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Project Name: Operation My Home Town Reentry Based Incarceration Model and Comprehensive Post-Release Services

Applicant: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
Applicant Type: County
Application Number: 2012-H2231-CA-CZ
Funding Request: $749,921
Focus: Corrections and Reentry, Reentry/Release
Location: CA
Areas Covered: Unincorporated areas of Alameda County and the 14 incorporated Alameda County cities, CA

Summary: Operation My Home Town (OMHT) in Alameda County, California, now completing its first year of implementation, is effecting a paradigm shift that introduces new elements into the reentry process so that the Santa Rita County Jail (Santa Rita) is being redefined as a rehabilitation system capable of transforming lives. OMHT participants at Santa Rita are encouraged to view their jail time as time spent in "Reentry-Based Incarceration" (RBI). The RBI model includes a discrete housing unit within Santa Rita, where inmates are encouraged and assisted to make constructive use of their time in jail to change their lives and reengage with their families so that reentry is truly a fresh start. The goal of OMHT is to reduce recidivism and consequently to reduce crime in some of the most distressed communities in Alameda County.

A 2011 DOJ Second Chance Reentry Demonstration grant made possible the construction of the infrastructure necessary to support the type of reentry programming envisioned by reentry services partners in Alameda County, including the many community collaborators involved in the OMHT first year. Major inroads have been made in effecting the systems change necessary and laying the groundwork for full implementation of the RBI model, with all its benefits. The first year of OMHT has thus served as a catalyst for deep institutional change. This change could not be happening at a more auspicious moment in the history of justice systems development in California. Through a statewide realignment initiative, Governor Brown is downscaling the state prison system and sending low-level offenders back to the counties. County justice systems are experiencing tremendous pressure to improve their rehabilitation services delivery systems. The visionary and transformative OMHT program is appearing on the stage at a fortuitously opportune moment in the history of California justice systems development.

The demonstrated success of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office’s (ACSO) first year of OMHT implementation will be a springboard for taking county-level reentry programming to the next level. Now that the systemic foundation is in place, the ACSO is seeking BJA Second Chance Act funding to take OMHT into a second year. Funding will assist the ACSO and its many reentry partners to refine and revise programming to be as effective as possible. The enhanced OMHT will be piloted with up to 65 new high-risk adult ex-offenders recruited in year two. Program enhancements will also serve those continuing in the program since 2011-12.

Goals and objectives. The overarching goal of Operation My Home Town is to reduce recidivism rates for adult offenders emerging from the Santa Rita Jail by providing services based on an individualized assessment specifically designed to reduce the risk of recidivism upon reentry into their home communities. To reach this goal, the project will strive to achieve the following objectives:

  1. Ensure that at least 80% of OMHT participants complete the OMHT program.
  2. Decrease recidivism rates for participants as compared to rates for a comparison population.
  3. Decrease the percentage of incidence of violations of conditions of supervised release by program participants.
  4. Increase the employment rate among program participants upon reentry.
  5. Increase the percentage of program participants who secure safe, stable housing that supports a clean and sober lifestyle.
  6. Increase the percentage of program participants assessed as needing substance abuse treatment services who participate in these services and who do not drop out of services before receiving the recommended dosage.
  7. Increase the percentage of program participants assessed as needing mental health treatment services who participate in these services and do not drop out of services before receiving the recommended dosage.
  8. Increase the percentage of program participants who remain clean and sober upon reentry.

Characteristics of target population. The target population for OMHT is inmates from the Santa Rita Jail who are in the process of reentry to the distressed communities in the unincorporated Eden Area of Alameda County and who are at the highest-risk levels for recidivism (risk principle). This specific inmate population is approximately 84% male, 38% African American, and 28% Latino. These inmates are generally young, with approximately 33% age 18-29 and 31% age 30-39. Santa Rita inmates typically have low educational attainment, have been unemployed or underemployed for their entire adult life, have a high incidence of mental illness and substance abuse, and experience poor health.

Projected number of clients to be served. OMHT will serve up to 65 new clients and 30 continuing clients during the 12-months grant period.

Program design elements including pre- and post-release services. Key OMHT implementation activities include: pre-release administration of the Alameda County Adult Risk Assessment Tool, which measures the level of risk of recidivism (risk principle) and allows for matching the level of supervision to the offender’s risk to reoffend (risk principle); assessing service/treatment needs (needs principle); engaging the inmate in making the choice to seek a better life through Motivational Interviewing (needs principle); placing the inmate in the Re-entry Based Incarceration housing unit, which provides intensive cognitive behavioral interventions as a core part of programming; assigning a case manager who helps the participant develop an Individualized Reentry Plan (responsivity principle) and facilitates provision of pre-release services (responsive to individual identified needs, especially criminogenic needs) for a period of approximately four months (needs principle); facilitating the release day to mitigate the risk of immediate relapse (needs principle); facilitating uninterrupted delivery of post-release services by the same case manager who provided pre-release services (responsivity principle) for a period of up to one year from the release date (for continuous case management pre- and post-release as per best practices); and focusing on housing, employment, improving family relationships, and a continuum of pre- to post-release mental health and substance abuse treatment services as the best ways to support reentry success (needs principle). Pre-release programming will include services to prepare offenders to become self-sufficient and include soft skills training and preparation for employment, securing housing, obtaining skills training to increase employability, strengthening relationships with family, etc. These areas of focus will continue into post-release services as project partners, such as Revolution Foods (employment) and EveryOne Home (housing) collaborate to assist with reentry success. Dosage of treatment services (200-300 hours) will depend on assessment of the participant’s needs and will support the reduction of criminal thinking through cognitive behavioral interventions. High-risk offenders will receive at least 300 hours of treatment services (dosage principle).

Plan for establishing a baseline recidivism rate. A historical sample of ex-offenders similar to the target population is not available because Alameda County Probation is unable to calculate this number (due to internal database issues). However, a recidivism rate is available for a similar population, collected for a reentry pilot project (n=105). Recidivism rates are thus available that can be used as baseline rates for individuals enrolled in some type of (comparable) reentry programming targeting criminogenic factors.

Collecting/reporting key data elements. OMHT service providers and contractors will collect data on reentering inmates and on program effectiveness relative to the objectives listed above and will enter such data into a confidential, password-protected database. Each OMHT partner will collect performance metrics on key data elements with the goal of helping OMHT leadership make informed decisions on how to manage risk, deliver services, and allocate resources efficiently. Probation collects recidivism risk data on its client population and can provide data for three years or more from release date.

For Further Information:
Sergeant Martin Neideffer
Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
1401 Lakeside Drive
12th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612-4305
mjneideffer@acgov.org
(510) 667-7595

Application Submitted in Response to Solicitation: Second Chance Act Adult Offender Reentry Program for Planning and Demonstration Projects
Grants.gov Assigned Number: BJA-2012-3112