Published: December 18, 2006 09:51 pm      

Programs improve recidivism rates

EDMOND — Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Justin Jones said Oklahoma does well in its rate of recidivism, which is defined as the number of inmates who are released from prison but return to state custody within a three-year period. Jones said Oklahoma has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the nation at 28 percent. That low rate is a result, in part, of a pilot program the Department of Corrections had for inmates from Oklahoma County several years ago that was so successful it subsequently was made a statewide program.

The Oklahoma DOC was among five states in 2003 that received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice that allowed it to adopt a model program designed to reduce recidivism. Formulated by the National Institute of Corrections, the program was known as the Transition from Prison to Community model. The Oklahoma Corrections Department designated its program as the Partnership for the Reintegration of Offenders through Employment and Treatment, which became known by the acronym “PROTECT.”

The program places great emphasis on an inmate’s re-entry into society, which is defined as a process of identifying treatment and training programs, based on an individual offenders needs, that are necessary to provide the offender with the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully rejoin the community. Debbie Mahaffey, who is a deputy director of the Oklahoma DOC, explains the program began working with offenders from Oklahoma County in late 2003.

Inmates that were assessed at being high risk for returning to the department’s custody were permitted to volunteer to participate in the program, and were assigned to a transition coordinator who works with them to prepare a plan for them to follow upon their release from custody.

And PROTECT recognizes other agencies have a role to play in working with recently released offenders, and it includes an Executive Re-entry Committee that is composed of representatives from the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Department of Human Services, Department of Public Safety, Department of Commerce Workforce Development Program, CareerTech, Veterans Affairs, as well as Native American tribes.

The PROTECT program recently has been enhanced and expanded by a grant obtained by the Department from the Institute for Effective Government that is being used to expand the services available to recently released offenders. The expanded program may in time serve as a model for other states.

Transition coordinators are now working with those agencies and private organizations to develop what is known as the “wraparound reentry model” that will result in a team of individuals and entities that will be able to support those former inmates upon their return to society.

The support may include literacy training, psychological counseling, drug treatment, training through the Commerce Department and other services through private and public organizations. The program also is innovative in that it incorporates faith-based individuals and organizations into its operations.

Director Jones believes faith-based entities can play an important role in all aspects of the rehabilitation process, and reports faith-based units will be opened in two DOC correctional facilities, Mabel Bassett in McLoud and the Granite Reformatory early next year.

Oklahoma currently leads the nation in the rate of incarceration of women, and the PROTECT program is ensuring that transition coordinators are aware of all of the resources available for recently released females such as day care centers, child support services and affordable housing.

There is an African proverb that holds that it takes a village to raise a child. As a result of the PROTECT plan in time it may be said by corrections officials that it takes a team of committed organizations and individuals to ensure that an offender does not return to prison.