Shaping the Jail Inreach Project: Program Evaluation as a Quality Improvement Measure to Inform Programmatic Decision Making and Improve Outcomes

Abstract

The Jail Inreach Project was initiated in 2007 as a pilot program by Healthcare for the Homeless-Houston, an FQHC serving homeless individuals in Harris County, Texas, as a collaborative effort with the Harris County Sheriff's Office and the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County. It addresses the disproportionate number of homeless individuals with behavioral health diagnoses cycling through the Harris County Jail without provisions for continuity of care. Throughout the years, several evaluations have been conducted to inform programmatic planning and assess the success of the program on affecting patterns of recidivism of mentally ill homeless clients being served. Findings reinforce the importance of linking releasees to services immediately upon release as a measure for breaking the cycle of repeated incarceration and chronic homelessness. This paper illuminates characteristics of a successful intervention by examining three program evaluations conducted at different times in the program's history. It further illustrates how program evaluation has been utilized to help shape the program design and related policies.

Interventions at the Transition from Prison to the Community for Prisoners with Mental Illness: A Systematic Review

“…The majority of the included studies were conducted in the United States of America (US; n = 10; Brown et al 2013; Buck et al 2011; Burke and Keaton 2004; Hartwell and Orr 1999; Kesten et al 2012; Morrissey et al 2016; Roskes and Feldman 1999; Solomon and Draine 1995; Theurer and Lovell 2008; Trupin et al 2011; Wenzlow et al 2011) with two studies conducted in England (Jarrett et al 2012; Shaw et al 2017) and one in Australia (Green et al 2016). Nine used a wide geographical area which included urban and rural settings, whereas four related to a single urban area (Brown et al 2013; Buck et al 2011; Roskes and Feldman 1999; Solomon and Draine 1995; Theurer and Lovell 2008).…”

“…Nine used a wide geographical area which included urban and rural settings, whereas four related to a single urban area (Brown et al 2013; Buck et al 2011; Roskes and Feldman 1999; Solomon and Draine 1995; Theurer and Lovell 2008). Most of the studies used adult samples (n = 12) and one used a sample of juvenile offenders (Trupin et al 2011).…”

“…Seven studies were rated weak (Brown et al 2013; Buck et al 2011; Burke and Keaton 2004; Green et al 2016; Hartwell and Orr 1999; Jarrett et al 2012; Roskes and Feldman 1999; Solomon and Draine 1995) according to the Quality Assessment Tool (Effective Public Health Practice Project 2009), four were rated moderate (Shaw et al 2017; Theurer and Lovell 2008; Trupin et al 2011; Wenzlow et al 2011) and two were rated strong (Kesten et al 2012; Morrissey et al 2016). Details of the quality assessment are given in Online Appendix II.…”

Bringing it all back home: Understanding the medical difficulties encountered by newly released prisoners in New Orleans, Louisiana - a qualitative study

“…, Brown et al . ). Such prison in reach programmes (those that contact the prisoner before release), especially for those with mental health problems and those with substance abuse, as well as proactive housing first policies have shown to decrease the number of days spent in prison, and thus, have shown to improve health outcomes for some of the most vulnerable of the formerly incarcerated – the homeless (National Healthcare for the Homeless Council ).…”

The socio-demographic characteristics and health needs of incarcerated women applying to a transitional housing re-entry program

“…Discontinuation of many anti-depressants can lead to a range of symptoms including physical and psychosomatic distress that may compromise societal reentry efforts [20]. Programs supporting immediate medical linkage after release from incarceration may decrease the likelihood of recidivism [21]. Mental health counseling and careful monitoring of antidepressant usage is important for this population.…”