Best Practices: The Jail Inreach Project: Linking Homeless Inmates Who Have Mental Illness With Community Health Services

The Jail Inreach Project in Harris County, Texas, provides services that strive to improve health status, support social reintegration, and reduce the costs and overall burden on the public health care system of persons who are mentally ill and homeless and being released from the Harris County Jail. In 2006 the Jail Inreach Project was established and locally funded as a demonstration project under the auspices of Healthcare for the Homeless-Houston (HHH). The Jail Inreach Project provides continuity of and access to integrated primary care and behavioral health care (mental health and substance abuse treatment) services upon release for Houston's homeless population with mental illness, who rapidly cycle through the Harris County Jail. It further provides a replicable model of care that addresses the underlying causes of increased rearrest rates and the immediate need for services after incarceration.

The program aims to reduce rearrest rates and combat the rapid cycling of the mentally ill homeless population through Harris County Jail; to collaborate with the Harris County Sheriff's Department and the local public mental health agency to develop a more coordinated system of care that supports homeless releasees in accessing resources; and to facilitate the transfer of medical records between the Harris County Jail, community-based clinics, and the public health care system to improve communication and coordination between health care providers.

The delivery of health care in the correctional environment has many challenges. Those who are incarcerated and who have a behavioral health diagnosis tend to have more comorbid chronic medical problems much earlier than those who are not incarcerated. Because many detainees have poor health and inadequate diets, have risky lifestyles, and abuse substances, they are likely to have a higher incidence of medical conditions in addition to their mental health needs. Delivery of care within the jail and provision of discharge planning services are complicated by complex social and health needs, the usual short length of incarceration, and a sometimes uncertain date of release.

Many logistical considerations and adjustments had to be taken into account as the program developed early on; much time was spent experimenting with different procedures for visiting detainees in order to increase efficiency. Initially, detainees were called from their cells to an interview room on the first floor of the jail. The process of moving a detainee from his or her cell to the interview room often took up to 30 minutes. In the first six months, with over 85 referrals and nearly 200 visits, it became clear that a more efficient system was needed. We discovered that more detainees could be visited in a shorter period if the case manager went to the detainee's cell and met with him or her either in the cell or in another suitable location on the same floor. Similarly, the issue of dealing with uncertain release dates resulted in the development of a policy mandating that after the initial meeting, clients were seen only after they had an established release date. This provision aided in successfully establishing a postrelease plan and in case managers' serving more clients because case managers could maximize the efficiency of how their time was allocated.

Outreach strategies that provide continuity of care have generally been supported as a best practice. The most effective strategies seem to be those that introduce personal connections and reduce the distinction between inpatient and outpatient services.Linkage is better served when the step to what has traditionally been called aftercare is treated more as a transition than as a change (3–5). Practices that include contact with the ongoing care agency before discharge have proven to be beneficial. For the Jail Inreach Project, the contribution of the negotiated direct daytime release to the care of a case manager cannot be overstated.

The most recent quality assurance analysis of the program indicated that 129 of 150 (86%) participants who opted for direct release to the care of a case manager were successfully linked to services, compared with only 51 of 181 (28%) of those who opted for a self-release. Further, those who opted for a “self” nighttime release were 6.2 times less likely than those who opted for a direct release to a case manager to be linked to services (6). Agreeing to spend a few more hours in jail in return for direct release may be an indicator of greater motivation for change but may also reflect the perceived importance of the health care and social service linkages provided by the program. Early indications from our data suggest that linkage, in its turn, appears to reduce the likelihood of rearrest, especially for participants with fewer and milder previous charges (misdemeanors versus felonies).

The importance of efficiently and effectively tracking client information and data in a way that is accessible to multiple HHH staff members, including case managers and administrators, as well as for research and evaluation purposes, led to the development of an online database, which is housed on a secure server at Baylor College of Medicine. It is used to track release dates, diagnoses, initial referral plans, postrelease service linkages, and case status of the individual. The database can also generate reports for quality assessment and evaluation.

We believe that the design and implementation of the Jail Inreach Program constitutes a best practice that should be subjected to further services research. One of the most successful components of the Jail Inreach Project is in bridging gaps between services provided in the jail with services provided in the community. However, the program is restricted by the limited capacity of community resources to provide services after a detainee is released. An alarming shortage of affordable housing, psychiatric services, substance abuse treatment services, and other medical and social support services has put a ceiling on the capabilities of the safety net programs to benefit this population and the community at large.

Stemming from this assessment of the program, there are two subsequent evaluation projects examining whether there are differences in outcomes, procedures, or client characteristics between individuals who are linked to services and those who do not follow through with the program after release. Results will be informative in terms of tailoring better interventions and in replicating these findings.

On a systemic level, our findings suggest that effective and replicable mechanisms for reducing utilization of correctional institutions as behavioral health treatment facilities include offering early prerelease planning, engaging clients in their treatment plan, offering daytime release, and providing a full health evaluation, including medical case management and behavioral health assessments. These elements provide continuity of care for those who require medication and help to prevent lapses in treatment. In addition, the activation of social services (shelter and housing, job training, and life skills counseling) and health services (primary health home with behavioral health care) in the framework of enhanced integrated care appears to decrease arrest rates (thus decreasing utilization of mental health services within the correctional system) and increase the possibility of transitioning out of homelessness.

Another opportunity for change in the collaboration between HHH and MHMRA would be to allow for integration of a behavioral health specialist in the primary health home. This would provide immediate behavioral health resources to stabilize clients adjusting to the challenges common to releasees. Clients could then be provided a permanent health home where their full health needs are addressed. Behavioral health exacerbations requiring internal referral or consultation could be obtained as needed. Future research will be necessary to validate our observations and recommendations.

In 2008 the Medallion Foundation, Inc., funded the initiation of a pilot project using intensive health care-based case management. Subsequent funding for the evaluation of and research associated with the program was funded by general operating funds of HHH, where the program is housed. The authors thank the staff of HHH, MHMRA of Harris County, and the Harris County Budget Office, who have helped make this project possible. The authors appreciate the editorial input of William E. Fann, M.D.

The authors report no competing interests.