Integrated systemic approaches for linking post-incarcerated minority women to ongoing community based care

Between 11,200 and 13,500 women in Cook County Jail are addicted to drugs or alcohol, and more than 80 percent suffer from co-occurrence of addiction, mental health disorders and trauma. Since 1991, Cook County Jail has experienced a 69 percent increase in the number of women in jail who test positive for HIV. Yet, women are released without linkages to services needed to address their treatment and health needs. Without coordinated services, these women are likely to continue high-risk behaviors that place them at risk for HIV and STDs. In response, Access Community Health Network created the Women Returning Home project to reduce high-risk behavior in women returning to the community. The model embeds treatment, health and social service systems within a primary care setting, where integrated recovery management planning and interventions are coordinated. Of the 449 women enrolled, only 14 clients have re-entered the corrections system and almost all accessed health services. Additionally, at intake, only 63.6 percent of women reported abstaining from drugs and alcohol. Six months after, 83 percent report abstaining, and at intake, 63.9 percent of women had not been arrested in the past 30 days. Six months following, that increased to 96.3 percent; at intake only 18.3 percent of women were either currently employed or in school. After six months, 27.1 percent were either employed or in school. This model of integrated service delivery shows unique promise in addressing the multiple health complex issues facing women returning to their communities from the prison system.