NJAMHAA News Winter 2023

“We must harness every tool in our power to support recovery and a healthy community and bring down the costs of expensive interventions and incarceration.” Kristin Lundgren, MEd Co-director Community and State Programs GoMo Health® “ 9 Winter 2023 (continued on page 10) multiple challenges individuals contend with upon their release. “We work with Motor Vehicle Commission offices to expedite the process, andwe work with municipal courts to help get charges revoked and get fines converted to count as time served,” he explained. Having identification and the ability to drive are necessary for individuals to secure gainful employment, which is “the most critical aspect of post-prison reentry,” as stated onNJRC’s website. The NJRC helpsmeet this goal by providing free training for culinary, computer, construction and other types of jobs, as well as transportation to paid internships prior to release, explained Robert Carter, NJRC’s Director of Operations. Volunteers of America-Delaware Valley (VOADV) has been providing reentry services for more than 40 years. The agency has residential release programs, also known as halfway houses. The tenants are referred by the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC) and required towork or go to school. VOADV also has parole and residential SUD treatment programs and works with Recovery Court. VOADV’s newest service is the Safe Return Program, a voluntary reentry program. “Helping people rebuild their lives after being incarcerated is an integral component of VOADV’smission and spirit,” stated KathyWhite-Thomas, MS, Chief Operating Officer and a NJAMHAA Boardmember. Rutgers UBHC collaborates with Rutgers RobertWood JohnsonMedical School to serve incarceratedwomen. This program, called Circle of Care, is a 24/7 nurse navigation program. It is essential as “women are a rapidly growing cohort in jails and prisons,” Gov. McGreevey noted. All of the panelists identified gaps and shared recommendations, including the need for more employers to work with the agencies; more education, training and housing; and increased funding tomake these services available. Individuals also need longer lengths of stay in mental healthcare and SUD treatment services, according to Carter. In addition, Medicaid needs to be made available for individuals prior to their release and according to Gov. McGreevey, the DOC is working on this. Services Reduce Recidivism and Relapse Several NJAMHAAmembers have been offering diversion and JIS for many years. According to Bob Davison, MA, LPC, Chief Executive Officer of Mental Health Association, which serves individuals in Essex andMorris Counties, “Because of bad criminal justice policies implemented over the past three decades, people with mental illness are more likely to get involved with law enforcement than to see mental healthcare professionals.” Legacy Treatment Services’ pilot program in Middlesex County aims to improve this situation. “Individuals withmental illnesses are voluntarily participating in this jail diversion program. Hopefully, all of their charges will be dropped, which will lead to many more opportunities for them,” said Joseph Haber, MA, MSW, LCSW, Vice President of Ambulatory and Emergency Services. Preferred Behavioral Health Group (PBHG) also has a pilot program in collaborationwith a local prosecutor’s office. PBHG provides case management services for individuals whowould otherwise be incarcerated. “Unfortunately, there are strict criteria for getting into this program, and significant mental health issues sometimes prevent people from completing the program,” said Donna Batiuk, PBHG’s Assistant Director of JIS. Similarly, Oaks Integrated Care has a Pre-Trial Diversion program. Jade Kimbrough, whomanages this program, as well as JIS in Camden, Burlington and Mercer Counties, explained that support is provided for inmates throughout the court process and treatment plans are developed before their release. “We work closely with probation and parole officers, we holdmany outreach events in the community to see what services are needed and we attend each county’s task force meetings,” Kimbrough said. “We want to domore than casemanagement and checking off boxes. We want individuals to achieve emotional changes that will be long lasting.” Digital Therapeutic Augments Clinical Care, Fosters Successful Reentry “Recovery Pathways is based on GoMo Health’s Behavioral Rx science of personalized patient engagement, which uses proven psychological techniques and leverages emotional attributes (trust, credibility, reciprocity) and cognition (brain encoding, storage, retrieval) to motivate in-the- moment actions at home, work, and play,” as described in the proposal for a presentation that GoMo Health staff will present during NJAMHAA’s Spring Conference, Transcending Today, Transforming Tomorrow , on April 26, 2023.