2008 Health Care Needs at Community Re-entry

Eighty percent of state and 70 percent of federal prison inmates report lifetime drug use. Fifty-one percent report being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at the time of their offense. Despite statistics suggesting that nearly three out of four inmates have substance abuse problems, only about 10 percent receive formal substance abuse services while in state prisons.

Kentucky’s 8.5 percent increase in the number of people incarcerated in state prisons from 2003 to 2004 made the Commonwealth fourth in the nation in its percentage increase. Since 95 percent of state prisoners are eventually released, Kentucky is and will see increasing numbers of inmates being released from prison and transitioning to community supervision. In 2004 alone, Kentucky parolees increased by 27 percent, placing Kentucky third nationally in that category.  The increase in Kentucky parolees is likely to be coupled with increased numbers of people with untreated substance abuse problems and relapsing into drug or alcohol use as they transition from prison to the community. Failure to address these substance abuse treatment needs will increase community crime rates and recidivism.

Michele Staton-Tindall of UK’s College of Social Work and the Center on Drug & Alcohol Research heads the 2008 Commonwealth Collaborative aimed at addressing the Health Care Needs of Kentucky Offenders at Community Re-entry from Prison. She is partnering with the Kentucky Department of Corrections, the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, and the substance abuse community to enhance use of services for substance-using offenders as they transition from prison to the community.

The initiative has already created Re-entry Guidelines and will develop, implement, and test a strategic plan for increasing service opportunities for substance-using offenders at community re-entry and avoiding the problems that would otherwise ensue for the offenders and their communities. It will include a timeline for implementation, responsibilities for partners, and indicators of success.

This initiative builds on the UK National Institute of Health-funded project that focused on designing, implementing, and testing interventions for substance-using offenders. That effort successfully implemented nine research protocols.