Travis County Commissioners Court
Tuesday, March 29, 2011,
Item 31
31, receive update from crime prevention institute on services provided at the Travis County state jail.
ms. Grimes, if we could get you to huppedel with the lawyer, john hilly, regarding that question on item 23.
appreciate your patience on number 31.
>> good morning, judge, Commissioner sherry flemming.
this item was requested by ms. Smith and jointly recommended by roger jeffreys, county executive for justice and public safety.
we will turn the presentation over to ms. Smith but I wantd to say a few words.
think her presentation today is meant to give you an update on her program and some impact she is anticipating in the services to the Travis County state jail.
and while we certainly will not tell you and know that you are uniquely aware that we have many partners in the same predicament that ms. Smith and crime prevention institute finds themselves in, we also know that the court has been very intentional about its investments to impact outcomes for persons leaving the Travis County state jail as well as moving in and out of the Travis County jail.
so it is in that framework that we requested this presentation today.
>> thank you, sherry, kimberly, for being here.
my name is laura smith, the executive director at crime prevention institute.
we are a nonprofit organization here in Austin serving solely the travis state jail.
folks leaving that state jail returning to our county from incarceration.
as most of you guys know, you're probably familiar with tpir mission is to break the cycle of crime.
our agency works to strengthen individual families and communities.
we're doing that through a preand postrelease program out at the state jail.
this program is entitled targeted project reenterprise, tpre.
so you know how I'd funding, it's funded by Travis County health and human services and also by the city of Austin health and human services.
currently the governor's office criminal justice division.
we are part of the right at home project, and there is future slide which is a clap ration.
we're subcontracted with kerry pots who receives the funds from the state who received funds from stimulus package a couple years ago.
various local foundations, individual donations and two annual fund racers.
our total program budget is $280 000.
our total agency budget is about $314,000 for 2007.
the most unique thing about tpi and the reason I wanted to, sorry.
thank you.
the main reason I fell like our work stands out to the community and to the court is our incorporation of evident based practices when it comes to working with offenders.
in 2009 we did a lot of internal and external research to figure out what was going on with our outcomes and how we could improve them.
we changed our entire practice model in 2009.
even though we have been in existence since the '90s we have been reincenting ourselves since I started in 2005.
in 2009 we changed the practice model carding to what works and the body ofening.
we hired more staff, got smaller okay loads--caseload, created a long program, and provide intensive individualized after car.
since that happened in 2009 it's been two years and we have seen a major improvement in outcomes and want to continue measuring those outcomes.
our prerelease services look like this.
we do a risk and needs assessment called the lsir, stands for level of service inventory revised.
we meet with each client individually and this tool not only assesses needs as far as housing, i.d., services around education or employment or substance abuse, also assesses risk.
what I mean by risk is not necessarily risk of violence but risk of reoffense.
how likely is this person to go back to jail once we have done the risk and needs assessment about a percent of clients will assess in at high risk, either medium to very high.
which means very much caught up in the reinvolving door mentioned earlier.
our clients are the most likely to ends up homeless, chronicically addicted, on the streets and ends up back in that revolving door system costing the county a lot of money.
our cognitive curriculum called changing offender behavior is a 20-week group two hours a week.
clients go through in a core heart.
all the clients--could hort.
all the clients in may will go through the group together, form a support group for each other.
they meet two hours a week.
each of the clients gets three individual sessions.
first one is the risk and needs assessment, second a counseling focused with motivational interviewing, and third is what wecal an exit view about two weeks before release.
we do a release plan with the clients and review their treatment plan and goals for getting out.
postrelease, we are extremely involved with the clients.
immediately from the back gate of the jail literally to all the way through 90 days of moment or post that.
we pick up the clients from the back gate of the jail.
if they need a ride we drive them to transitional housing, to mom's house, to the aforementioned aunt judy's house wherever it is they need that is safe for them.
we're diverting about 50 percent of the caseload would otherwise be homeless if not for our services.
we're diverting these guys who would be on the state jail van to downtown, diverting them to transitional housing and other safe options.
we provide intensive case management and weekly peer support on Wednesday nights.
general information and referral and just kind of holding our hand through the process of meeting their goals.
we also offer employment incentives.
our entire program is based on incentives, another evident based strategy.
these guys getting out, there's nothing we can do to send them back to jail.
so if they don't show up to a meeting, don't meet with their case manager, there's nothing we can do.
we rely on incentive and relationship.
purely just the relationship with the client being positive and then if they get a job and hold down that job for 30, 60, 90 days, they get incentive bonuses from us.
the right at home part of our program is a new one.
I remember presenting to you guys in 2009 when we first got the grant.
that is a four agency partnership.
it's created in 2009 and specifically to target those off fenrd that were the highest need homeless, that also had a chronic health issue or mental health issue and dually diagnosed with substance abuse.
that four agency collaborative is , our piece is about $68,000 a year, a two-year grant.
some performance measures to show you the difference between the old way we were doing it and the new way we were doing it.
you can see our employment rate from 2008 was 42 percent, up to 53 percent and again to 71 percent with our new model.
then the percent of clients retaining employment for 90 days the guys actually holding down the job for 90 days that we can verify and we give them the bonus, was 72 percent, then 75, then in 201043 percent which we thought was strange but looking closer realized a bunch of our clients entered treatment and some were identified through the risk and needs assessment as needing ssi or ssdi.
this is one of the reasons I was saying outcomes have improved but we need to continue measuring them.
last time we had the resources to look at recidivism was with the 2007 releases.
we found 76 percent were felony free after one year.
that means 23 percent.
most interesting, those with 90 days had a recidivism rate of 12 percent, about half of the clients that just went through our generally program or were released from the state jail without services.
this study was from our old model.
I think we would seen even more of an impact.
we haven't been able to do that because our data set is actually pretty small and we need those guys to be out on the streets a whole year before we can look at a solid recidivism study.
I want the data to be clean so we haven't really gotten, I'd like to see the 2010 guys out a whole year before I can look at that again in the same way so we can compare apples to apples.
my concern about our budget situation is that I'm not going to be able do that because we will end up having to cut services and model is not going to look the same and we won't be able to measure it.
here is some lessons I have earned will--learned.
employment is critical.
housing is even more critical a a precursor to the employment.
why we see employment critical is because the unemployment exoffender is more likely offend.
our services are focused on employment but first thing is stabilizing in housing and basic needs and mental health so they can hold down a job.
relationship and trust is more critical.
we found our social workers really formed really a bond with the clients and are able to get them to trust them.
for some of the clients who have literally slept by the river intoxicated for years and have cut off all ties from family, if we can have a cpi staff member make a connection with that guy and he is willing go into housing or the hospital when he has never been willing to do that of about, I think we are not only being ethical and humane in the way we deal with people in the community but also saving the community money by doing that.
by stopping that door from going in and out of the state jail.
we are serving the highest risk hardest to serve clients in the commune, no doubt.
that is for sure.
that is really a big return on investment.
that is where the research says you get your bang for the buck by throwing the resources at the highest risk, most hard to serve because they are the most expensive.
even though though might be a small group, they can cause a lot of damage to the community if we don't intervene in their cycle.
that is why it's so important to have a preand postrelease program because we really need to start six months before they are released.
our old model started sick weeks before release.
we learned they are already decided what they are going to do by then.
so we needed to start quite a ways in.
intensive services and client engagement in the change spros key.
that means being present for relapse, being patient, being available when they go in and out of struggles and being kind of willing to be that institution or that group of people who doesn't give up on that client.
has been extremely important to us.
here is what is going on with our budget.
the stimulus funds I mentioned that fund the right at home project are ending.
we always knew it was going to ends.
I remember the Commissioners and judge saying at that time what is your plan to replace the right at home funds.
all four agencies went, we're working on it.
we still are working on it.
we have, I have a next slide we'll slow you the other sources of funding we have requested one of them is a collaborative with caritas to replace some of those funds.
we have also reached out to some federal sources and foundations.
the stimulus fund ending was expected, something we knew was coming and we have been scrambling to replace in a different way.
things that were unexpected, the governor's office changed the eligiblability of we were doing a renewal grants, a step down.
first year we were awarded a hundred percent, second 80, third 60.
coming up to our third year to apply.
the application was grayed out that said you could choose nonprofit.
when I called the governor's office they said they are no longer making the funds available to nonprofit.
that is a compete shock to me, like three days before the application was due.
so that is about 30,000 that just got yanked.
a surprise.
the other thing due to the economy, many of the foundations are small family foundations we have had a history with.
a couple have dissolved, a couple have decided on even ohm give to food banked or other critical services they feel are the basic safety net.
and so have stopped funding our agency.
given our foundation given has dropped by 50 percent, board membership has gone down because people have rotated off last year.
we're going to, with all that happening at the same time, which is about ending August 31, in August we're going to lay off staff and cut services unless the funds are replaced.
there's just no way around that.
I think the closer we get to the summer, the more clear it is we're going to have to do that unless we can find replacement for these funds.
the reason that I don't want to do that, as you can see, I feel like I have a the lo of traction here--lot of traction and I have measures of things I think are actually working.
I think it takes a long time to do that, a long time to build a solid program and measure it and to make adjustments and tweaks and keep it going.
the additional requests we're making of the county total $51,187 which would be in addition to our current contract with hhs for total of 105,000.
that is just a municipal of our proposed budget.
the county money is all for personnel.
other sources would be paying tor direct assistance for clients as well as operating costs and additional personnel.
these are some details of the budget which you guys have in your backup.
then these are the other major sources we have applied for.
this doesn't reflect all the individual donors we have approached.
doesn't reflect all the foundations.
doesn't reflect our annual fundraiser but these are the big ways we are trying to replace the funds.
one is the collaborative which pays for the housing case manager to replace the right at home position.
the second chance act jerry mentioned, goodwill's applications through the department of justice, we a department with goodwill in that grant.
so if we receive that second chance acrimony, some of that would go to cpi to continue the transitional services at the state jail.
goodwill would pick up the men torring component of that grant, there by enhancing services.
then we're making the exact same request of the city that we're making of the county, to just kind of support locally the efforts we're making at the state jail.
so those are our applications pending.
do you all have questions for me about cpi or about our request?
>> what type of relationship do you have, it appears that there is a relationship with the reentry person that gave their presentation earlier.
do you have a direct tie into some of the same services that they are looking at as far as for the exoffenders?
or do you operate independently?
what type of relationship is that?
>> we're a nonprofit organization but I serve on the planning council of the reentry round table and have for many years.
so I'm directly linked in to all the work they are doing and work with them closely.
>> it appears that you have similar challenges.
you mentioned housing, mentioned recidivism to try to reduce that rate.
you mentioned several things that tie into.
this --they have funding understand can, of course, trying to rethat.
>> right.
>> you just mentioned your funding cur tails, not being available where those funding sources may have been provided in the past.
I'm kind of looking forward to seeing how the collaboration between you two can maybe be enhanced.
because you have the same similar challenges.
>> we're focused on the same population.
>> exactly.
>> the way it's different is that the round table is a macrolevel body looking at policies and reform and legislation issues.
and we're a direct service organization.
our funding services are very different.
but we work closely together.
the goodwill grant and cpi came together to apply for that based on the reentry round table facilitating that consensus meeting.
we're all working together.
it's just the different funding stream.
>> they mentioned some barriers that I think are even common to you and your effort.
an example, the haven barrier affects employment.
you have some common ground.
I'm hoping the relationship is real close as far as overcoming some of these barriers.
because that is significant, in my mind.
>> absolutely.
>> to overcome a lot of things that we need to do as far as providing something to make these persons whole.
so recidivism does not increase but be reduced.
>> right, absolutely.
>> judg--and court members,ly close bying is health and human services has received a budget request from the crime presence institute that will be evaluated by the department and justice and public safety.
>> I have three or four questions.
so you are covered through the end of fiscal year but working on fiscal year 2012.
>> that is correct.
>> your request of the city of Austin is through the rfp process?
>> correct.
>> and their schedule?
>> announcements in mid may.
>> okay.
>> judge Biscoe, I'm the planning manager at health and human services.
the first public announcement should be released, supposed to be in mid April.
the conversation in the health and human services subcommittee then looks like meeting then, another first of may, then formal recommendation to go to the city council for action towards end of may.
>> is this one of the city's priority areas?
>> we have to ask the city exactly how they interpret that.
I would think it would fall at least, if the not their top goal their second, which I believe is transition out of poverty.
going to be on the line between number one, which is what they refer to safety net and infrastructure, and their geel two.
those top to tiers I would thin.
>> we actually have two applications, our sole application for cpi and the caritas collaborative, a city , best single source plus.
we're one of the collaborative.
>> you are losing some board members and are you gaining new once?
>> yes, we in the process of recruiting new board members.
>> one of the things board members do is help solicit fund.
>> absolutely.
>> when I look at the sort of proposed budget, are you confident you will be able to get the amount shown under other sources?
is that kind of like us, you are asking and hoping?
>> pretty much all that way.
I'm pretty confident, I think we have really good relationships with the city and county.
I'm not as confident about the second chance act.
I don't think we are that competitive.
I don't think we get a lot of attention from the feds because we next to harris county and other counties that have bigger criminal justice issues.
I think that going in with goodwill makes us as competitive as we can possibly be for the federal funds.
honestly, I don't know.
I'm completely unaware of what the city is going to do.
we have had a long, as long as we have had a county contract, we have had a city contract, probably ten years.
but since they are revising the whole way they are doing the rfp process, I don't really know how tive we are.
>> in order to keep your ship intact, you need a response from us by when?
>> summer would be helpful.
>> any time between June and August?
>> sooner the better.
>> we normally make budget decisions in August.
>> okay.
>> that is timely?
>> I think that is timely.
I mean, I think we're going to have all the other puzzle pieces before that.
so I'm hoping that that will help.
just knowing what some of those are is going to plug some holes.
>> okay.
>> any other questions, comments?
court members?
>> just to thank you, laura, for the direct services to some of the most difficult populations to serve.
>> thank you so much.
>> appreciate your hard work in this tough area.
>> thank you.
thank you for your commitment as well.
>> you may want to get a little closer to ms. Flemming between now and mid summer.
>> thank you.
>> .
>> were you and legal able the get together, ms. Grimes?
>> my thing about the amounts, put them on a sheet of paper and get them to us.
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