community, including local business owners were unable to address the underlying causes of this new challenge that resulted in increased conflict and ultimately incarceration of larger numbers of inmates with mental illness. There has been increased funding for mental health personnel within state prison systems, however many of these inmates continue to experience symptoms following their release that complicate the successful reintegration within the community.

With more than 600,000 prisoners released into the community nationwide each year, large cities are especially impacted by the challenges of increased risk to public safety, and a limited availability of jobs, housing, and social services for the returning ex-offender. In 2003, the U.S. made $100,000,000 available in grant funds to develop, enhance or expand programs to facilitate the entry of adults and juvenile offenders returning to communities.

The National Institute of Corrections has provided guidance for these programs in the Transition from Prison to Community Initiative that utilizes Institutional Program Plans (IPP) during incarceration and Transitional Accountability Plans (TAP) following release. TAP includes specified goals for each participant and a graduated imposition of sanctions when these goals are not met.

Monitoring of participants following release will also be accomplished by coordination with local law enforcement. Inmate records are accessible by local police using a computer system integrated into the Rhode Island Department of Corrections archives. Other services are synchronized through a community facility referred to as the Family Life Center (FLC), staffed by personnel especially sensitive to the needs of the offender population.

FLC services include family reunification and counseling, faith based mentoring and linkages with other community resources designed to evaluate and meet the needs of the parolee. In addition, the FLC incorporates a restorative justice emphasis that coordinates victims services, e.g. restitution, selection of a victims advisory board, etc. In addition to crime avoidance as a central aim of COMPASS, FLC encourages embracing prosocial activities that include familial responsibilities.

In addition to the post release feature of COMPASS, equally important is the focus upon inmate's rehabilitation early in their prison term. Inmates selected for COMPASS participation must have an Institutional Program Plan completed that addresses rehabilitative programming throughout their sentence. This includes assessment procedures that include testing during several important time periods,