Montgomery County Offender Reentry Program

Background/Purpose

The purpose of the Montgomery County Offender Reentry Program (MCORP) project was to reduce the impact of substance abuse and HIV among adults leaving incarceration with the overall goal of reducing recidivism. The MCORP project provided the following services: screening for substance abuse risk and referrals; educational sessions; HIV and hepatitis risk screenings; HIV and hepatitis C rapid testing; and referral for medical treatment for anyone testing positive for HIV or hepatitis.

Goals

Two goals guided the project:

  • To expand access to outpatient substance abuse treatment for males and females, aged 18 and over, who live in Montgomery County or nearby counties.
  • To expand access to HIV and hepatitis testing, education, and referral for treatment services through the provision of access to rapid testing and support services.

Outcomes

HIV testing was provided to 389 residents with no new positives.

Hepatitis C testing was provided to 358 residents with a new positivity rate of 53.1%.

Paired samples t-tests indicated a statistically significant reduction in mean AUDIT scores from baseline to follow-up (p<0.01) with participants reducing their average scores by roughly 80%. At follow-up, fewer MCORP participants were scoring into the highest risk categories, and most had reduced their risk level to low.

Paired samples t-tests also indicated a statistically significant reduction in DAST scores from baseline to follow-up (p<0.01) with participants reducing their average scores by more than 59%. Additionally, 80.6% of participants scored into either the substantial or severe risk level for drug abuse at baseline; whereas, at follow-up, only 26.5% scored in the same levels.

Grant Type

Direct Service

Funded By

SAMHSA, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)

Grant No.

TI026314

Principal Investigator

Jo Ann Ford

Primary Contact

jo.ford@wright.edu

Partner Agencies

MonDay Community Correctional Institution

Publications and Presentations

  • Kissell, K. M., Gaddis, R., Atkinson, T., Brown, K., Kinzeler, N. R., & Ford, J. A. (2018, November 10-14). Substance use, housing and employment: An analysis of three barriers to the successful reentry of an adult offender population [Poster presentation]. American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Expo, San Diego, CA, United States.
  • Ford, J. A., Kissell, K. M., Gaddis, R., Atkinson, T., Brown, K., & Kinzeler, N. R. (2018, March 4-7). Utilizing a Case Management Approach to Decrease Substance Use in an Adult Re-entry Population [Poster presentation]. American Academy of Health Behavior Annual Scientific Meeting, Portland, OR, United States.
  • Kissell, K. M., Gaddis, R., Atkinson, T., Brown, K., Hardin, L., Kinzeler, N. R., & Ford, J. A. (2018, March 4-7). Reducing recidivism by addressing common barriers to reentry [Poster presentation]. American Academy of Health Behavior Annual Scientific Meeting, Portland, OR, United States.
  • Kissell, K. M., Gaddis, R., Atkinson, T., Brown, K., Hardin, L, Richlen, W., & Ford, J. A. (2017, November 4-8). Reducing substance use in an adult reentry population [Poster Presentation]. American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Expo, Atlanta, GA, United States.
  • Ford, J. A., Gaddis, R., Kissell, K. M., Atkinson, T., Brown, K., Hardin, L., Richlen, W., & Kinzeler, N. R. (2017, November 04-08). Utilizing case management to bridge the gap between incarceration and substance abuse treatment [Conference session]. American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Expo, Atlanta, GA, United States.