Provide access to effective mental health, chemical dependency, and primary care services for inmates before and after their release from jail.
Offender Reentry Plan March 2011
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Screen inmates for eligibility for TANF, Medicaid, SSI, food stamps and veteran benefits.
Train transition support personnel on federal and state benefit guidelines.
Provide inmates with identification documents while in jail.
Increase number of criminal justice liaisons.
Assist local social service agencies providing culturally appropriate and trauma-informed mental health and chemical dependency recovery services.
Identify local agencies with services targeting former inmates and those with criminal histories
Work with community social service providers to ensure they do not exclude those with criminal histories.
Add benefit preservation to county’s lobbying initiatives with the state.
Encourage probation officers to adopt a narrow definition of “in violation of conditions of probation” for purposes of TANF, food stamps, SSI and public housing.
Increase enrollment in government benefit programs.
Prevent or reduce disruption in benefits for inmates as they reenter the community.
Suspend rather than terminate federal benefits when an individual is incarcerated
Work with local social security office to establish methods for continuity of coverage
Prevent criminal history from excluding individuals from social services.
Assist inmates in applying for benefits.
Assess inmates’ eligibility for benefits.
Objectives Strategies Proposed Activities