Chicago Police Headquarters
3510 South Michigan Avenue
September 24, 2009
Submitted to:
The Corporation for Supportive Housing
Submitted by:
Reentry Housing Taskforce of Chicago
Table of Contents
Foreword: A note on St. Leonard’s House
1. Executive Summary and Recommendations………………………………………………..........4 2. The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC)’s Wraparound Approach............................... 7
3. AFC Corrections and Supportive Services Initiative…………………................................ 8 4. Re-entry Access Project……………………………….…………………………………….................. 9
5. The 24-Hour Initiative…………………………………………………………………….…………….. 10 6. PEERSpeak Corrections Module………………………………………………..………………..…. 11 7. Re-entry Housing Plan Taskforce………………………………………..…………………………. 12 8. Advocacy for Condoms in Prison…………………………………………………………………… 13 9. Reentry Community Liaison Work……………………………………….………………………... 14 10. AFC Re-entry Housing for Health Partnership………………………….………………….. …15 11. AFC Re-entry Housing for Health Partnership-Program Model and Flow………… 17 12. RHHP Flow Chart………………………………………………………………………………………….. 21 13. Re-entry Housing and Support for Chicago’s Ex-Offenders……………………………… 22 14. St. Leonard’s Ministries…………………………………………………………………………………. 23 15. Summary of AFC’s Plan Design Process…………………………………………………………. 24 16. Understanding Illinois Prisons, Chicago’s Re-entry Community and the
Role of Housing and Support…………………………………………………………………………. 25 17. S.W.O.T. Analysis: Chicago’s Reentry Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats……………………………………………………….……………………. 31 18. 24/7 Housing and Support Connection: AFC’s plan to expand housing
and support for Chicago’s ex-offenders through a five-tiered plan…..………………. 32 19. Tier One: Advocate for Expanded Capacity of Supportive Housing in Chicago….. 33 20. Tier Two: Coordinate Chicago Area Supportive Service Providers………………….. 35 21. Tier Three: Centralize Connections between Ex-Offenders and Service
Providers……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 37 22. Tier Four: Connecting with Prisoners Prior to Release………………….………………... 38 23. Tier Five: Connect Ex-Offenders in a Network of Peer Support………………………. 40 24. Flow Chart of the 24/7 Housing and Support Connection……………….……………… 41 25. From the Field: Stories of Two Chicago Ex-Offenders’ Struggle with
Housing and Support Services………………………………………………………...……………. 42 26. Impact Statement………………………………………………………………………….……………… 43 27. Conclusions………………………………………………………………………………..………………… 44 28. Implementation Plan for 24/7 Housing and Support Connection……...…………….. 45 29. Chicago Mental Health Services…………………………………………………………………….. 47 30. Thresholds Summary…………………………………………………………………………………… 48 31. Roseland Community Profile and Resources (IDOC Map/Directory)………………. 50 32. End Notes…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 54
Appendices
A. Budget
B. Factsheet
C. Service Providers Directory D. PowerPoint Presentation
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Foreword: A note on St. Leonard’s House
St. Leonard’s House provides a space where formerly incarcerated men can find a safe environment upon return into the community. Not only do they attend supportive services, they are provided with the tools to develop skills to rebuild their lives and reshape their futures. These men are as diverse as the neighborhoods they come from and St. Leonard’s provides the services
to meet the needs of each individual. These services include reintegration activities where participants can transition back into the community.
Events such as these are possible because of the well trained staff at St. Leonard’s and
their commitment to serving a community in need.
The Reentry Housing Taskforce of Chicago fully supports St. Leonard’s mission and the Re-entry Housing for Health Partnership project. The taskforce knows the need in the Cook County community and the mission of this project is that we not only recognize that need but take a stand to address it. We know the importance of housing in the lives of everyone in our community, and for those who are reentering it’s just as crucial.
-The Reentry Housing Taskforce of Chicago
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1. Executive Summary and Recommendations
In 2004, Illinois released 39,293 state prisoners—an increase of nearly 34% since 2000, 1and the fourth-highest volume of prison releasees in the United States. More than 60%
of state prison releasees now return to the city of Chicago, at a rate of nearly 500 per 2week.
The incarcerated population is additionally challenged by high rates of mental and physical illness, addiction, and illiteracy, coupled with insufficient prison resources for treatment and continuing education. Thus, many prisoners on the verge of release are ill equipped to resume living independently, and face immediate challenges to accessing community-based resources for new or continuing care. A prison sentence results in lapses in employment history and familial supports. Illinois prisons generally offer some form of pre-release education programs, covering such topics as finding a job, obtaining photo identification, finding a place to live, and accessing health care. Approximately 45% of prisoners do not return to their communities of origin, and thus may be unfamiliar 3with the supportive services available in their area. In the short term, individuals leaving
prison also face significant challenges to accessing housing, both through a lack of adequate discharge planning, and a shortage of community-based housing resources. While many releasees may intend to stay with family or friends, these arrangements are not always feasible, particularly if the environment violates the conditions of parole (such as drug activity or another person with a criminal record in the home). Releasees cannot immediately access homeless housing assistance programs within the existing Continuum of Care, due to eligibility restrictions imposed by McKinney-Vento funding. Chicago currently maintains a limited number of short- and long-term transitional reentry housing programs; the majority of these providers, however, are grassroots organizations that do not offer intensive case management or linkages to support services. Prisoners returning to Chicago without pre-arranged housing must rely on an already overburdened shelter system—on any given night, Chicago has approximately 5,000 shelter beds for an 4estimated homeless population of 6,715 adults and children.
Individuals who do secure immediate housing experience high rates of mobility within the first year of release: 19% of Illinois Returning Home participants reported living at
more than one address after being in the community 1–3 months. By 6–8 months, 31%
had lived at more than one address, and 44% reported that getting their own home was 5one of their personal goals for the next 12 months. However, ex-offenders face both
economic and legal barriers to achieving long-term housing stability. Individuals with prison records often have difficulty securing employment, and under state law, persons convicted of serious drug felonies cannot receive cash via Illinois’ public assistance programs. Similarly, individuals with a felony conviction are barred from public housing
1 Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin: Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2005 2 2006 Crime and Justice Index (Chicago: Chicago Metropolis 2020, 2006) 37. 3 Ibid., p. 3. 4 Chicago Department of Human Services, ―Summary Findings of the Point-in-Time Count of Chicago’s Homeless,‖
June 2005. 5 Chicago Communities and Prisoner Reentry, 5–6.
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for five years. On the private market, Chicago’s current affordable housing stock meets 6only 10% of demand, and the FMR for a studio apartment ($781.00) is not feasible to releasees with limited employment opportunities. Socio-economic pressures—often
accompanied by substance abuse, mental illness, and disease—place inordinate
challenges upon a population that is already struggling to adjust psychologically to life outside prison walls. These stresses increase the risk of recidivism, particularly among individuals who have a history of cycling in and out of the criminal justice system. Of the more than 15,000 Illinois prisoners who returned to Chicago in 2001, 26% had been in 7prison before, exceeding the statewide average of 24%. A study of a cohort of Illinois
inmates released in 2000 additionally found that prisoners returning to Cook County had 8an average of 14 prior arrests. Within 21 months of release, 40% of prisoners taking part 9in the Illinois Returning Home study had been convicted of a new crime. Lack of
housing stability—and by extension, homelessness—has been shown to play a key role in
recidivism. At least 10% of the formerly incarcerated population experiences homelessness at some point, with a higher rate among those additionally suffering with 10mental illness or substance abuse.
As Chicago looks toward addressing the needs of this population, specifically housing, we must look at how we can expand existing projects and create collaborations among the City of Chicago, homeless providers, services providers, government and private founders. Advocates and providers for this population must look at new funding opportunities and be connected into the larger homeless provider system. The dialogue must continue after this meeting and develop into a planning group for Chicago.
; How do we address the existing barriers to housing that ex-offenders face?
; How do we set up a system that encompasses not only housing but our criminal
justice system, school system, employment services, mental health services,
substance use service, and health care needs?
; How do we, as housing service providers and government representatives
representing ex- offender housing issues, coordinate among each other to become
involved in the homeless funding system through the Chicago Alliance to End
Homelessness (Chicago Continuum of Care) and its committees? As funding
opportunities may become available through the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Program Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to
Housing (HEARTH) Act, how can partnerships be created to apply for this
potential funding opportunity?
6 Chicago Coalition for the Homeless/U.S. Conference of Mayors-Sodexho USA Hunger and Homelessness Survey, 2004. 7 Nancy G. LaVigne et al., A Portrait of Prisoner Reentry in Illinois (Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2003) 50. 8 Ibid., 30. 9 Kamala Mallik-Kane, Returning Home Policy Brief: Health and Prisoner Reentry (Washington, DC: Urban Institute,
2005) 4. 10 Caterina Gouvis Roman et al., Taking Stock: Housing, Homelessness, and Prisoner Reentry (Washington, DC: Urban
Institute, 2004) iii.
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Recommendations: As of this writing, the committee would like to recognize, support,
and further develop the following model initiatives:
; The AFC Re-Entry Housing for Health Partnership, discharge, to
transitional to permanent housing program is a model program of in-reach,
coordinated case management, and continued support. It needs to be expanded to
serve females and non-HIV+ persons. (pp. 15- 21)
; St. Leonard’s and St. Andrew’s Court are model programs. We would like to
support the addition of a permanent supportive housing for women leaving
prison being developed as part of the Heartland Housing Project as well as the
addition of a coffeehouse as a permanent vocational training site. (p. 23) ; The Thresholds Prison Project needs to be funded in order to continue
specialized in-reach and outreach for those with severe mental illness returning to
the community. (pp. 48 – 49)
; The Hearth Act will have broad consequences for public policy and corrections
officials need to take advantage of new opportunities. They need to become a part
of the Continuum Process and advocate for dedicated streams of funding that
serves their population.
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2. The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC)’s Wraparound Approach
AFC’s approach to corrections re-entry benefits not only the individuals receiving
services, but also their families and communities. The model was first developed in 1999 through a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)/CDC funded corrections and community initiative. Through intensive case management, AFC linked this hard-to-reach and transient population with ongoing care and prevention services. The model includes contact with the client while the client is still incarcerated, and upon release, contacts include home visits, office visits, telephone calls and escorts to service appointments.
AFC, in partnership with housing and social service providers, has developed a multi-level program model targeted to the corrections system. AFC works with the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) and a variety of public and private partners, including housing agencies, case management providers, and other correctional facilities to link individuals living with HIV/AIDS to the services they need. The AFC model aims to create a seamless continuum of services and care to recently released HIV-positive incarcerated populations by improving linkages between correctional facilities and community agencies; and facilitating the provision of supportive housing and ongoing housing and traditional intensive case management services. In addition to offering client level services, AFC’s model also targets re-entry at the system and program level because
interventions are also needed to strengthen, coordinate, and maintain linkages across housing and service delivery communities. Because AFC’s corrections model seeks to not only improve systems-level coordination, but also to continue to provide comprehensive and wraparound care and intensive case management, the potential for AFC’s corrections programs is great and its continued existence is vital.
Three distinct projects, targeting different elements of the system, have been developed. These include the AFC Corrections and Supportive Services Initiative (ACSSI), the AFC Re-entry Housing for Health Partnership (RHHP), the 24/7 Hotline Project and the Reentry Access Project (RAP). Together, these programs and other services are intended to help create a seamless corrections reentry model that improves the overall reentry process and increase housing stability, improve access to social and medical services and reduce recidivism for this population.
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3. AFC Corrections and Supportive Services Initiative
At agency level, AFC helps facilitate linkages through the Corrections and Supportive Services Initiative (ACSSI). ACSSI is funded by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) provide intensive case management and supportive services, including housing, to individuals living with HIV/AIDS that have been recently released from incarceration. The ACSSI project is designed to improve linkages and care coordination between the correctional facilities and community agencies.
AFC has partnered with correctional facilities and key housing and support services agencies to create and maintain a centralized intake and referral system for these individuals. This system identifies clients prior to release and facilitates linkage to transitional housing services and assignment of an intensive case manager. Each of the agencies has a full time case manager to support 20-25 clients with the intensive case management services. Once the client maintains a level of stability in the key areas of life, housing, income, medical care, mental health and substance use, they will be transitioned into Ryan White case management.
The HRSA/CDC initiative that originally funded the Chicago model also funded a similar program in California, which has proven effective at reducing recidivism among those housed. In evaluating the effectiveness, the Homebase program followed 120 HIV-positive released inmates receiving traditional case management and 120 receiving enhanced intervention, similar to that provided by AFC’s RHHP. The Homebase study
found that 71% of the enhanced intervention group completed a six-month follow-up interview, while only 56% of the traditional case management group completed it. Furthermore, 58% of the individuals in the traditional case management group were incarcerated again within six months, while only 52% of the enhanced intervention group was back in prison by this time. The cost of this program with housing was $4,419 per client, and the program would provide cost savings to taxpayers if it could avert 0.73 new HIV infections. For reference, shelter housing in Chicago for homeless individuals is estimated to cost $22 per day, or $8,030 per year. The community-based organization, Centerforce, provided prevention case management to individuals leaving prison, and found that these services decreased the occurrence of high risk behavior (defined as drug use, intercourse without a condom, and using drugs and alcohol during sex). AFC’s Corrections and Supportive Services Initiative employs a similar model, and AFC expects to produce similar results.
AFC collaborates with the Chicago Department of Public Health/Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago, Austin Health Center, Christian Community Health Center, South Side Help Center, Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center, Faith Inc., Haymarket Center, Cermak County Jail Services, Men and Women in Prison Ministries, and Chicago House’s 1-4 Project.
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4. Re-entry Access Project
The Re-entry Access Project is a collaborative-statewide, relationship with the Illinois Department of Corrections and AFC’s corrections system. The project is a system level intervention and targets healthcare and administrative staff at all 47 Illinois prisons across the state. Its goal is to raise the awareness about the various services available to HIV-positive inmates. AFC accomplishes this by training prison staff on service linkage and other critical HIV/AIDS issues for prisoners, and to provide informational materials that prison staff can share with prisoners while respecting HIV-positive prisoner’s anonymity.
AFC directly provides all of the Re-entry Access Project’s funding. The primary
outcome of the program is to improve system level communications and increase linkages to housing, social, and medical services. As a result of these efforts, AFC has established a formal linkage agreement with the Illinois Department of Corrections and continually works with their staff to directly link 75 individuals living with HIV/AIDS to post-corrections case management and support services. Partner agencies include the Illinois Department of Corrections and Men and Women in Prison Ministries.
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5. The 24 Hour Initiative
As part of the Re-Entry Access Project, this Initiative supports the work of one AFC-funded service provider, Haymarket Center, to provide 24/7 on-call support, so they can provide support service linkage for individuals immediately upon release, and potentially meet with each individual throughout that first day to engage the individual in services. This initiative will expand AFC’s capacity to link HIV-positive individuals to its
HIV/AIDS case management system within the critical first 24 hours of release from prison, day or night. A program highlighted by the National Library of Medicine and the Journal of Urban Health has shown that, among HIV-positive individuals linked to care immediately upon release, 95% of enrollees remained adherent to medical care and social services in the 18 months after release. Furthermore, a study published in Johns Hopkins University’s Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved found that when HIV-
positive inmates were released from prison, the likelihood that they would participate in substance treatment programs increased, and the likelihood that they would engaged in sex exchange decreased when they were referred to case management services immediately upon release from prison.
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