Outcomes of the Connecticut Offender Reentry Program

The CT Offender Reentry Program (CORP) was developed by the CT Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services (CT DMHAS) in 2002, with original funding from the Serious & Violent Offender Reentry Initiative from the National Institute on Justice. Since then it has served approximately 300 prisoners with serious mental illness transitioning back to the community following an extended prison stay, and is sustained through state dollars. Program participants receive pre-release skill development in skills groups, and clinicians also facilitate their transition to community mental health agencies. Using administrative data merged between CT DMHAS with information from corrections, courts, and Medicaid, we compared 1-year post-release outcomes of CORP program participants to those of a comparison sample developed through propensity matching. CORP participation resulted in reduced criminal justice involvement and reduced need for hospitalization. The CORP improves the outcomes of prisoners with mental illness being released into the community.